Backstage at the Calamity, Vol. I No. XI: Unholy Requiem, Body Count, and the Groundskeeper Part XI

A workflow overhaul, a new Odds 'n' Endings story reveal, progress on Unholy Requiem, and of course, the next chapter of The Groundskeeper. Come see what I've got cooking backstage, and then enjoy the show.

Author

M A D A L E X
March 7th, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes

Table of Contents

Announcements

Calypso

An ill-colored and darkly glittering background appearing like waves crashing into each other, though in tones of yellow orange and green. The title "Calypso" is displayed in all caps toward the top, superimposed over the Mad Alex emblem which is somewhat blended into the background. Toward the bottom, text reads "Mad Alex presents A Tale From the Odds n Endings Boutique." This text is displayed as a minor headline on a circus playbill, though superimposed over the background.

Calypso is the reimagining of Immortality, the first story ever written in the Odds ‘n’ Endings universe, and the third to be published in it. Come and brave the journey with the narrator as they realize too late the cost for an otherwise interesting purchase. The story drops on the 13th of March, but you can preorder it now:

Showdown at Sunrise

A merchant finds himself in a bind when he manages to survive a duel. A chance encounter in an odd shoppe may just be the luck he needs. The question is, will this luck hold out?

Showdown at Sunrise goes up in price on March 13! Save yourself One (1) USD and order it now.

The silhouette of a cowboy on a horse is superimposed over a background depicting an old farmhouse in a desert brush landscape. The author's name, "Mad Alex," is display over the title, "Showdown at Sunrise," at the top center of the design. At the bottom, the words "A Tale From the Odds n Endings Boutique" are placed over the Mad Alex emblem.

What the F*CK did I Work On This Week?

This week saw more project reorganization, as Vampire’s Vengeance has arrived at a point where a substantial amount of history needs to be accounted for. My entire workflow is in the process of an overhaul as a result; tooling is being implemented to keep me accountable to the stories in progress, as well as to help push ideas out farther. The timing is appropriate too, as Body Count, the new draft in the Odds ‘n’ Endings universe, is well underway and may potentially introduce threads that may be felt across the series.

Unholy Requiem, Book One of the Children of the Damned, also saw some progress. I am now more than halfway through my review of the rewriting of the book. This, of course, serves to increase my motivation to wrap this up and get it into the hands of my advance copy readers who will help me iron out any wrinkles before it goes to print.

And per usual, another chapter has been written for the Groundskeeper, keeping this story moving forward. Which brings us to …

The Groundskeeper, Part XI

Background depicts a row of personal mausoleums, slightly desaturated. The title, "The Groundskeeper," is displayed across the image in the center in Requiem font.

First time tuning in? Start here.

When we last saw our protagonist, they had finished digging out the grave for the zombie, only to find another challenge lay squarely in their way. You can read it here, if you need to catch up or want a refresher. Now, what is a new groundskeeper to do? Let’s find out, shall we?

How am I supposed to deal with the fucking zombie when this green cloud full of who-knows-what is in the way? To say I am anxious, stressed out, and absolutely terrified of what might happen to me if I go into it would be underselling my terror. But what choice do I have? I was hired to do a job, it's a lot of fucking money they're paying me to do it, and all I can think at the moment is they're really just paying me to deal with this shit.

Which means if I want to get paid, I need to deal with this shit. Time to put on my adult pants and do the adult thing and deal with this shit.

I pull my knees to my chest, roll onto my side, and push myself up. Once I'm standing on the coffin, I look up at the mist and gather my resolve. Thinking about pants and shit makes me wonder if there's a clause in the employee contract where they'll replace my pants if I shit them. I probably should have read the contract a little more closely before signing. This train of thought does nothing to bolster my courage. But also, who am I kidding to think anything short of guaranteed painful death would have stopped me from accepting their generous offer? I have zero scruples. There's not much I wouldn't do for eighty dollars an hour.

