Concerning Bycatch: Chapter 8

 

First Chapter
Index

    Beyond the locked door was just what the professor had said: a long, dark hallway.

    The passage stretched away into the murky distance, numerous etched doorways branching off to either side. The wall-mounted candles were here too, running in even rows and casting little pools of dim, flickering light. Luigi closed the entrance to the foyer behind him and waited, ready to face the next wave of ghosts, but for the first time that evening there really did seem to be nothing. After a few long moments he clipped the Poltergust nozzle back into its holster and reached for the Gameboy Horror.

    The study E. Gadd had pointed out flashed dully on the screen, a key shaped emblem spinning slowly in front of it. It was the second right hand door in the hall. He made his way to it quickly and began coaxing the lock, keeping one eye on the dark expanse to his left.

    After a few moments of fiddling the door swung inward with a low, deep-throated creak.
 

Concerning Bycatch: Chapter 7

First Chapter
Index

    Mario’s position was not improving much.

    Ghosts were no longer an issue. They were still present, cropping up in practically every chamber he entered, but for some reason they seemed to have developed an unholy terror of his presence. All he had to do was poke his nose into a room and the majority of them would scatter like so much wind-blown tissue paper. There were a brave few who still tried to attack him, but even these would shrivel back and vanish before breaching a six-foot radius around his person.

    It was helpful, yes, but also exceedingly unnerving.

    Nothing had changed since his escape from the dungeon, at least nothing he knew of, and definitely nothing that should trigger this kind of response. So the question was, why was it happening? No answer he came up with made any sense. No comforting answers anyways.

Concerning Bycatch: Chapter 6

 

First Chapter
Index

  Luigi wasn't sure what he had expected when the professor offered to help him. One thing was for certain, though, it hadn't been this.

  At first E.Gadd had put together a field kit. In addition to the device--which looked for all the world like some sort of vacuum cleaner--he had given him a set of emergency tools, five or six mansion keys, the rest of the mushroom drops, a more powerful flashlight, and some sort of tablet called a 'Gameboy Horror'. Each of these items had been stashed in a storage compartment on the vacuum, and Luigi should have been ready to go.

  How he had gone from that to being locked in the professor's cellar was something Luigi was still figuring out.

Concerning Bycatch: Chapter 5

 

First Chapter
Index

  The mansion was in chaos.

  Mario was loose, a pair of beasts had taken up residence in the south wing; the human called Comet was rampaging around the halls, making herself a living terror to the lesser ghosts and the other girl had set up some sort of fortress in the council room and utterly refused to move.

  Naturally, that was about when the final guest arrived, and he had the distinct honor of being the first to use the front door.

Concerning Bycatch - Chapter 4

 First Chapter
Index

   Novi sprinted down the halls, breathing hard and reasonably dissatisfied.


   Her sister’s steps pounded ahead of her, always a turn or two away.
   “Wai- wait up!” called Novi.
   Why didn’t she stop? 
   “This way!” shouted Comet, just as Novi passed another doorway. She skidded and turned back.
   “You have to stop!” she shouted “Stop!”
   There was no response, just the sound of boots on stone.


    Novi whipped around the frame and yelled as her next step hit air. She panicked, throwing herself back, trying to break the forward momentum. Her foot hit ground again and slipped, sending her sliding down the next three steps of a long, stone staircase.

Illustration - Dark Hallways

I should not have drawn this.

There is so much writing stacked up for me to work on right now: Concerning Bycatch is still running full steam, paving the way for writing full length novels of my own; I've officially begun work on Aunt Lira's Stuffy, which I intend to publish by the end of the year; and there's a whole shoal of short stories floating around my head, just waiting to be preened and polished for submission to various writing magazines.

So of course I work on art.
I mean, it only counts as procrastination if you have nothing to show for it, right?

This piece is actually the back-drop for a much bigger project. I'll lay out more details whenever I get around to working on this properly, but for now, I'll just say it's another animation attempt. Even though I really didn't have time to be making stuff like this now I'm glad to have it done, if only because it moves the project from the realm of 'potentially good idea' to 'project to be done in the future' even if it takes a while to get around to it. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, and even that small shift feels very good.

Concerning Bycatch - Chapter 3

 

First Chapter
Index

  King boo hovered at the head of the procession as his prized prisoner was dragged through the halls.

 How the tables had turned, and after such an evening of unnecessary discomfort. The great Mario had delivered himself up on a silver platter, things couldn't have turned out much better than this.  The king was so exuberant he almost didn't mind the mud being tracked across the fine (if a bit dusty) carpet. Though that would need to be dealt with sooner than later; it wouldn't do to leave a trail for their next 'guest' to follow.