King Henry
Riley
Foreword
Hello Dear Reader,
If you find this journal, let us start with the basics. My name is Michael Talbot; I am/was the owner of the material you now hold in your hand. My life has been one living hell after another since the age of around eighteen, when I tripped on some bad mushrooms and cursed to the gods about my lot in life. Since then, I have been relegated to alternate horrific realities. In some I am younger, some I am older, some I live through and some I don’t. (I still have a hard time writing down that I have died on no less than three accounts.)
The only constant is that I am aware of what is happening, but the people I encounter along the way are not. Some are threaded throughout my lives and show up constantly, like my soul mate, Tracy and my best friend, Paul. Some appear in one reality but not another for some reason, like Mrs. Deneaux (thank God for that, at least). Some enemies remain the same, like Durgan, others not so much. I have been hunted down by zombies, aliens, ghosts and a few other creatures from the depths of a mad god’s deranged mind.
I can’t imagine that the Big Man has taken any interest. My guess is that I have pissed off one of the lesser gods (imagine that), one of the Greek or Roman deities who have been relegated to paganism since Christianity took hold. I’m not even sure if the true God is aware of my plight and if he is, why does he not rein his wayward children in?
So I write these journals down, mostly to keep my mind from addling and to keep my multiple horrors compartmentalized. So when you feel the need to complain about your lot in life, be careful who is listening and be very specific on what changes you would like to have made.