Episode 49 : Fate or Choice?

Skeleton General Skull Kaiser
(The Dark)

Skull Kaiser, formerly one of Samhain's greatest generals, stages a rebellion against impossible odds. The fate of countless worlds rests upon his ability to protect the Loss Queen and beat back her assailants. Along the way he is forced to fight old friends and make new allies...

Episode 49 : Fate or Choice?

Richard Shields is sitting at his desk reading over numerous interview notes and becoming more and more frustrated. His case load has increased and the nature of his work is rather depressing. Patients contemplating suicide, contemplating murder or some other violence. Nobody in the scope of his work is happy, nobody seems well, nobody seems willing to blame him or herself, it's always the fault of some other outside agent. On the other hand, there were some who were willing to take responsibility for their actions, but the one in particular that came to mind was a man who claimed to be the King of Mars defeated in his invasion attempt by a boy and his stuffed rabbit—clearly delusional. And yet, there were circumstances beyond anyone's control that brought about otherwise unexpected reactions, which brought out the worst in people (and possibly the best, but Shields's line of work didn't much expose him to the latter sort). These ruminations brought about the thinking that had begun to haunt him lately. He'd had a revelation that the world was in fact what you made it, but now he was having second thoughts and he wondered if he were having those because he was just too weak to take control. He didn't have an answer, but he was growing more despondent and more desperate—it all seemed useless.

We cut to a flashback of the end of the previous episode, continuing on where Jennifer tentatively asks what Gordon said to Shields about her. He tells her that he's to stop socializing with her and reduce his participation in their relationship to business-only. She is flustered by this and says that Gordon can't say that. Shields just looks at her incredulously before saying that if there's anyone who has a right, it's Gordon. Then he says that he didn't realize that he was so obvious. Once again, Jennifer looks a little shocked and then she blushes furiously before clumsily backing out of the room.

We cut back to regular time. Shields is looking out the window at the sunset. He collects his coat to leave for the day and goes looking for Gordon to report. Not finding him, he finds out from one of the pool secretaries that Gordon left mid-morning and hadn't come back all day. With that, Shields shrugs and takes his leave of the office.

We cut to Shields sitting in a dark, somewhat crowded bar, sipping at a drink and looking rather sullen. A boisterous man stumbles by with some friends and almost knocks Shields from his stool. The drunk stops and turns to Shields asks him what his problem is, shoving like that. Shields narrows his eyes with incredulity and simply says with disgust, "Excuse me? Oh yes, that's right, I saw you coming and made sure to put my stool in your way." The stools are all sunk into the concrete floor, which makes this all the more ridiculous. As he turns back to the bar, he tells the man he's drunk, to try to find his way home without hurting anyone and sleep it off. The drunk lets his friends continue on, grabs Shields by the shoulder, wheels him around, and slugs him in the face. As Shields reels from the punch, we go into slow motion where his expression of shock and confusion transforms immediately to rage. He slams his back against the bar, wipes a trickle of blood from his nose, and as he looks at the blood on his hand, he bares his clenched teeth and leaps for the drunk. Shields inadvertently blocks another punch thrown by the drunk as he grabs a handful of hair on the side of the drunk's head to steady it for a nasty, bloody, nose-crunching punch from his right fist. Blood and, indeed, a number of teeth, erupt from the drunk's face as he goes down, his eyes rolling up white into his head. Shields is hunkered over from just having delivered the blow; he's panting and looks a lot like an animal. His eyes track upwards to the drunk's friends who decide not to make an issue of this. They reach down for their friend and cart him off through the crowd and the noise. Shields stands up, composes himself, and looks at his hands disbelievingly. Did he just do that? He's shocked and at first disgusted, but then a slight smile creases his lips as he pays for his drink, takes his coat, and leaves.

To Be Continued...