Praise for A.P. Fuchs’s Axiom-man™
“Axiom-man is that unique breed of superhero that seems almost lost amid today’s gaggle of the dark and tormented. He’s nice, he cares, and his strength comes not from his fantastic powers, but from his soul. A.P. Fuchs has written a defining superhero novel.”
- Frank Dirscherl, author/creator of The Wraith
“Reading Axiom-man is refreshing, like reading about the early days of Peter Parker, but with a cooler villain as well.”
- Jon Klement, author/creator of Rush and the Grey Fox
“Axiom-man was well worth reading and recommending. The broad appeal is amazing—from youth to adult, guys and girls. Superheroes might just become my thing.”
- Susan Kirkland, reviewer, Calhoun Times
“Fuchs brings to life a wonderfully imaginative hero we can all relate to . . . . If you’re looking for something different, something truly creative, yet filled with action, look no further. Axiom-man is the end of your search.”
- David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant
“I found myself picking the book up at various points in the day, just to read a little more.”
- Darryl Sloan, author of Ulterior and Chion
“Plenty of surprising twists and turns in this highly enjoyable story. It’ll leave you wanting more. Axiom-man is a delightfully human superhero with true depth and spirituality.”
- Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened
“If you’re an action fan with moral sensibilities you’ll not just enjoy Axiom-man, you’ll wish you were he.”
- Frank Creed, author of Flashpoint
“If you dig superhero tales that are loaded with action and fun, look no further.”
- Nick Cato, Horror Fiction Review
“A must read that I cannot recommend enough.”
- Joe Kroeger, Horror World
* * * *
Also by A.P. Fuchs
Undead World Trilogy
Blood of the Dead
The Axiom-man™ Saga
(listed in reading order)
Axiom-man
Episode No. 0: First Night Out
Doorway of Darkness
Episode No. 1: The Dead Land
City of Ruin
Of Magic and Men (comic book)
OTHER Fiction
A Stranger Dead
A Red Dark Night
April (writing as Peter Fox)
Magic Man (deluxe chapbook)
The Way of the Fog (The Ark of Light Vol. 1)
Devil’s Playground (written with Keith Gouveia)
On Hell’s Wings (written with Keith Gouveia)
Zombie Fight Night: Battles of the Dead
ANTHOLOGIES (as editor)
Dead Science
Elements of the Fantastic
Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes: Zany Zombie Poetry for the Undead Head
Non-fiction
Book Marketing for the
Financially-challenged Author
Poetry
The Hand I’ve Been Dealt
Haunted Melodies and Other Dark Poems
Still About A Girl
* * * *
AXIOM-MAN EPISODE NO. 0: FIRST NIGHT OUT
by
A.P. FUCHS
Published by Coscom Entertainment at Smashwords.com
This book is also available as a paperback at your favorite online retailer like Amazon.com
or through your local bookstore.
* * * *
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-897217-72-6
Axiom-man and all other related characters are Trademark ™ and Copyright © 2007 by Adam P. Fuchs. All rights reserved.
Axiom-man Episode No. 0: First Night Out is Copyright © 2007 by Adam P. Fuchs. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce in whole or in part in any form or medium.
Published by Coscom Entertainment
www.coscomentertainment.com
Text set in Garamond
eBook Edition
Cover pencils and inks by Justin Shauf
Cover colors by Kyle Zajac
Edited by Ryan C. Thomas
* * * *
To my sister, Kara, who taught me it’s not who you were that matters,
but the value of who you are after a new beginning.
* * * *
AXIOM-MAN EPISODE NO. 0: FIRST NIGHT OUT
* * * *
Prologue
Gabriel Garrison stood before his hallway mirror, shaking.
How did I—But he already knew the answer. This whole night had been a whirlwind, one that began with the blinding blue-white light of the messenger without a name.
