Ghost Rider #110

February Year 4

By Manuel Chavarria

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My eyes open and a sharp pain shoots through my shoulder. Or it would have if my shoulder was still there.

I reach over and feel for my arm. My hand touches something slimy. Worms.

I sit up and look forward and see a single light bulb dangling from a cord attached to the ceiling. An object comes into view.

It's my arm.

My hand aims a gun at my chest and fires off six rounds.

I fall back into a laying position as darkness washes over me. My breathing becomes shallow. I don't feel anything.

Suddenly, I'm jolted to life.

"...UP, do you hear what I mean? WAKE UP! It's TIME to WAKE up..."

The voice is raspy and not at all what I'd want to wake up to. It's my new companion, whom I'd dubbed the "Moon Man."

The Moon Man stands over me in his stained white muscle shirt and his dingy khakis. He extends a hand to me, to lift me from my position on the ground.

"The MOON was TALKING to me again," he says as he helps me up. "Do you SEE now, it said something HAPPENED to you."

"My arm shot me," I reply, dusting myself off.

"WHAT?" he asks.

"Nothing," I say, making light of the situation. We begin walking down the highway again, toward who-knows-where. I think we're somewhere in the Midwest. The image in my mind still haunts me. Partly because it's so disturbing and partly because I know it's not a dream.

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"I think that I shall never see,

A thing as ugly as Ghosty;

Be he alive or be he dead,

I'll grind his bones until he's bled..."

The imp cackled at its rhyme.

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The Ghost Rider rode along the unlit highway, plowing its way through the darkness on its motorcycle. It did not know where it was headed, only that it had to be there.

The Ghost Rider had returned to the Earth Realm after recognizing the imp that had attacked it. The imp's resurgence made the current situation even more confusing. The Ghost Rider needed answers, and only got more questions.

"I've been unaware far too long," the demon thought. "Explanations are in order."

"Perhaps I can help..." a second voice responded to the Ghost Rider's thoughts.

A phantasm appeared before the demon. It spoke to him.

"Come with me...together we'll find the answers you seek..." the phantasm beckoned.

The Ghost Rider was wary initially, but its curiosity won out. It dismounted its motorcycle and walked to the apparition.

Judas Traveller reached out and took the Ghost Rider's hand. Together they blinked from the Earth Realm.

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Clarice woke up and immediately looked down.

Her head was attached to her body again.

Without warning, a neon green light filled the room and blinded her. When she regained her sight she found herself on an empty highway. She called out, but no one answered.

She stumbled forward a few steps and, when she completely regained her footing, she ran, naked, down the road, hoping to escape destiny.

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It's night.

The open road can be a cold place at night.

The Moon Man and I have ceased walking. The sweltering heat of the day gave way to the crisp chill of night, and we couldn't think of a better time to sit and rest. We sit along the roadside quietly. Not much to say at a time like this. Sometimes words don't mean anything.

I pull out my pack of cigarettes. Two left. I'll have to buy more. Stop at the next little town we pass by.

I light up a cigarette and take a long drag. How much longer can this last? I've been walking this highway for two days. All I've gotten out of it is sore legs. And the visions.

"The Moon SAYS you need to stop WORRYING," my companion tells me. "It says that EVERYTHING happens for a REASON."

I put my face in my hands and grit my teeth. I begin to shout.

"Well what the hell does the fucking MOON know? The Moon wasn't on the damn bus! The Moon hasn't had to walk for two fucking days in 100 degree temperatures!"

The Moon Man pulls out his firearm and aims it at me.

"Calm down," he says. "I don't LIKE being YELLED at."

"Then fucking shoot me."

The Moon Man shoots me in the shoulder. I go down.

"You...bastard!" I say. "You fucking shot me."

"You TOLD me to. Come any CLOSER and I'll DO it AGAIN."

Just as I plan to rush the Moon Man, we hear the patter of bare feet hitting the pavement. We look down the highway to see a woman in the distance, running toward us. She collapses. The Moon Man and I run to investigate.

We find her lying face down. I roll her over.

"Clarice..." I say, trailing off, not at all surprised to see her. I caress her face as I look down on her. Her eyes shoot open. She grins a hideous grin. There's a blinding green flash. When I can see again, Clarice is gone. In her place, giggling worms.

"What's going on? Why does this keep happening?" I ask.

"The WORMS are NOT what they SEEM..." the Moon Man says.

The worms melt together and become humanoid. An imp stands before us.

"Clarice is gone,

so your work's not done;

But jump the gun,

and you'll be the one,

Who dies..."

The imp dances away and disappears in the Moon Light. There's something abnormal about this highway. My thoughts are further justified by the body that falls from the sky.

It stands up immediately. The flaming skull. The leather. It was the Ghost Rider.

"I understand everything now..." it says. "I've been a fool."

The Moon Man and I stand in quiet shock.

"He's been here, hasn't he?" the Ghost Rider asks. "The imp?"

"Yes," I say, taking another drag from my cigarette. "Just left."

"The Traveller..." he says, "he showed me much. There's something here that shouldn't be..."

"The MOON says YOU are WRONG..." the Moon Man says. "It SHOULD be HERE..."

"...but it shouldn't be able to interact with us..." I say, unconsciously finishing his sentence.

Another green flash hits immediately. I come to in complete darkness. I know instinctively that I'm alone.

A man approaches me. I recognize him. Clarice's abductor.

"?eciralC ot deneppah tahW !kcaJ, yeH" he says. And then he smiles.

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Judas Traveller stands atop a rock in the middle of a lake. Rain pours down around him. He speaks a name that hasn't been spoken in centuries.

And then he smiles.

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Next Issue: More Wackiness...

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Letters...

Is the Clarice in your Ghost Rider stories the same one that "died" at the
end of The Phalanx Covenant storyline that played out in the X-titles?
Also, who is your Ghost Rider, and is the person with Judas John Blaze? Just
curious, that's all.

Write back soon, and keep writing your stories, I would love to see Clarice
get free from her captor.

Star

Thanks for writing, Star.

The Clarice in my stories is not the one from the Phalanx Covenant. She's my very own creation.

My Ghost Rider is a demon without a human host. I've never been a fan of the "human host" thing, and wanted to eliminate it when I took over. I'm not sure who you mean when you say "the person with Judas." Judas' associate is Mr. Nacht, a carry-over from his Spider-Man appearances. The narrator during the first person segments of the stories is another creation of mine, a human foil for readers to identify with.

I hope I've answered your questions, and I hope you keep reading and writing.

That's it for this issue, ladies and gents.