The Blackburn Family Flashback: Anthropophagites

OR:The Sunset Fields Run Red!

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Anthropophagites

an·thro·poph·a·gist

ˌanTHrəˈpäfəjəst/

noun

rare

plural noun: anthropophagites

a person who eats the flesh of other human beings; a cannibal.

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This is the story of the Blackburn Family's encounter with a crazed cannibalistic community. 

They didn't go for looking for this you understand, not many people would, but these things just kinda happen.

The family; Leonardo Blackburn,  Josephina Stoneshire Blackburn, Gloria Stoneshire, Argos Blackburn, Alessandro Berardinelli, Michelle Blackburn Berardinelli, Tina Berardinelli, and a younger teenaged Derrick Blackburn, were on a road trip to Floweracre, Westfall but due to road closings (Whether they were either due to damage from Super Battles, Weather Problems, A Giant Robot, or just general repair work.), they were forced to take some twisting back roads, eventually leading them to Strongmarsh. They stopped at The Court Barbecue Restaurant, run by the brothers Eustice and Mordecai Jefferson. Surprisingly for this kind of story, they were actually genuinely nice, and treated them to a nice meal and helped them with plotting their routes to get back on the highway. They even warned them about certain roads where there'd been rumors about real weirdos in animal masks scaring drivers on the way. 

They put their heads together and checked the maps and their GPS Scout to find the right roads to take finished their food and drink, got refreshed and filed out to the cars. After double checking their cars to make sure nothing weird had happened, they got on the road again.

As they were driving off together however, one of the restaurant patrons called ahead to some friends of theirs.

They were driving together down Sunny Cider Haven Road and it was smooth sailing for awhile but a Peterbit 359 Armored Semi-Truck began following behind them. This was innocent at first but it just kept following them around the roads and eventually another one joined it and drove up alongside them and began hitting them from the side as  spikes emerged from the center of the trucks tires that acted as a cross between a drill and a chainsaw to shred their cars tires and the truck from behind them sped up and began ramming their cars repeatedly, eventually forcing the cars to spin out and pass over a wide spike strip that finished the damage already done to their cars and destroyed their tires. The family didn't even have a chance to catch their breath and realize what was going on before the trucks backed away and sped up and made a beeline for their trapped cars. The family were forced to evacuate their cars, just in time too, as the trucks smashed into their cars, demolished them and kept coming.

The family picked themselves up and recovered despite their hard landings and the spikes but the trucks were coming back around. So Leonardo Blackburn decided to even the odds and activated his power: Firearm Creation:The ability to generate actual firearm weapons out of energy so long as he knows their mechanisims, construction and atomic makeup. In this case, he generated two heavily modified Smith and Wesson Model 500 double-action revolvers. The bullets his guns fire are also constructed of energy and he can fire endlessly so long as he has the stamina to create them. In this case, he used his guns to fire exploding bullet blasts at the tires, blowing them out and causing them to spin out of control and crash. Leonardo aimed his guns at the trucks and told his family to stay back and keep an eye on the trucks. They weren't going to make a move until the truck drivers stepped out first, just in case they were armed, and if they were, he'd be able to shoot the drivers down first before they could get them, especially with the rest of the family to keep an eye out for him.

It took awhile but the injured drivers eventually crawled out of their trucks, cut, bleeding, battered, and pissed off. One of them tried to shoot him but he was concussed and unsteady from the crash, so Leonardo shot his gun and blew it, and consequently his hands, apart and launched him off of his overturned truck and through the air.As he was falling down, Leonardo shot another blast through the truck, blew open a hole in it, wounded the other driver further with the explosion, and launched the falling man several more feet backwards. Needless to say, he had a very bad landing.

Even Derrick, who'd seen his father practicing with his power on wooden targets before, was shocked into silence at his coldly his father dispatched their would be attackers.

After double-checking to make sure those two drivers were down and out, he turned his guns on the other truck and watched the driver pull himself out.

He dropped his gun when he saw Leonardo pointing his guns at him and held up his hands. Leonardo Blackburn blasted apart the dropped gun and yelled at the man to climb down. Slowly and quietly. The driver fell on his face and the family slowly approached him. The driver spat out dirt, grass, blood and teeth and slowly held up his hands  the family kept their distance and asked the questions: Who were they, why were they doing this, why'd they attack them, who else was with them, etc.

The driver started to explain about their part in capturing the livestock and bringing it to their employers but he was killed by a sniper round to the head.

 Leonardo turned right around and began shooting at the ground, causing small explosions that threw up dirt and grass and fire and most importantly smoke as he yelled at his family to get behind the truck. NOW!

Bullets whizzed by them as the family ran to the other side of the truck. Derrick was grazed by one across his side but his family helped him to hide with them and the gunfire settled down. But the unfortunate fact of the matter was that they were still pinned down and trapped behind the truck by someone they couldn't even see.