Just moments before, he had returned home after . . . flying. After smashing mammoth wooden beams on a railcar into splinters. Things that human beings couldn’t do. But those weren’t the strangest happenings this night, as bizarre as they were. Upon returning home he had gone into the bathroom to rinse his hands and rid the skin of its dryness from the dirty beams. It was then he noticed himself in the mirror—the blue eyes, including pupils and whites—and the light blue sheen to his normally dark brown hair. Panicking, his vision lit up in bright blue, bathing his sight as though he were peering through a film of light blue cellophane. Soon the blue light gripping his eyes turned so bright he couldn’t see a thing. Whether it was instinct or not, he reached up and touched his eyes, his fingers recoiling the moment they came in contact with crackling electric energy. The light grew brighter and more intense. Heart galloping inside his chest, he reached up to touch his eyes again, this second touch more painful than the first. He could only imagine the scorch marks on his fingertips. The light grew brighter and brighter, then—his eyes widened and a blast of brilliant blue power burst forth from his eyes, destroying the mirror in a loud, glassy crash.
He could see again, though the blue of his eyes remained.
Broken with fear, he remained cowering on the bathroom floor, trembling, eyes squeezed shut. His stomach flipped upside down with the notion that the strange blue energy might return and possibly burn the inside of his eyelids. Yet, at the same time, having this strange ability made perfect sense. He had been flying earlier, after all. He had somehow gained the strength of ten men combined, if not more. This latest—what did the messenger call it? Gift?—somehow made perfect sense. And if this was the last portion of this gift to manifest itself, so be it. He had already been given so much.
His eyes . . .
Gabriel shakily got to his feet and went to the hallway mirror and, sure enough, a different man than the one he was used to seeing stared back. A man with completely bright blue eyes and blue-sheened hair.
The same excited panic returned; the blue in his eyes grew brighter. Not wanting to blast the mirror to smithereens like he had the bathroom’s, he widened his eyes like before and a small crackle of blue energy spewed forth, singeing the mirror, leaving a smudge in its wake, like someone had rubbed dark ash across the glass. Once more, he could see clearly, no blue light distorting his vision. But his hair was still blue. The mark of his powers?
Makes sense, he thought.
He wanted to study his visage, really examine himself, but he forced himself to look away, not wanting to accidentally trigger another blast of power. His heart beat fast; he fought the excitement building within, the same excitement that seemed to encourage these shots of energy from his eyes.
Breathing slow, rhythmic breaths, Gabriel pretended this night wasn’t happening at all. No flying, no amazing feats of strength, no incredibly powerful energy spewing forth from his eyes. He was ordinary, nothing special. The messenger had not come. He was just Gabriel Garrison. Nobody and nothing more.
When he opened his eyes, he was relieved to see them dark brown again, the same with his hair.
It was over.
“Or is it over?” he whispered.
A part of him wanted it to be. A part of him just wanted it all to be a bad dream without repercussion. He had had trouble sleeping after all. And it was when he had checked his email earlier that the messenger appeared to him. A sleep-deprived hallucination, perhaps? No, it couldn’t be. He’d had sleepless nights before and knew that, at least for himself, one night without sleep wouldn’t be enough for him to start seeing and hearing things. More so, doing things, things only possible in a dream world and not here in reality.
And I know I did those things, he thought. I remember it all clearly—the running, the leap into the air, partially lifting the jungle-gym—I did it all. A smile came over his face. “I did it all.”
Still shaking with adrenaline, he examined the mirror once more, the smudge-like black mark confirmation that none of this was in his head and everything had, in fact, happened.
Slowly, he turned from the mirror, then glanced back at the burn mark once more, as if this final double-check would cement in stone that he was no longer a mere human being but something more. What that more was, he didn’t know. But it was different. He was different and not just because of the strange powers he now possessed. Something had shifted within and right now all he could attribute that feeling to was the fact he was no longer like everybody else.
With slow-moving legs, he went to the front room and gazed at the computer screen. It sat open to his email account; he hadn’t closed it earlier when he’d torn off with a surge of energy and enthusiasm. But that’s all it was. Just a regular computer screen void of the messenger’s awesome presence.
Gabriel sat on the couch on the opposite end of the room and stared at the computer, partly expecting the messenger to show up again and further explain why he had given him these powers.
The minutes ticked by then quickly melted into an hour.