Image by Lord Foul

John `Da Wrath` Rathbun phoned in this bit of info in response to our query about the Shattered-n-Bloody`s recent `unfortunate` encounter in which the gang`s long-standing leader and most of its veteran members were killed:

`Uh, ya...I don`t have much to say, but the crew had intended to go on a massive salvage operation to an undisclosed site when they were jumped by the Oracle crew. Word of advice to anyone thinking of hauling a box van full of peds` to assist in bringing back salvage vehicles: you`re gonna need more than a 4L to haul 8 people up an incline. The crew died trying to defend a floundering Beaster against a very determined bunch of bad guys. That`s all I have to say about that. It`s behind us. Somehow I got picked to take over the reins from Julie `The Horror` Baca. I ain`t got time for anything else.`

Requests for interviews have gone unanswered as the S-n-B crew undergoes a massive rebuilding. Rumors have it they`ve pulled in every remaining ganger from all across Evan, returning to their roots, here, in Somerset.

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Joels Bastards Win Northern Paintball League

The Northern Paintball League finished, with Joels Bastards taking the overall victory and a prize of $25000. The runners-up were Holy Mutant Death Squad , and finishing in third place overall were ZomBPir8Ninjas.

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Big Earners on the Track

This list shows just who has been winning the most lucrative prizes on the circuits and arenas of Evan, during the past month.

1. MADHAT: $902918.
2. The 4saken: $215568.
3. Evan Courier Service: $213027.
4. F3945: $165376.
5. ZomBPir8Ninjas: $153396.

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Joseph Holmes of Big C Rollers died at Road to Somerset.

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William Wallace of 11th Recon Company died at Somerset Dirt Racing Track.

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Sally `Grenadier` Cary of High Octane Hooligans died at Lost Oasis.

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Ashley Johnston of Rollovers died at Lost Trail: Overland.

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Billy Tracey of the mad mad crushers died at Northern Farm Land.

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Charles `Satan` Morningstar of Desert Nomads died at Acid Land.

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`Quiet` Lawrence Bellows of SOTuk died at Acid Land.

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Kimberly `Killa` Joiner of *Main Force Patrol* died at Pathway to Darkness.

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Johnnie `Hot Wheels` Warren of Death Storm Militia died at Somerset Dirt Racing Track.

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`Big guns` Freddy Flock of The Bad Habits died at Gates of Badlands Truckstop.

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Marilyn `Old` Young of The Bad Habits died at Gates of Badlands Truckstop.

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Eric Bookman of DarkBlue died at Somerset Arena.

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Wyatt `Gonnabiteit` Earp of Holy Mutant Death Squad died at Northern Farm Land.

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`Ms` Rita Simons of Dryfuss Dragoons died at The Pit.

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Susan `Porn Star` Ashurst of Fish Lovers died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Doug `Gunny-Cooter` Willams of Fish Lovers died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Lance `Poochy` Howard of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Road to Elmsfield.

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Jerome `Nomad` Howard of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Road to Elmsfield.

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Morgan McGee of Fish Lovers died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Jeffrey `Stevie Wonder` Nordberg of Triple S died at The Pits.

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`Mr Goodwrench` Thomas Edwards of Seekers died at Gates of Somerset.

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Doug Nicodemus of Seekers died at Gates of Somerset.

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James Jones of Seekers died at Gates of Somerset.

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Cherie Jacobs of Seekers died at Gates of Somerset.

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Lisa `Snow` White of Gearjammers died at Telegraph Road.

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Henry `Greza` Grenz of Bastille the Raging Scavenger died at Somerset Rally Circuit.

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`Sir` Robert Roebuck of Lattes Raiders died at Gateway Dry Lake Track.

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`Cabel` Todd Gain of GovermantResistance died at The Pit.

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Jacob Lilly of The Hell Patrol died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Julian `Rammer` Ramirez of Desert Nomads died at The Pits.

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Charles `Emerson` Winer of 11th Recon Company died at Northern Farm Land.