While they were pinned down together, Derrick checked his phone and frantically called 911 to report their emergency while his mom checked his wound. While reporting what was going on, the family moved behind the trailer of the truck for better cover and sat down to come up with a plan. They couldn't run around the sides of the truck because the sniper would pick them off right away. They could try running in a straight line but they didn't know the area and there could be someone else out there. Plus, they'd leave themselves exposed in case the sniper flanked them from behind. And Leonardo Blackburn was the only one with guns. Leonardo caught his breath and worked out a plan with the others. As they'd noticed, the guns could cause smokescreens that the sniper couldn't see through and there was a chance they could trick him. If they were able to trick him with that, they could try calculating how far away he was.

However, they had no way of knowing how far away he was right now or even what his position was and the police were still a ways out even if they knew about the sniper. Plus if they just stayed put and did nothing, he could flank them from the sides.

So, they're only option was to outsmart him, have one of them peek around just enough to draw his fire so they could figure out if he was shooting from left or right, and then Leonardo could cause a smokescreen with his bullets. The sniper would shoot through them and they could figure out his angle from there and take him out. The family members were each willing to be the bait despite the danger but Argos shut them down and volunteered himself. He was older than any of them. If things were going to go south, he should be the one to go. No arguments. The family hugged each other and Argos crept along the trailer until he reached the end and he leaned out from the side but only for a moment and a bullet whizzed past him as he leaned back around the truck.

From the way the wind rushed past him, he could say for certainty that he was around the left of the truck. Armed with this knowledge, Leonardo dashed out from the right of the truck, took aim and fired at random spots around the grass and the road, causing small explosions and raising up smoke and dust to hide them. He went into a roll as bullets were fired through the smoke. It wasn't much to go on but it was enough for Leonardo to get a rough estimation of where he was hiding and he aimed and fired in that general direction. After an exchange of gunfire and explosions, the sniper was exposed by a few blasts landing near him and exposed him with small explosions that forced him to move. Leonardo resumed firing on him until he caught the sniper's legs and blew them open.The sniper was sent flying through the air and lost his weapon. Leonardo fired upon him more as he approached the sniper to ensure he wouldn't try anything funny.

With the sniper now royally fucked up, the family was able to safely crawl out from their cover while Leonardo kicked the sniper rifle away and then took a breather to catch his breath from all of the energy he'd expended from the energy bullets. 

Obviously wanting some serious answers by this point, Leonardo stomped on his leg wounds and shoved his guns in the snipers face and demanded to know what the hell was going on!

Derrick took a moment to catch his breath and adjust to the insanity of their situation before cautiously approaching his father and trying to talk him out of blowing the mans head off, amidst arguments from the family about what to do and how they should handle this before ultimately convince Leonardo to stand down and, you know, NOT kill the man since he was already down and out. Leonardo agreed but kept his guns trained on the sniper and he talk them out what was going on: He was the lookout. Insurance in case the 'pickups' went poorly. He didn't even think he'd be needed but since the other guys fucked up, he had to get himself into position and silence the driver before he would talk, then incapacitate the livestock for pickup to The Farm. It didn't take long for The Blackburns to figure out what he meant by Livestock. They questioned just how many friends he had on his farm but he could only tell them that it was a lot. So many of them. All waiting for The Livestock to be delivered. Leonardo was so disgusted he nearly finished him off right then and there but for the pleadings of the family to let the police handle things. If they killed him now, the police wouldn't have any leads to The Farm and this would just keep happening. The truth had to get out. He calmed down and decked the killer and sat down with his family to cool their jets and comfort each other.

Time passed.

The police finally arrived and stepped out of their cruisers and wagon. The family desperately explained what had happened to them and Officer Dwight Cardinali took their statements as Officer Jace Cardoza looked over the bodies alongside Officers Julio Fate, Officer Keith Duggins and Officer Quinton Rentfrow. After getting their statements and finding the sniper on the ground begging for his life, Officer Cardoza waved the family over to get their attention...then blew the snipers brains out as Dwight shot Leonardo Blackburn in the back and the rest of the police pulled their guns on the family! Julio grabbed the sniper rifle and held the family at gunpoint as the family was cuffed, beaten, had hoods forced over their faces, were forced into the back of the cruisers and wagons and then the police took off. To The Farm.

As Leo was bleeding all over the floor in the wagon, he did his best to gather his thoughts on his current situation and what he could possibly do in this situation. A gunshot wound (GSW) to your abdomen may cause damage to your liver, stomach, intestines, colon, or spine. It may also cause damage to your kidneys, bladder, or other structures in your abdomen. You should seek immediate care if blood soaks through your bandage, your wound comes apart, Your arm or leg feels warm, tender, painful and looks swollen and red, you are vomiting blood or what looks like coffee grounds, your abdomen is larger than normal, firm and very painful, you have blood in your urine and you feel weak, dizzy, or faint.