And that's all the encouragement I need from myself to do the job I signed up for. I clamber up and out of the grave and into the mist before I have a moment to second-guess my decision, and as soon as I'm surrounded by it and the horrible sounds I've been hearing, all sense of direction is lost to me. I can't see anything but a thick wall of lime green all around me. I lift my hands and hold them in front of my eyes, and I can vaguely see them; they appear as shadows. I move my foot lightly behind me to check for the grave I dug out and am met with solid ground. That can't be right. I get on my knees and start feeling around, but no dug-out grave is within reach. I fight my rising panic by recalling the ordeal in the employee hall at the start of my shift. Weird shit happens here. If this is more inter-dimensional shit, then all I have to do is wait until it passes, right? I just have to stay put until whatever this is wraps itself up.

Staying put sounds like the smart thing to do, except the howling is louder, closer. The snapping jaws I heard earlier, whatever they came from sounds like it's prowling close by. I hear the heavy padding of some large creature moving in circles around me. I consider the idea that if I can't see it, it can't see me, and maybe shutting the fuck up and staying real still is the move. But what if it hunts by smell? What if, after having dug out a grave, I'm ripe and smelling quite divine to the hunter who is not searching for me, but in fact toying with me? What if it can sense my fear and is waiting until I am overwhelmed by it to devour me, because its food is far more delectable when consumed at the height of its terror?

I'm frozen on my hands and knees, wondering what to do, trying to tame my fear in case this thing feeds on fear as much as it does on flesh. It doesn't matter. Through the green mist, I watch a blurred, foggy shadow take shape as it moves closer, its smoky edges becoming a little more defined with each step. Considering how my hands looked when I held them in front of me earlier, I guess this thing must be massive to materialize the way it does, to be seen so clearly. And as it steps closer, head lolling from side to side, legs akimbo in its confusing gait, it dawns on me that here is one of my nightmares made real.

When I was in sixth grade, I snuck into the living room to watch a horror film my parents had put on. I spent the next several months terrified of the wolf man that lived under my bed. He lay there, waiting for the perfect moment to grab me and eat me. How the mist had taken him, I have no idea. But here he was, comfortable and confident; here I was, absolutely fucking terrified. So of course, I did the only thing a perfectly sane and rational human would do in such a situation: I ran like hell.

To be continued …

What’s Published and Where You Can Find It

These are the top stories currently in circulation.

Background is an image of a faded number eight, repeated in large print. There is a silhouette of a figure laid over the background, though it is unclear what the figure looks like or which way they're facing. The text "Final Encounter" is in the upper left with the Mad Alex emblem sitting just below it. At the bottom is the author's name, "Mad Alex."

Final Encounter Cover

Final Encounter

A parent searches frantically for their daughter who has disappeared in their house.

The Artist’s Spell

A visit to a popular artist’s exhibit takes an interesting turn.

Background is cream-colored paint layered over blue paint on a canvas. The text "The Artist's Spell" is stacked in the center with the Mad Alex emblem sitting just above the word "Artist's." At the bottom is the author's name, "Mad Alex."

The Artist’s Spell cover

Odds ‘n’ Endings Stories

These stories share a single connective thread through them all: the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique. The Proprietor—a timeless individual of many faces, few scruples, and a whole lot of character—deals in artifacts, each containing peculiar traits. These are the stories of the Boutique’s patrons.

Background depicts a giant tree with gnarled roots spread across the foreground of the bottom of the image, the trunk and branches extending up and out across the rest of the cover. The background is dimmed, with a column of light superimposed upon it. In the upper left, the word "Vegas" is set over the word "Rift" which is set over the Mad Alex emblem. The author's name, "Mad Alex," is displayed in the lower right.

Vegas Rift

A woman searches for her long lost husband. This is currently the most popular Mad Alex short story.

Postscript

The stories are growing! Growing! Insert maniacal laughter. I am very excited about how Groundskeeper is shaping up, and look forward to releasing it as a single volume upon its completion. If you’re enjoying the story so far, I do hope you’ll consider ordering yourself a copy when it becomes available. In the meantime, enjoy the show! We’re about halfway through the Groundskeeper, and then we follow Edgar around as he tries to figure out what the fuck happened to his coven.

Also, if you are on the butterfly app, come follow me! You can find me on Bluesky here.

Acknowledgements

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