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Michael `Matador` Madore of Hardwired died at Gates of Somerset.

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Rodney Williams of Paladins died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Jayna Little of Paladins died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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James Gates of the mad mad crushers died at Interstate Mythos.

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Todd Dunn of rebelfishes died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.

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Derek Emery of rebelfishes died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Brandy Byrne of 11th Recon Company died at Northern Farm Land.

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Daniel `Dodgy D.` Allen of The 4saken died at Lost Oasis.

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Gloria Henderson of The 4saken died at Lost Oasis.

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Michael Boyd of Crazy Canucks died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.

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Doris Borders of Crazy Canucks died at Gates of Somerset.

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Christopher Witt of Burdens Heavyweights died at Gates of Somerset.

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`Zombie Slayer` Louis Paxton of Burdens Heavyweights died at Gates of Somerset.

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Jesus Holly of Cap distributor died at Gates of Sarsfield.

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Emily Chandler of 7 7 7 died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 3.

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Napoleon `Frenchy` Bonaparte of Renegades Of Thrash Metal died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 3.

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Valerie `Need4Speed` Clarke of Comstar died at Somerset Rally Circuit.

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Brenda `Will` Wright of Highway Hellriders died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 3.

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Dennis Lee of Triple S died at Gates of Firelight.

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Larry Shoemaker of Triple S died at Gates of Firelight.

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Larry McGee of Triple S died at Gates of Firelight.

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Julie `The Horror` Baca of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Johnnie Giddings of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Patrick `3rd Degree` Burns of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Regina `Atcher` Seidman of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Samuel `Island` Keys of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Stephen `GetYer` Harmon of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Fred `Chocolates` Brown of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Leah Roche of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Patricia `Thud Thud` Lees of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Gary `Wanderer` Canterbury of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Shannon `Scanner` Spence of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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William `Cricket` Jiminez of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Mildred Farfan of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Bill `Myth` Canterbury of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Laverne `Lifetime` Billings of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Blown With the Wind.

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Steven `Racin For A` Dollar of Triple S died at Northern Foothills Racetrack at night.

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`His Holiness` Anthony Pope of Renshai died at Elmsfield Hills Rally Circuit.

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Scott `can really` Cook of Alpha Junkers died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.

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Marion `choked on` Bacon of Alpha Junkers died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.

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`Crashin`` David Poirier of Orions Blades died at Road to Somerset.

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James `Ranger` Wilkins of BOB-BagOfBones died at Road to Somerset.

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Carmen `Kelly` Kelling of Gearjammers died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Juan Wilson of Lattes Raiders died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 3.

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Carl Davis of Road Lords died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 3.

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Samuel Pruitt of High Octane Hooligans died at Lost Trail: Broken Ground.

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Daphne Sanders of Night Breed Pack died at Somerset Arena.

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Robert `Gun` Stauffer of GovermantResistance died at Scattered Hills.

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Colleen Cutshall of Shutoku Rockets died at Road to Somerset.

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Harold `Tree` Greenlee of Desert Nomads died at Blown With the Wind.

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James `JJ` Jimenez of Pariah Strike died at Somerset Arena.

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Stanley Glover of Pariah Strike died at Somerset Arena.

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Rosemary Booth of Something else died at Somerset Rally Circuit.

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Mario `ate a slab of` Bacon of Alpha Junkers died at Once Upon a Town.

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Renee `da` Sierra of dark impakt died at Once Upon a Town.

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Kayla `da` Sumner of dark impakt died at Once Upon a Town.

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James Haire of Dragoons in Drag died at Somerset Rally Circuit.

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`Ralph` Lauren Villalobos of Holy Mutant Death Squad died at Northern Farm Land.

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Roy Maxwell of Monarchs died at Road to Elmsfield.

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James Diebold of Something else died at Highway to Hell.

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Valerie `SYRUP OF DEAT` Maple of Mirrirored Pain died at Road to Somerset.