He knew he was going through at least four of those, not helped by the beating he'd taken. He didn't know how many of them were in the wagon with the family, how armed they were or which family members were in here with him. Nevertheless, he had to do something to save his family so he rolled onto his back making a point of moaning in his obvious pain, to the mockery of the officer in there with him, also earning him a hard kick. At least he knew who was in here with him, so he quietly summoned his gun into his hand and the way it manifested, pushing up the cuffs, gave him some wiggle room to slip his hand out, then slid the gun up his back to his wound and he released just enough energy to cauterize it, so at least he'd stop bleeding out from there, then, he damaged his cuffs just enough to weaken them. For now, he remained laying on his back for now until the time was right.

The Corrupt Cops continued to threaten and terrorize them on the way to the farm.

When they finally arrived they were dragged out and grabbed by deranged men and women in animal masks and farm wear and checked out their new livestock and grunted and growled and snorted at each other to freak out their captured prey and got the laydown from their corrupt cop friends that the father had somehow taken out their drivers and the sniper. A pair of them even broke character and freaked out over this and asked questions. When Leonardo refused to talk, he was struck a few times in his wound and dragged off to be tortured while the rest of the family was split up to await slaughter.

In a typical story like this, they would've been screwed.

However. These are The Blackburns.

They never go down without a fight.

The family were thrown into cages and locked up thoroughly by literal Pig Men to await what was coming next while the corrupt cops walked into the house for drinks.

And this was where shit started to go South for all of the killers.

Leonardo was lead to a torture room and sat down in a chair while they discussed which tools to use to kill him. When they looked back however, Leonardo had slipped out of his restraints, generated a gun, pistolwhipped the closest man to him, kept turning, generated his second gun, pistol whipped the next man, kicked the other man in the balls and smashed the guns over the back of his head and kneed him in the face before slumping against the wall.

Wheezing in pain, he forced the gun to his wound and sealed the front side shut. He then crouched down and quietly blew each of their brains out before walking over to a door and slouching down as he tried to gather his strength. He didn't think of the pain or bloodloss or his injuries. He thought only of his family and pulled himself up, kissed his guns and reached for the doorknob and opened it just enough to see a pair of men standing guard and discussing what the new Livestock should be made into. One of them suggested making ground beef out of them but his companion shook his head and explained that you don't cut them all up, you cut up separate parts of them to make the most of their bodies.

Ribs are obvious of course, but you don't go for the brain or liver because that will screw you up. Lungs are great however because they're full of iron. The nervous systems are rich are in carbohydrates. The upper arm is great for slow cooking like you are cooking lamb shanks while the fore arms tough meat is best used for soup. You can make goulash out of the neck, tender steak out of the shoulder, make the middle of the back into bbq steaks. The middle of the loin is good for rib filet while the lower loin makes for a perfect T-bone. The lower back on either side of the loin muscles is an excellent rump roast. Legs are tough though, they're a slow cook and you'd be best served making them into stew, roast or Osso Bucco. So, you don't waste. You cut up the Livestock and you cook them right.

His friend took a deep breath and nodded, surprised by how much he had to learn from the cooks. His friend patted him on the back and assured him he'd show him the ropes.

Leonardo then shot him in the back of the head and then shot his friend in the knee and dragged him back into the torture room, soon followed by his dead friend, locked the door and approached the crying cannibal with his guns ready.

Derrick meanwhile was locked up in a cage in a dimly lit room and stuck trying to figure out a plan while speaking with the other prisoners and trying to find his family. However the prisoners were in horrible condition due to various injuries inflicted upon them by The Animales. Not only physically but mentally as well. Fortunately, he was also answered by Tina who was just as freaked out over their circumstances as Derrick. Still, he assured her they would get out of this. One way or another they would escape. They were not dying here. No way in hell. If he could just reach it.

Being tough as nails isn't his dad's only trick. He's smart too and had special pockets sewn under seams in their jeans. Now he just had to reach it. After a lot of fumbling, Derrick finally managed to get it and slowly slid out a lockpick. With his hands cuffed behind his back it was difficult to pick them but not impossible and after some trial and error he managed to get them off and got to work on the lock of the cage. The others were split on insisting that he stay put not to piss off the guards and getting out to get them the hell out of there. Tina was in the latter camp, quietly cheering her cousin on until he could finally get the lock to pop open and then he kicked open the door and slid out with the cuffs. He found his way over to Tina's cage by her voice and got to work on her own cage when they heard something a door slam open and something heavy entering the room. Derrick continued working on the cage lock as a shadow entered the room and the rest of the prisoners wept and backed up against the backs of their cages as much as they could and the shadow fell upon him just as Derrick was getting the lock open. Seeing the look in Tina's eyes, Derrick turned around and swung at their assailant, punching him across the face and receiving a painful backhand in response that sent him sliding across the floor. Derrick spat blood onto the floor and rolled over to see the guard stomping towards him.

