Hypnos: The Sleeper Awakens 2 (mc)
by O'Melissokomos
The following story is a work of fiction. The characters portrayed within are a work of fiction as well, and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is a coincidence and unintentional.
Copyright © 2004. This story is the property of the author O'Melissokomos. Any duplication, in whole or in part, is forbidden without the express written consent of the author.
Visit the Bee Keeper's Hive: http://www.pridesites.com/omelissokomos/
Chapter Five
The restaurant was packed to the rafters. It seemed like everyone in the city was there from big families celebrating their reunions, young couples dating for the first time, and small groups of friends just spending the evening together. There were even people spilling out into the sidewalk and waiting for a table, any table, to free up. Waiters were barely able accommodate every patron but somehow they had managed to do their jobs so far. Chez Le Poisson had always been the place to go to for seafood in the city.
Amidst the confusion, Sonny squeezed his way through the crowd and, through some sort of miracle, had located Sam and MJ sitting in a table right in the middle of the restaurant. Sonny greeted his sister-in-law with a quick peck on the cheek. "God, what a madhouse. I'm sorry I'm late, Sam. Meeting took longer than I anticipated. I hope you guys weren't waiting too long."
"That's alright. We just got here ourselves. They were about to give our reservation to another group if we hadn't shown up ten minutes ago. I already ordered for the three of us, if you don't mind, squid-boy."
"Ha ha. You know me so well, Sam. And don't forget, this is my treat so I hope you two got something you really liked." Sonny spied that MJ was fidgeting and feeling uncomfortable. He wondered why until saw that his nephew was wearing a tie. He was really the spitting image of Morty (and of himself) at the boy's age. "My, don't we look handsome?"
"Aww, Mom made me wear it. I look like a dork."
"My favorite nephew? A dork? Never," said Sonny as he mussed up MJ's hair.
"Unca Sonny. I hate it when you do that," protested MJ.
Sonny laughed. "That's why I like doing it. And you ought to be nicer to your uncle, or else he won't be giving you any more presents like this." He reached into his bag and brought out the gift he bought from Mr. Winslow that morning. "Happy birthday again, sport."
MJ squealed in delight and asked his mom if he could open it already. As soon as she consented, the little boy demolished the wrapping paper almost as speedily as Mr. Winslow had put it on. "Cool!"
"And what do we say to your uncle?"
"Thanks, Unca Sonny!" MJ jumped off his seat and gave Sonny a hug before opening his new remote control plane.
"So, how was the meeting?" Sam suddenly asked. "You mentioned last night dealing with Mr. Hiller wasn't going to be a picnic."
"Terrible. But at least we were able to iron things out in the end." Sonny then gave an enigmatic grin as he imagined Dennis and Ron rolling on the office floor in each other's arms. "I think everything's going to be fine."
"Glad to hear it. That means you get a few extra days to yourself before you head back."
"That's right. It's weird not having things to do."
"Think of it as a paid vacation. As far as I'm concerned, you've earned it. Oh look, our order's here. That was quick. They really must want us out of here," joked Sam.
"Bon appetit. Let's make this night a memorable one," Sonny replied and the three of them ate their dinner.
***
Around an hour later, Sonny, Sam, and MJ were leaving the restaurant and making their way to an ice cream parlor around the corner to get some dessert. Sonny was telling MJ stories about how he and his father would go around the city on their bicycles every Saturday and how they would stop by their favorite ice cream shop to split a jumbo sundae. Sometimes, they'd be in the park fishing in the pond or at cooling off at the community pool. Those were good times thought Sonny and hoped that MJ would grow up to have more than a few fond memories of his own.
After finishing their desserts, the three of them decided to head on home since it was already getting late.
"Hey, Sam, where'd you park the car?" asked Sonny.
She replied, "A few blocks down. I couldn't find any parking close enough by the time we got here."
"Lead the way, milady."
The streets were empty and quiet. Dark ominous clouds shrouded the moon and some of the street lamps weren't working. Most of the cars that were parked by the sidewalks earlier that evening had already left and Sam's car was still a bit far off. As they were about to pass by an alley, a grimy man brandishing a gun suddenly jumped out into the street.
"You. Wallets. Now."
On impulse, Sonny instinctively placed his body in front of Sam and MJ. "Look here, we don't any trouble..."
"Tough guy, eh?" He slammed Sonny's face with the barrel of his gun. Sonny fell down from the impact and the mugger started kicking him on the ribs.
"Oh my God! Sonny!" screamed Sam.
The mugger swung his gun towards Sam. "Shut up and gimme your fucking money, you bitch."
"Please, please don't hurt us!" Sam was trying her best not be hysterical.
"I said, shut the fuck up!" The assailant slapped her across the face.
MJ was bawling. "Mommy, mommy!"
"Hurry up, you cunt, and tell your brat to keep quiet!"
Sonny couldn't move from the pain but he could see everything happening before him and in slow motion. He watched in horror the mugger threatening his sister-in-law and his nephew and cursed himself for not being able to do anything about it.
But then from out the blue, a man tackled the mugger and yelled for Sam to run away. She instantly grabbed MJ and ran into the alley thinking they'd be safer outside the line of fire. It proved to be a wise decision since during the scuffle, the mugger's gun went off and Sonny saw the man's body crumple to the ground. The mugger was about to fire another round when his gun was knocked out of his hand by a flying trashcan lid that collided with his arm. He turned around and saw that Sonny was standing and holding up a something that looked like a doll.
"What the fuck do you think you're going to do with that thing?"