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William Buster of Mirrirored Pain died at Road to Somerset.

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Theo `Super` Cosby of Holy Mutant Death Squad died at Salt Flats Canyon.

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Diana `Lady Die` Patterson of Monarchs died at Pathway to Darkness.

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Allen Million of MADHAT died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Mae `Dae` Perez of Bastille the Raging Scavenger died at Gates of Somerset.

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Justin Grass of Somerset Militia died at Gates of Somerset.

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Theo Bacchus of Crusaders died at Gates of Somerset.

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Patrick Young of Something else died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Scot `SCOTTZILLA` Smith of Mirrirored Pain died at Double Down Arena.

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Forrest `Gump` Sun of DarkBlue died at Road to Somerset.

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`Greasy` Lee Garcia of The 4saken died at The Maze.

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Doris Leach of Triple S died at Gates of Firelight.

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Donald Fleshman of Bladerunners died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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`McRacer X` Kristen Rios of KLINGON GIRL SCOUTS died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 2.

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Angel Knapp of Triple S died at Gates of Texan.

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Michelle Mei of Garage Boyz died at Northern Farm Land.

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`Balls2TheWall` Victoria Rawls of Comstar died at Highway to Hell.

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Dave `Speedy` Lewis of Comstar died at Highway to Hell.

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Arnold `Palmer` Trowbridge of The Paranoid Tourists died at Road to Elmsfield.

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Paul Olson of The Paranoid Tourists died at Road to Elmsfield.

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`Witch` Hazel May of The Paranoid Tourists died at Road to Elmsfield.

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John `Rabbit` Pelton of The Paranoid Tourists died at Road to Elmsfield.

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Scott Pena of SOTuk died at Gates of Badlands Truckstop.

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Robert Collins of Lonely Scavenger died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 1.

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`Heavy Gunner` Jesus Murphy of Comanche died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Joseph Tope of Comanche died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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`Ranger` Kristina Markley of Comanche died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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`Gunney` Larry Lira of Comanche died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Sylvester Orr of The 4saken died at Devils Fingers.

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`Stumpy` Brian Blumer of v.i.n.d.i.c.a.to.r.s. died at The Pits.

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Ronald King of Something else died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Randolph Townsend of Something else died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Rhonda Littlefield of Arbiters died at The Pit.

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Mitchell `Motorhead` Davis of Death Storm Militia died at Somerset Rally Circuit.

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Beryl `Battle Axe` Smith of The Dionysian Dozen died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Richard Gidley of Aspire died at Road to Somerset.

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`Boss` Shelton Wright of Dead Men Driving died at Road to Somerset.

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Ann `Fix N` Drive` Mark of Mirrirored Pain died at Road to Somerset.

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Kevin `Neo-pet` Bressler of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Peter `The Shark` Thrasher of Scarzams Dragoons died at Acid Land.

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Ken `Batman` Batson of Scarzams Dragoons died at Acid Land.

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Jake `The Snake` Wade of Scarzams Dragoons died at Acid Land.

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Jeremy `John` Thomas of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Abigail `Hot Box` Perez of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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James `Who`s Bad` Bauder of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Granville `Barnabus` Collins of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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James `Froggie` Gagnon of Shattered-n-Bloody died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Brandon `The Bull` Bullock of Scarzams Dragoons died at Acid Land.

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John `The Rook` Bishop of Afrika Korps died at Gates of Texan.

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Lydia `Lydia` Grimmer of Comanche died at Road to Somerset.

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Christopher Williams of HellzFire died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Travis Simonson of HellzFire died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Elmer Murphy of HellzFire died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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Willie James of Triple S died at Serpentine Road.

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`Specialist` Carlos Williamson of Comanche died at The Pit.

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`Sir` Mark Pena of Lattes Raiders died at Scattered Hills.

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Mary Jenkins of CryptKeepers died at Road to Somerset.

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`Lonely` Elliott Rigby of The Bad Habits died at Gates of Somerset.