He was big. Very big.And a Pig. A Pig Man Butcher.

 After the killer slammed down on Tina's cage and howled at the other prisoners to stay put, he advanced on Derrick who'd pulled himself together and got ready for a fight.

Derrick spent most of their fight on the defensive, dodging him, hitting him and running again, but despite his kickboxing skills he was having a great deal of trouble even hurting him and he was not only taller and considerably bulkier than Derrick but also armed while he wasn't. The only thing Derrick had was his speed and agility, so he focused on trying his hit and run tactics until the Pig finally caught him and Derrick was swiftly beaten bloody by the unrelenting savagery of the pig, pulled up, slammed down on top of the cage and then the pig roared and tried to swing the butcher knife down on him. Derrick struggled to hold his arm off while it was pushing the knife down on him and he squirmed and kicked at it until Tina ran over, pulled one of the remaining knives from its waist and she frantically began slashing at it, wounding the pig man and taking its focus off of Derrick, who kicked it away from him. Derrick rolled off of the cage and coughed and gasped for breath.

 He didn't have long to rest however as the pig man roared and charged them both again, knocking the pair around some more until Derrick grabbed one of the blades and began clashing with him. They still couldn't overpower him but thanks to his smaller size and better speed, Derrick was able to cut gashes into him while Tina was distracting him, with the two switching on a dime when needed. Eventually they wore him down enough for Derrick to slam the Butcher Knife into his shoulder and bash his face into the floor until he dropped. The pair then dragged him into the cage and threw him inside before securing it. Derrick then fell against the cage and took a minute to catch his breath while Tina rubbed her face and hugged her cousin.

Once she was feeling better, she took the keys from the pig man and got to work on freeing the prisoners while Derrick rested and they distributed what knives the pig man had on him to the prisoners who were in good enough condition to fight.Derrick pulled himself up and they started walking to the exit when their path was blocked by another pair of lunatics.

Derrick, barely able to stand as it was, motioned for the others to get back, let these guys come to them...and whispered a prayer to his parents.

They bantered with the chainsaw men in an effort to buy as much time as possible but their time was swiftly running out.

 Back in the torture house, Leonardo walked out of the room now wearing the animal man's outfit over his own along with the man's mask. The others joked about the blood and screaming they heard and he motioned for them to go take a look at the body. They walked in to find the corpses and were all shot down from behind before Leonardo turned back around and shot the rest.

He slumped over briefly before forcing himself upright again. He felt heavy. His body felt heavy. He'd been letting off big shots all day along and on top of that he was still injured. No matter. He didn't feel it. The only thing that mattered was his family. Leonardo walked across the torture house to see a small group of Animal Mask Men walking to the house Derrick and Tina were being kept in and readied his guns. He waited until they were all just about inside the door before advancing out, calling out to them, waving and then shooting them down. There was a small exchange of gunfire but Leonardo emerged victorious.

Inside of the house's top floor there was one hell of a fight going on. Derrick, Tina and the prisoners were fighting for their lives against chainsaw wielding madmen. It wasn't going well. Derrick was tired, the prisoners were in bad shape and they were insufficiently armed, only barely managing to hang in there due to maneuvering around the room. Just as they were being cornered The Chainsaw Brothers were distracted due to all of the gunfire and explosions outside, giving Derrick a chance to stab the brother fighting him, Horace, and slash open his arm and slamming Horace's own chainsaw down on his leg, causing his brother, Bryar, to fly into a rage and attack Derrick who frantically defended himself with the chainsaw but he was quickly backed into a corner.

Tina ran to his aid and stabbed him in the back and he broke off  of attacking Derrick and swung his chainsaw around in a circle as the two dived out of the way. He attacked them like a madman swinging his chainsaw wildly as they clashed and the prisoners grew sick of waiting and charged him to defend the two kids and with all of them fighting him together they were able to wound him further and disarm him and kick him down the stairs where Derrick leaped down and finished him off: https://youtu.be/iS7v4tvt-fk?t=2m33s

Derrick laid on the stairs and the rest of the group slumped down to recover and Tina rubbed her cousin's back. They fist bumped and tried to think of a plan. Derrick had nothing. He was just wanted to go to a hospital and sleep forever.

Behind them however the other chainsaw brother stood up, revved his chainsaw and waved it into the air as he screamed in rage at them and started to swing it around before the door was kicked down, Leonardo yelled at them all to get down and blew the chainsaw wielding madmen away and embraced his son and Tina tightly. 

They got caught up on what was going on and what happened so far: The kids starting a rebellion and taking out some psychopaths and Leonardo tearing his way through a small army. Tina asked what he really did to the bad guys and Leonardo just advised the kids to keep their eyes closed on the way out.