"Just watch and see for yourself, you asshole." Sonny was about to press the button on Hypnos's back when the mugger unexpectedly lunged at him with full force. He accidentally let go of the toy and watched helplessly as it flew into the air and smashed into the wall where it broke apart into several pieces. "Shit!"
"You had to make this difficult, didn't you, you fucking prick?" panted the mugger. He pulled out a knife and wrestled Sonny to the ground where the two furiously grappled to gain the upper hand.
Sonny put up a valiant effort but he just wasn't strong enough. In the end, he found himself pinned under his assailant but he refused to give up. He fought back with every ounce of strength he had left; however, he knew he couldn't hold out for much longer. If he had only been able to use the doll, thought Sonny. If he had only been a little bit faster then he wouldn't be in this mess. Sonny then saw that the mugger was looking directly at him and smiling wickedly.
"I want to see your face when I stick this in your gut," he taunted.
Sonny put on a brave face although he knew that the man meant every word. His entire body was trembling from fear but there was something else happening--there was a familiar tingling sensation that was slowing building within him.
The mugger continued, "When I'm done with you, I'm going to carve your wife over there so bad there's not going to be enough of her to put back together."
Oh God, not Sam prayed Sonny. The sensation was welling up even stronger now and creeping into every limb of his body.
Finally, the mugger said, "And guess what? I'm going to make your kid watch."
Sonny snapped. "NO!! You get the hell away them, you fucking monster!" he screamed out and the sensation burst out in a bright flash of energy that blinded his attacker. When the mugger regained his vision, he saw that his would-be victim was suffused with a menacing green aura. He wanted to get up and run away but instead he felt drawn to gaze into Sonny's pulsing emerald eyes. At the same time, Sonny couldn't control whatever was happening to him. In his outright rage, he found himself speaking the words that had become so known to him:
"Look into my eyes, you cannot resist / listen to my voice, only I exist / You're mine to command, your will is now gone / You have no control, you are now my pawn / When all this is done, one truth shall you crave: / I am your master, and you are my slave!"
The mugger struggled to tear his face away from Sonny's, but the more he wanted to look away, the more he felt himself falling deeper and deeper into Sonny's eyes. "What... what are you doing?"
Sonny ignored him and said, "Stand up and get off of me, you scum."
"N-no..."
"Still got a little bit of fight in you, eh? I said, stand up."
"F-fuck you, you b-bastard. I won't." The mugger was determined not to succumb to the compulsion but felt his resistance starting to crack.
"Get on your feet, slave," commanded Sonny as his eyes glowed brighter. This sent the mugger over the edge and immediately complied. Sonny was about to get up himself, but unfortunately, he overestimated his strength and fumbled thereby losing eye contact with the mugger. The green aura dissipated and Sonny felt powerless again as the tingling sensation left him. He saw the mugger was shaking off the effects of the trance and was very, very pissed.
"I don't know what the fuck just happened but there's no way I'm letting you do that to me again. You gonna die, you motherfucker!" And the mugger went for Sonny's throat.
Without warning, there was another shot fired and the mugger fell face forward with the knife still in his hand. Sonny looked up and saw that the man who was shot earlier was holding up the gun the mugger dropped.
"Aaaah," the mugger shrieked. "My fucking leg!" Sonny gave the mugger one swift kick to the head and knocked him out cold.
"Go. See if they're alright," the man said.
Sonny went to check on Sam and MJ who were huddled by the wall inside the alley. MJ had his eyes closed and was curled up into a little ball while Sam had her arms and body around her son as a shield. He knelt beside them and reassured them that it was all over. "Sam, it's OK. We're safe now."
Sam was visibly shaken by the ordeal. "I heard a shot. Is he... is he dead?"
"No, but he's unconscious."
"What about the other guy?"
"He's over there. Fuck, he just collapsed."
"Oh, God."
"Sam, I need you to call 911 and take MJ home now. Don't worry about me; I'll be all right. I have to stay behind and wait for the police to arrive. There's no sense for MJ to stick around for that. He's been through enough shit for one night."
"Are you sure you're OK? You're bleeding." Sam examined her brother-in-law's forehead.
"It's just a bruise. Nothing a couple of ice cubes can't fix. Just go." Sam nodded, took her frightened son in her arms, and ran as quickly as she could towards her car.
Sonny limped his way to where the man was lying. To his surprise and relief, he found him still breathing. Upon closer inspection, Sonny saw that the bullet had hit the man's shoulder and he started applying pressure to the wound to staunch the bleeding. As he was doing that, he glanced at the man's face and was shocked to recognize it.
"Mulchahey?"
The officer stirred and responded weakly. "W-who are you? How'd... you know my name?"
Shit, this is going to be trouble thought Sonny. "It's OK; don't move. You got shot in the shoulder and the bullet is still lodged in. I've had someone call 911 already. An ambulance ought on its way by now."
"Is your... your wife safe? I saw him hit her."
"My wife? Oh no. She's my sister-in-law. She's fine. I told her to bring MJ, her son, home."
"T-that's good. Aaagh..." Mulchahey grimaced in pain. "Can't believe that fucking bastard clipped me."
Sonny said, "I really don't think it's such a good a idea for you to be talking." It felt weird having such a big hulking man in his hands weak as a baby.
"No... I need you... to keep me conscious for as long as you can. If I pass out, I might not wake up."
"S-sure, I'll try. What do you want to talk about?"
"Anything, man. You could start... with how you knew who I was."
To be continued...