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Troy Chartrand of rebelfishes died at Northern Farm Land.

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Michael `One more Pint` O`Keefe of Old School Perverts died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.

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William White of the mad mad crushers died at Gates of Gateway Truckstop.

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Steven Gerard of Rezeaks Racers died at Road to Gateway Truck Stop.

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Kelly `went to` Cleveland of Burdens Heavyweights died at Interstate Mythos.

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Diane Mays of Renshai died at Road to Somerset.

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Jack Anderson of Bladerunners died at The Pit.

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Anthony Rozier of Road Debris died at Gates of Elmsfield.

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John `Wee` Wade of Desert Nomads died at Once Upon a Town.

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Matthew `Hoof` Hovis of Desert Nomads died at Once Upon a Town.

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Herschel Sweeney of Evan Courier Service died at Somerset`s Junkyard, Race Track 1.

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Louis Nielsen of MADHAT died at Northern Farm Land.

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`kraaaaaazy` Kevin Linker of Rezeaks Racers died at Canyon Joust.

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Harry Suter of High Octane Hooligans died at Gates of Somerset.

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Seymour Bush of Triumph died at Somerset Arena.

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Timothy Edwards of Ultra Catharsis died at Gates of Elmsfield.

Story Submitted by Damon Angel

Episode: So much for wishing. `Hey, ain`t that...?`

Dwight Barrett and Allan `I8ntIllegal` Lopez, errant [ but hopefully not for long ] members of the Shattered-n-Bloody crew out of Elmsfield had spent the last two days putting their limited mechanical skills to the test, installing a Flaming Oil Jet into their Moray for their `escape` from Firelight.

They`d taken their time, making sure everything was secured, especially the jet port for the oil and the ignition plugs and their accompanying wiring.

After a day of just laying around their `hide` and sleeping, they were busy putting on their best scummer `kit` so as to allow them to walk around Firelight without drawing attention; so their nice S-n-B leather jackets would stay in the Moray tonight. Normally, they wouldn`t be going anywhere but in preparation for their departure, Lopez had made a connection that could provide them with `trader maps` of roads most people didn`t know of.

When they made their break out of FL, they wanted it quick, quiet and without incident for as long as possible, so taking some backroads...while using a bit more fuel, might keep them out of trouble for a little while longer. Allan had every confidence they`d installed the FOJ properly, and testing the ignition system had shown them they`d managed to hook up the wiring harness correctly- but still, if he didn`t have to use it, all the better. So any chance at clear roads was a chance worth taking. The only bad part was, his contact wanted to meet at the arena. That didn`t thrill Lopez or his partner any. But you did what you had to do.

Properly attired in their best `worst` clothing, with faces smeared just enough to show their disdain for washing, they waited for a few hours past nightfall, then shuffled out of their `hide` and used the terrain to mask their movement until they could safely appear without rousing suspicion.

They stood in line waiting to pay to gain entrance, listening to the howls, hoots and screams coming from the crowd. Occassionally, they could also hear other noises; some beastial-less than human-others a mixture of the two. They`d all heard the stories of what went on in this place, aptly named `The Pit,` from when they were children, but neither ever thought they`d actually get to see from whence their childhood nightmares came from: well, not voluntarily, anyways.

After making it through the ticket booth, they were stopped by a couple large burly types who asked `Ya gots any weepons?` Allan and Dwight had shared a look, before the guard added `Want any?`

`Uh...nah, weez alreedy gots us sum.` Dwight said, in his worst/best scummer voice. It hurt his head to have to pretend his IQ was under 50...but survival was on the line, and there was no Sicillian within eyeshot, so it was safe.

The guards shoved them on by and they were caught up in the waves of human flotsam that crowded along the raggedy walls of the main combat area. Their contact had given them a rough idea of where he would be in the place, so they started moving through the nasty, smelly clot of human garbage that made up the citizenry of this pit of chit called FL, finding their contact after about 5 minutes.