He took them into the bathroom and fumbled around until they could find some bandages, band-aids and what else they could find and did what they could to clean up the kids, the prisoners and lastly Leonardo himself and then got ready to go find the others while Derrick washed his face and tried and tried to stay awake.

 After cleaning up the kids injuries and treating the other prisoners the best they could, Leonardo grabbed some adrenaline and pocketed them and then took a breather to comfort everyone and to come up with a plan.

Meanwhile, Josephina Stoneshire Blackburn, Gloria Stoneshire and Michelle Blackburn Berardinelli were forced to walk at gunpoint to a back house, against orders to take them to the slaughterhouse by the way, being insulted and jeered at the entire time. The three of them stoically withstood it as they waited for their moment.

When inside, they were jeered at, poked and prodded and checked out before being split up and dragged to different rooms.

But this isn't some Lambs Have Teeth, 13 Reasons or Spit On Your Grave bullshit.

These are Blackburns. They're fighters.

It is time, dear reader, that I cleared something up. The Blackburns are warriors.
Leonardo and Josephina have military training: Special Operations Agents, Spec Ops Division.
Gloria Stoneshire had police training and her idea of a good time was cage fighting.
Michelle Blackburn Berardinelli? Ex-Ninja Jewel Thief! 😆

So needless to say, the crazed cannibals had no clue what they were up against this time around.

Josephina waited until the thugs were closing the door and their backs were turned before breaking her cuffs and going on the attack. She struck the first person in the throat as hard as she could, crushing his larynx. Following such a strike, the airway will close. CPR is not possible. Only surgical opening of the airway, a tracheotomy, and prompt medical attention will save the individual. He had time for none of these. Her foot lashed out and she kicked the next man in the pelvis, delivering a bone breaking blow. 

What are the possible complications of a pelvic fracture you ask? 

The risk of complications depends on the severity of the injury. The pelvic bones themselves generally heal well and full mobility usually returns after healing has occurred, although there are some exceptions to this.

Severe pelvic fractures are life-threatening injuries. The greatest risk is due to immediate blood loss, particularly in the period before emergency care begins. Other possible early complications (within the first few days to weeks) include infection, wound healing problems, blood clots, further bleeding, and damage to internal organs.

These complications can occur in a lesser extent in more serious but stable fractures. They are not associated with avulsion fractures or stress fractures.

The medium- to long-term complications of pelvic fractures are mainly seen after complex, unstable fractures. They include:

Ongoing pain. Pain is a natural part of the healing process. However, chronic pain can occasionally develop and may need specialist management.

Limp: you may walk with a limp for several months, particularly if the muscles around your pelvis were damaged. These muscles may take a whole year to become strong again.

The nerves and blood vessels involved in sexual pleasure are inside the pelvis. If these are damaged this can lead to erectile problems in men and to problems with arousal and orgasm in women.

Where there is nerve damage at the time of pelvic fracture, some nerve damage will remain and may affect your long-term mobility. The severity will vary depending on precisely what has happened. Long-term physiotherapy and rehabilitation with walking aids may help things improve slowly.

When the fracture runs through the hip socket this can leave the hip joint working less well. This can affect mobility too, and further surgery might be needed.

Healing after any injury is generally better for those who are younger and fitter. Elderly patients who have reduced muscle strength and fitness, and who then become immobile after stable pelvic fractures, are generally less likely to return to full fitness after a long period of being 'off their feet'. This is particularly the case if they have previously existing problems with balance, or other health issues.

With those two down she turned her attention on the third man and kicked him hard enough to break his jaw and then she kicked him thrice more in the face, neck and chest. He was knocked on his ass moaning in pain.

Next, Josephina took the man's own knife and, while pretending to scream in pain and horror herself to keep the men outside distracted, grabbed the man and slit his throat and then proceeded to take out the others. She grabbed their guns next, tucked the knife into her belt and got ready.

Gloria meanwhile had picked her own cuffs while one of the men was looking her over and she took a big bite out of his neck, grabbed his arm and stabbed him in the throat and then she pulled it out and flung it at the closest thug before turning the first man to face them and stealing his gun and shooting the third man in the knees and tossed the first man to the floor. She dragged the third man across the floor and stomped the second man in the throat until he died. She then took her knife back and slammed the second man on the bed, covered his mouth and held the knife to his neck.

It was time for answers.

That left Michelle Berardinelli. She didn't have Leo's powers, sure, but she was fast. Frighteningly so.
Fast enough that, while one of them kept her at gunpoint and his companions were closing the door, she'd already slipped out of her cuffs, smacked him with his own gun and stole his knife and slit his throat before her cuffs had hit the floor. The other two didn't even have time to process this before she rushed them down, pushed down one of their guns and slit his throat and then she killed the man next to him just as easily.

