The Sentry and The Spark

The Herald's Burden

The Sentry and The Spark Playlist

The Herald's Burden Playlist

"Digital Clock" Excerpt 1

Saturday, July 12, 2025
[Excerpt from The Sentry & The Spark,
Copyright © 2025 Blake Dobbs]

Johnny woke in a cold sweat, chest rising and falling rapidly, as he breathed. His heart beat emphatically against his ribcage, like the tell-tale thump of a kick drum, and the words Shalla-Bal spoke to them played on a loop in his head.“Your planet is now marked for death. Your world will be consumed by the devourer. There is nothing you can do to stop him, for he is a universal force, as essential as the stars. Hold your loved ones close, and speak the words you've been afraid to speak. Use this time to rejoice and celebrate, for your time is short. I herald his beginning. I herald your end. I herald, Galactus.”And images of his world breaking apart, atom by atom, as the energy and matter were broken down and siphoned directly into Galactus, played like scenes from a movie on a projector screen behind his eyelids.His heart was still beating as though it were trying to escape, the rise and fall of his chest fast with the force of his breaths. He clinched his eyes shut tight as he tried to still his breathing and calm the frantic racing of his heart.Breathe in. Breathe out. Breath in. And so on.The digital clock on the nightstand by his bed blinked rapidly, displaying 12:00 in bold red numbers. The power must have gone out at some point during the night. It was slightly annoying, but Johnny couldn’t bring himself to care. He was too focused on getting his breathing under control, and pushing back the memory of his world ending so he could go back to sleep for a few hours. He’d spent many nights wandering the floor he occupied, just pacing back and forth aimlessly until the sun took its place in the clouds and he could go join the others for breakfast. Then he would be forced to forget about the bad dreams and the sound of Shalla-Bal’s voice in his ears.After a few minutes he could feel his heart beginning to slow and the sound of Shalla-Bal's voice became nothing but a distant whisper as he came back down. He fell back against the headboard, the cold press of the wood against his back sending a shiver up the length of his back. It was grounding, pulling him back into himself, reminding him that he was safe. His world may have been destroyed, but they had found a new home, somewhat like their own. He was in his room, on his designated floor of the newly sanctioned Baxter building.Johnny opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the clock, mocking him with its reset. 12:00. He knew he wasn't the only one dealing with the aftermath of what happened. But Sue, Reed, and Ben seemed to be handling it a lot better than him, or they were just better at hiding it. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, the hard floor cool beneath his bare feet, and walked to the window pulling back the heavy curtains to reveal the new world he called home. He tried to tell himself it was beautiful, that it was a miracle they were here at all, but a part of him still craved the familiar scents, the unique light, the very air of his lost world. This was a sanctuary, and he was beyond grateful for it, but it was also a constant memorial.He didn't know how long he stood there, looking out at the cars and pedestrians lining the sidewalk and the street, but it's long enough that by the time he's startled out of his reverie by the sound of someone rapping at his door the sun is peeking its head over the horizon and casting a gold glow over the city.He stared out the window a moment longer, before turning on his heel and treading toward the door. He opened it slowly to reveal Sue on the other side, holding Franklin. She bounced him up and down at a steady pace at her side. His eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly ajar, asleep. The sight brought a smile to Johnny's lips.Sue stared back at him, flashing him a tired smile of her own. "I just came to check on you," she said.Johnny nodded. She'd been doing that a lot lately, checking to see if he was okay. And not only to him, but everyone. Anytime Franklin woke in the night, she would walk him around the building to calm him down, peeking in rooms to see how everyone was sleeping. She'd peeked in Johnny's room countless time to find that he wasn't. It was rare that he did. Most nights she'd catch him just sitting up in bed, staring at a wall, looking out the window at the city, watching something on TV."I'm fine," he said."Okay, good." Sue turned on her heel to leave, but turned back to face Johnny a moment later. "Let me put him back down and you can come up in an hour for breakfast.""Sure thing."Johnny watched as she stepped onto the elevator, their eyes locking just as the double doors started to close. She flashed him a small smile, and he flashed one back just as the doors close fully and the elevator started to ascend. She was probably already stepping off the elevator onto to the top floor when Johnny finally closes his bedroom door again. He sits back down on the bed, back pressed against the headboard once more, looking out the window. He could feel the warmth of the sun starting to heat his room from where he pulled back the curtains. His eyes fell closed and he basked in it for the full hour.

"Friends" Excerpt 2

Wednesday, July 16, 2025
[Excerpt from The Sentry & The Spark,
Copyright © 2025 Blake Dobbs]

Bob sat with his legs crossed on the sofa in the lounge area of the Watchtower, clutching a decorative pillow to his chest and watching Friends on the teams shared HBO Max account.The others were off on a mission, so he was alone. And would probably be for another day or two. In that time he busied himself by cleaning the Watchtower from top to bottom, even if there was nothing to be cleaned. He even found himself redoing laundry that had already been done.He had to keep himself busy. Or at least do something so that his mind didn’t have time to wander. And he had run out of things to clean. You could only clean and scrub the tiles in the bathroom so many times before it started getting ridiculous, and he had exceeded that before he finally conceded. Hence why he was watching Friends.