Easing to a seat on the worn wooden benches, Allan and Dwight tried to fit in, feigning enjoyment when the crowd went nuts. No need to draw attention. Their contact ignored them. Lopez hadn`t expected anything else. He was a trader that played both sides of the societal card; he was good when he needed to be good, and not so good when that was necessary.

Lopez didn`t care about his politics anyway. He scooted over another foot or so to get right next to the guy. Surrounded by the hooting and hollering low lifes, their activities were well hidden by standing stalks of rotten waste matter that passed as people around the place. Leaning in, they did their business.

He had the maps. Lopez had the cash. No nicities here. All business. A minute later, he was standing, tapping Dwight on the shoulder, raising his chin in the direction of the exit to signal to him that all was done and it was time to get out of there.

But when Dwight turned his head around, there was this look in his eyes. Dwight tilted his head in the direction of the arena, standing as he did so and shoving a few people aside to get a spot on the wall. Lopez shoved in beside him. Dwight pointed.

`...is that who I think it is?` he said, leaning in to be nearer Lopez`s ear.

Lopez looked in the direction he was pointing. Amidst the rubble that was strewn all over the Pit`s floor were, as the rumors had said; captured gangers and civilians from all over Evan. They were running around like pissed off ants. Some held rifles, shotties...some just big two-handed sledges. Each of them was wearing various styles of dress. He could pick out two farmers-they were totally paniced. One held a double-barrelled shotgun: had it raised at something. Lopez`s eyes looked up and saw a...rat? It was the size of a cow...bent, broken, yellowed and rotted teeth bared; spittle sprayed everywhere as it reared up on its hind legs, towering over the screaming farm boy. He looked away.

Then he saw it. A flash of leather...red flames around a bone-white skull emblazoned on it. The wearer was knelt down, calmy sighting along the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle at the very rat about to have Bubba for din-din. On the shoulder was a large `all seeing eye` insignia.

`No frakking way!` he yelled. He grabbed Dwight`s shoulder...hard. His right hand shot up...index finger extended. `Look! It`s Shelton...and Glade! Holy chit!`

Barrett looked; sure enough, there, about 20 yards away, hiding behind what looked like the remains of a loading ramp, crouched two other members of the Shattered-n-Bloody crew they`d known `back in the world.`

`They musta got captured!` he shouted over the crowd to his partner. `You know what this means...!?`

`Ya...I do!` Lopez shouted back. `We aren`t going anywhere anytime soon!`

Down in the Pit; David `Look Out!` Harris squeezed off round after round from the semi`...all aimed at the monster taking large swipes at the farmer with its razor sharp talons while the yokel backed up...still screaming...and gave the thing both barrels from the shottie. A bright red splatter sprayed across the creature`s chest as the OO buck tore into its leathery hide. It slowed about...nothing...and came on, one of its large dirt-encrusted paws catching the civvy square on the side of his head. The crackling-snapping sound of the man`s neck could be heard halfway across the Pit`s floor. Blood arced away from what was left of the man`s face as the yellowed scythes on the end of the beast`s claws ripped most of the flesh off the man`s head...hair and all. The body flipped once, then crumpled to the ground.

The farmer`s partner dropped his hammer and stood there...in shock...another meal waiting to be eaten. And the rat-thing saw him...it dropped down on all fours and charged.

Harris`s shots caught up with it right about then...the first one took it on the top of the head, ripping a bloody furough across its thick skull; fur flew as the second round impacted just below its right eye. The round hit bone, then richotted up into the thing`s red, mucous-dripping eye, exploding it like an egg in the hot sun. The third shot must have went straight in the same place...the back of the rodent`s skull opened up like a blooming flower, spraying a mixture of black rotting brain and misted blood all over the thing`s dirty-furred back. It crashed into the sand and slid to the feet of the still-screaming dirt-tender. He passed out, falling face first into the gore on the thing`s back.