Michelle collected the guns and creaked the door open and peered outside. A number of men were rushing towards the rooms due to hearing the gunshots and the women were ready.


All Hell Broke Loose.

That leaves us with Alessandro Berardinelli and Grampa Argos Blackburn.

Well. They'd been lead to the slaughterhouse to be butchered for meat first.

The cannibals had no idea who they were up against.

The moment they took their eyes off of Alessandro he vanished and his cuffs clattered to the ground. The men looked around in shock and confusion and held Argos at gunpoint and demanded to know where Alessandro went. Argos just ignored them even with a rifle in his face. Seconds later the lights started breaking above them, distracting the men. Argos then leaped into action, snapped his cuffs and grabbed the rifle and shoved it backwards hard enough to break the nose of the man holding it and knocking him on his ass. He then shoved it up at the next closest man and broke his teeth and then he punched the next man into the air. Alessandro then shot the thugs from behind and slit one of their throats as Argos turned the rifle around and opened fire.

The gunfight erupted around the slaughterhouse and inevitably the two emerged victorious.

Once they were sure they were safe, Alessandro and Argos set on freeing the prisoners by shooting out the generator that had previously electrified their cages.

Weapons were handed out to the able bodied fighters.

All this gunfire around the farm did not go unnoticed of course.

Thaddeus Brannon, the leader of this deranged gang stood up and took notice of it all as a thunderstorm started up.

After listening to where the gunfire was coming from, he deemed that the storage house, torture house and slaughterhouse were lost. He was surprised to hear the gunfire coming from one of his guest houses though and made a note to have a talk with his men if any were left alive there. Thaddeus ran down their options: He couldn't call The Jackals for reinforcements, they'd take too long to get there. His police were already there and if the others found out about what went on at the farm they'd be finished. A number of his men were already dead.

Sooo they would have to fight. Everyone was already splitting up to the various houses so he'd have to make do. He told everyone still inside to arm up and fortify themselves inside. Call the Jackals anyway and tell them about the Blackburns, just in case this goes South. He was going to go wake up his sons: Reid & Brenton.

Even his own men protested the two of them being woken up, especially while their own boys were outside, but they had no other choice. They needed the Blackburns dead and his sons were their best weapons. He walked downstairs to the cellar and he popped open the locks and opened the doors and climbed downstairs and told his sons it was time to get to work.

Meanwhile, Leonardo's group crept around the farm towards the guest house since that was closest and they had to save them. The echoes of gunfire guided them towards the guest house.

Leonardo waited around the corner and then jumped inside guns ready...and he was met by the guns of three pissed off women. Leonardo immediately de-materialized his guns and held up his hands and greeted his loving beautiful wife. She giggled and lowered her shotgun and Leonardo called in the others. The family reunited and hugged and kissed each other.

Of course, it didn't take long for them to notice the injuries the kids had and Josephina and Michelle were immediately enraged and demanded answers but they explained all the butt kicking they did and Leo saving them and teaming up with the other prisoners there...while Leo collapsed in a chair, panting from exhaustion and sweating like Bakken. They got him some water and an ice pack to help him relax. Too many bullets. Wounds. Blood loss. Worrying for his family. It had been a long day.

After a minute of rest however he was able to pull himself back up, hugged his loved ones and pulled himself together, chugged down some ice water and poured the rest on top of himself and got ready to go. They walked together to the slaughterhouse while keeping an eye out for any more lunatics and the family reunited with Alessandro and Argos and the other captives.

Everyone regrouped at the guest house since it was easily defensible, even more so when they blocked the downstairs entrances with furniture and shelves and then the adults covered the floors with the bodies of the other lunatics (Ensuring both a psychological edge and a solid distraction should they break in) and sat down together upstairs and formed a strategy.

With Leo resting in a bathroom, only one way in or out, their best bet was to wait it out. Let the lunatics come to them first. If they were going to start a fight, they would have to come upstairs to get them, and they could defend the staircase and watch the windows easily in here. Argos agreed to be the one who protects the kids.

Everyone took positions and got ready to fight.

They didn't have to wait long before Rampage Reid attacked the house by smashing through the door and the bookshelf that had been placed in front of it, knocking away the furniture that had been placed in front of that and he began stomping over the corpses. But such a flashy and loud entrance gave away his position.

He took a hailstorm of bullets and he was pushed back and he was knocked over.

For about a minute before he got right back up and kept coming. He was met with more gunfire. Same result. Bullet after bullet impacted his body and blood spurted from his wounds but it didn't seem like it was enough to put him down! Things got worse when Butcher Boss Brenton ran in, grabbed Reid and he started walking forward using his brother as a human shield. Even headshots weren't dropping him. The rest of the cannibals began pouring in through the doorway, fortunately stumbling over the broken furniture and dead bodies, giving the family a chance to split their focus on the thugs and the brothers. Brenton then shoved his brother aside and raced up the stairs, leaped into the air and swung his machete down at Josephina who dodged him, blocked his follow up slash with the rifle and she was quickly forced onto the defensive by his wild swings and raw strength. Fortunately once she rolled free they were free to unload bullets into him. They hurt him more than his brother but he still kept coming and the big guy got up and he attacked them, smashing floors and the walls while the lunatics poured in and ran to the stairs.

It was then that Argos, after securing the kids, ran back into the house and opened fire on them. Alessandro then struck and threw the smaller brother into a home and he took him on directly. This gave the rest of the group a chance to refocus on the gunfight and Argos took on the bigger brother directly.

Despite Reid being even bigger and stronger than Argos, he was covered with bullet wounds whereas Argos was relatively fresh in comparison and Argos knew exactly how to hurt. And, most importantly, Argos hits like a truck.Literally every hit lifted the giant man off of the ground from the impact.

Meanwhile, Alessandro dodged around the younger brother while landing hits with relative impunity, easily out maneuvering him around the room until he finally got him down long enough to shoot out his eyes and then unloaded the rest of his handgun bullets into the man's head.

But even that didn't put him down! Despite bleeding from his eyes, body and forehead, he still got up and lunged at Alessandro, grabbed him, knocked him over and then Alessandro fell back and kicked up his feet and tossed the man across the room, past the barricade and through the window. Brenton fell two stories onto his back and Argos was eventually forced back over the railing down to the floor. He was dragged out by the others under a hail of gunfire.

The firefight halted as the family and the cannibals were pretty much a standstill: The cannibals couldn't advance through the broken doorway without getting shot due to the bottlenecked nature of it  and the dead bodies tripping them up and the family having the higher ground on them, and they couldn't get through the other entrances without giving away their position. Meanwhile the family was grabbing any and all dropped weapons and playing the waiting game.

Josephina checked on Leonardo who was recovering well enough now that he'd finally had a chance to close his eyes and rest. He did joke with his wife about missing out on all the fun though. As they got caught up on the situation, Argos checked on the kids who were still huddling together in the closet. They hugged their grandfather and he assured them everything was fine and that this would be over very soon.

They stepped out and sat down with the rest of their family. Right now they had the advantage. The cannibals would have to come after them and to do that they would have to climb up. Their best bet right now would be to wait them out, let the lunatics come to them and light them up, going outside would be too risky right now.

The cannibals meanwhile were freaking out. None of their victims had fought like this before. Most of their men were dead, the brothers had been fucked up, the Blackburns were stealing an armory off of them and they still had no clue as to just how the hell the father had been blowing their men apart in the first place! They frantically tried to come up with some kind of plan as the brothers wheezed and moaned in pain as the bullets were slowly pushed out of their bodies along with blood bursting from them.

The storm grew louder and boomed across the sky as rain and lightning rained down on the farm. With all this rain, smoking the family out was out of the question now and the cannibals took refuge inside the barn.

 Thaddeus Brannon wept and comforted his sons and sang to them, even as their wounds healed. They rocked against their father until the pain stopped. Brenton was stuck fumbling around for longer time until his eyesight finally returned. Enraged over his sons being hurt so badly like this he slammed his hands down and roared that the Blackburns would die this night. He didn't care how bad the storm was, how much the heavens raged against them, the family would not leave here alive!

After a rousing speech to his men, he came up with a new plan: A three way attack. Reid would circle around and break through the wall from behind and lead in a group of them to attack from there and the others would attack from the front and Brenton would climb up and break through the windows and attack the second floor. Kill them all. No mercy. No stopping. Kill them all.

As The Blackburns were readying themselves again, Thaddeus's men carried out the attack. Reid exploded through the wall and lead the charge while another group poured in from the front, forcing the Blackburns to split their forces.

The firefight resumed and Brenton took this chance to follow his father's orders and he used the knives and his raw strength to climb up the wall and break down the window and attacked the children. Derrick leaped to defend Tina.

Despite Derrick's martial arts skills, vigor and being surprisingly strong for a teenager, Derrick was still outmatched by the raw strength and savagery of the madman.

Tina shot the man from behind to limited effect and he tossed Derrick aside and moved on her. She emptied the clip into him but he smacked it aside and attacked her. Unfortunately, Tina didn't fair any better than Derrick but, it was in that moment, when he was seeing his cousin being strangled to death that Derrick completely snapped and howled in rage and rushed the madman, football tackled him away from her and unloaded on him like a berserk animal, his screams of rage echoing around the house. Even when he was pushed off, Derrick leaped right back on top of him and hit him with everything he had left.