20 yards away, also equipped with semi-autos, his gang-mates were blazing away at another of the monsters that bore down on them. Jeffery `Meltin`` Shelton, the gang`s resident pyro`, was banging out rounds. Half found their mark, the other half shot up sand, wood and steel; in no particular order. He gave new meaning to the phrase `spray and pray.` But, then again, his specialty were things that burned, hissed and spat firey death. Still, 50 percent wasn`t so bad. The thing he was firing at dropped, clawing madly at the air in its death throes...viscous darkness spreading on the sand around its quickly dying corpse from the multiple gunshot wounds.

Firing from a standing position, almost directly above his mate, was Brandon `Shady` Glade-one of the gang`s `killer extrordinaires.` He casually popped off shot after shot from offhand at the charging mutant rodents that seemed to be all around them.

His lips were peeled back from his gums in a maniacal laugh that seemed to keep coming every time the rifle bucked against his shoulder. His shots were dead on. In the time it had taken Harris to empty half a clip into just one of the things, they watched Glade drop three by himself...each one double-tapped to the head.

The fight was over in seconds. The crowd seemed pissed off. Thanks to the trio of captured Shattered-n-Bloody gangers, the creatures were made short work of. Boos and catcalls came from the scum all around them. Some threw bottles at the survivors with little chance of actually hitting anything but sand; but they still made their displeasure known.

The only casualty had been the farmer. They watched as the three made their way together. Glade seemed to be limping...he leaned on Shelton for support. Guards spread out into the arena, their own weapons raised. The S-n-B crew threw their weapons to the ground, hands raised. They were quickly shackled and half-dragged out, back into the slave pens that ringed the backside of the Pit.

The free members of the S-n-B crew looked at one another as their fellows were led away in chains.

`We gotta get word back.` Lopez said. `No way we go anywhere...not with them in there.`

`...ya. ...okay.` was all Barrett said. `Sure.`

`Let`s get out of here. See if we can get back behind this place...maybe get a message in to them.` Lopez said. He still had Barrett by the shoulder, and used that grip to leverage him in the direction of the exit.

In his right hand, he crushed the directions into a hard little ball of wadded paper, and stuffed it angrily into his jacket pocket.

To be continued.....?

As the year progresses, here are the leaders of the major leagues:

Evan Race Ladder - Lattes Raiders
Evan Deathrace Ladder - The Frequency
Evan Arena Combat Ladder - Joels Bastards
Evan Paintball Combat Ladder - Lattes Raiders

In addition, the leaders of the minor leagues are:

Northern Semi-Pro Combat League - Joels Bastards
Northern Paintball League - Joels Bastards
Somerset Spring Challenge League - Joels Bastards

It`s said that you don`t remember your early childhood. Memories from so far back just aren`t stored in your head. Sandy `Razzer` Bloom could remember her first steps. She had vivid memories of the puppy her father brought her home for her second birthday. It was a little mutt of dubious lineage, but she loved that mutt right from the start. She remembers knowing in that very second that she was a `dog person.` Cats had never appealed to her.

That puppy had grown with her. She`d outlived `Devil` and gotten another. She loved to sit around the fire at night, outside; about the only time when you could sit outside, watching the stars and the sky. That was about the only entertainment there was. The auroras sparkled against the blanket of twinkling lights. The occassional meteor tracing a fiery path across that milieu was a treat enjoyed by all.

She could remember all those night sitting outside, in the dark, with her mother and father and, before they passed, her grandparents, listening to stories of the `before` times or snuggling against her father while another adult in their community read from one of the rare books that had survived and found its way into their community. Her favorite story, as a child, was `Horton hears a Who.`

Her father was a magnificent story-teller. His low-toned voice was full of fun but could convey many other emotions, making him a one-man entertainment system. Sandy could remember sitting with the other children in the community listening to him read about Horton and his struggles with an intolerant society. Her father said there was a message in that story for all times, including their own. But as a child, she cared little for life lessons.