Okay, minus the chest rip, but it legitimately knocked the madman on his ass long enough for Leonardo to come in, jab the adrenaline needles into his body to give himself a recharge and then materialized two new guns: The Reapers. Essentially the hellspawn of .454 Casulls and Micro Uzis, with functionally limitless ammo so long as he has the stamina to keep supplying them. Not recognizing the danger of such weapons, Brenton charged him but Leonardo calmly charged up his guns and began shooting rapidly, blowing several large holes clean through the man's body, throwing him across the room, into a wall and then he just kept shooting him until he blew his limbs off and then finishing him off with a powered up shot to the head and a drop kick through the wall.

There wasn't a whole left for him to regenerate from by the time Brentons remains hit the ground.

Leonardo spat down towards his remains and then checked on the kids who wept as he embraced them.

After this he swapped places with Michelle and stepped out to finish this. With his powers firing on all cylinders again, the battle was basically won. His energized bullets tore apart the thugs and even Reid was overwhelmed with ease and forced to run away after being riddled with holes and losing an arm and other chunks of his body. The rest of the goons, those that were still alive, were forced to run for their lives, leaving the corrupt cops to their fates.

Argos grabbed their ringleader and lifted him into the air and proceeded to ragdoll him around the guest house for shooting his son and threatening his loved ones. Argos beat him to a bloody pulp but left him alive to tell his fellow officers of everything he'd done. The rest received a similar treatment.

Speaking of treatment, the family tended to their injured and Leonardo and Alessandro stepped out to chase the rest down and finish this.

At this point though, the cannibals's spirits had been utterly broken and they were reduced to firing blindly in a panic and begging the family to go away and leave them alone. Flat out begging and pleading with them. The ones that tried to fight back were swiftly cut down by gunfire as the place was turned into a hellzone with vehicles and objects around the barn exploding into flames. 

The last of them broke down and surrendered hysterically crying and screaming for mercy.

Derrick poked his head to find his dad and through all of the fire and rain and lightning he saw his father standing over them. The storm was roaring overhead and the farm was burning to the ground and these hardened criminals were dying and burning and pleading and his father stood there like....a stranger.

As if sensing his son was watching however, he lowered his guns and just settled for knocking their lights out one at a time.

Thaddeus meanwhile struggled to help his son to his car as he moaned in pain. The five men he had left were trembling and whimpering behind him.

Miraculously he had almost reached the car when a shadowy figure materialized in front of it and the car burst into flames and the lightning bolts of the sky rained down and struck at the ground around the farm. They couldn't see it too clearly but it was very tall, feminine in figure with blazing red eyes that horrified them to their core. The figure approached them calmly and they frantically opened fire on it to no avail. It just strolled through the storm of bullets like they weren't even there.

Reid roared in defiance and leaped at it only to be torn in half before anybody could blink. His two halves were dropped to the ground and the woman reduced his skull to pulp with a simple stomp.

She then tore the rest apart like tissue paper in seconds until she grabbed Thaddeus, crushed his wrists, snapped his legs and dragged him over to the fire as it erupted into the sky. She held him in front of it and slowly, calmly, whispered into his ear.
"Er gehört zu mir. Derrick gehört mir. Verbrennen Sie für Ihre Übertretungen alter Mann."
The boy is mine. Derrick is mine. Burn for your transgressions old man.

She then shoved him face first into the blazing wreckage of his own vehicle

They heard him screaming and ran over to get a look at it and found only the pieces of his men, Reid and the old man burning alive. With no way to help him they silently turned around and walked back to the guest house.

The storm began clearing up overhead and the family regrouped and hugged each other and the other survivors. It had been a hellish night but they'd survived.

The family got in touch with real law enforcement and called them to the farm. The beaten criminals were heavily bound along with the corrupted law officials.

Derrick and Tina got cleaned up and breathed huge sighs of relief as they laid down in a spare room. Derrick tried to relax as the adrenaline died down but he could've sworn there was someone else in the room with them. At least until the sirens closed in on the farm.

The police got the stories straight from the family and the survivors and the criminals begged to be taken to prison just to get away from the family and the corrupt cops begged for forgiveness. A thorough search of the farm revealed all of the murders, corpses of the victims and mutilated remains of their previous victims in refrigerators....along with all of the dead bodies of the cannibals.

An open and shut case of self-defense of course...with only the small hiccup of the fact that they had no way to explain what the hell happened to Thaddeus and his other son.

To this day, Derrick still questions that.

As you can imagine, the family went through quite a bit of therapy, and hospital time, after this, in between being hailed as heroes for tearing apart the Cannibal Clan Conspiracy.

Eventually, Derrick and Tina sat down with their family and asked for some real answers as to how the hell they did all of that.

So? They explained it.

Let's just say, not all superheroes wear capes. 

Except Alessandro. He was a vigilante for awhile.

"Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."

Part 2 of the story, featuring the Jackals Siege, coming soon! At some point!

UNTIL THEN!

6-15-18-5-22-5-18 13-25 12-15-22-5.