Inside the secure walls of Somerset, she played, lived and loved those around her. She didn`t know her life was one of hardship, because it had always been the same since her birth. They always had food, a safe place to shelter and their society of peoples. What more did you need?

Occassionally, she remembered, her parents and the parents of her friends would sit and talk about things that had happened outside the walls. They weren`t always good things. The parents tried their best to shield their children from the bad, but when one of her friends had to go live with another family because of bad things that had happened to their mommy and daddy, well, there was only so much you could protect a child from. This hit home hard, when she was 9 and a friend of hers lost her parents to pirates out in the fields where they had worked, farming the food that kept them all alive. Sandy didn`t mind. As an only child, she`d always wanted a brother or sister; she didn`t care which. She`d gotten a sister and that had suited her fine. Allee had come to live with them and that was that. Sandy had a friend living with her as a sister. They`d grown together. Done everything together and, when they`d hit their teens, had been terrors together.

She could remember many a night, sneaking out with Allee to go see boys they knew, or go to parties held in old buildings nobody used anymore. She and her sister had taken their first drinks of alcohol, smoked their first cigarettes [[ yukky to both ]] and done SO much more together. They`d thought they`d been careful and oh so sneaky, but later, her parents would tell her they`d known and even that her father had trailed the pair many times to insure their safety.

It had made her love her father even more.

When they`d been assigned to jobs at 13 years of age, like every 13 year old before them, they`d jumped at the chance to help their community. She`d been taken under her father`s guidance to learn how to maintain the machines that kept their society viable, able to fight against the world and the things in it. She had a purpose.

Allee joined the Militia. There was much discussion around the dinner table and outside, at night, over that matter. She remembered Allee`s adamant stand about joining, and her parent`s equally adamant stand against it. They had never gone so far as to forbid it; they knew better when dealing with Allee. But they had tried their best to talk her out of it.

Even so, there were never any prouder parents than hers when they stood in the bleachers watching their daughter graduate from the academy.

Allee settled into her position as a combat vehicle operator like she`d been born to it. Sandy wiped grease from her forehead and scrubbed it out from under her fingernails with equally as much dedication.

Then one day, after their 18th birthdays, they`d been sitting around a fire, alone together, talking about things teenage girls have talked about since time remembered. This was an especially vivid memory for Sandy. It was the day they`d tossed everything and had started on the path that had brought them to where they were now.

Snuggled into Allee`s lap, legs stretched towards the fire, she remembered Allee saying she was leaving the Militia to go out on her own and how she wanted Sandy to go with her. Sandy remembers turning, lieing there between Allee`s legs, to look up at her. `Go?` was all she`d said.

`Yes.` Allee had responded. `I want to see the world. I want to DO something. Somerset doesn`t need us. The world does.`

She`d gone on to tell Sandy things she`d never heard Allee mention before; long-distance scouts against horrid gangs of mutants and pirates far gone from the normal life Somerset gave them. How she`d seen places that barely eeked out an existence because of the scavvies and the horrors on wheels that, she`d said, seemed to be everywhere.

Sandy could remember the raids around Somerset. They were an annoyance and, sometimes, a tragedy, but Somerset had never really been threatened by these marauders. The militia and the dedicated members like her sister had made it so.

But now she wanted to go out...there...and continue the fight for what she believed. How could Sandy say no? Allee was her sister. There was no way she`d let her face danger alone.

These and many other memories Sandy held in her mind and was able to recall with near crystal clarity and, in the last two seconds, seemed to have done with all her memories.

But now she was awake...hazy awake that it was. She could smell burning wiring, oil and the pungent aroma of gasoline. It hurt to turn her head, but she did, to see Allee. She found their hands clasped together but didn`t remember how it had happened.

Smoke filled the cabin of their crippled Apache. For a second, it cleared and Sandy screamed. Allee was gone. To her right, she heard a strange noise. When she turned her head, all she saw were the cracked, yellowed teeth that filled her vision. Then pain. But she wouldn`t remember the pain.