Paul’s ears rang. For a moment long or short, reality ceased to exist. His mind computed danger, noise and panicked. What happened next did not matter because there may not be a next. Now that there was, the ringing muffled the sound of falling debris and horror of the nearby Histarians. Sounds that would have surely sent Paul into a greater panic.
Paul checked his arms and legs. They were all in their rightful places. There was no blood, no wounds or pains. Good, good. Light? A red glow came from the left and to the right was a white light shining across the floor. It came from a man’s wrist who was lying face down.
“Lienous?” Paul mumbled.
A shiver ran up Paul’s spine. Before he knew it he was tackled to the ground. An oozing red liquid poured out where he was standing. The little fellow that tackled Paul now dragged him away next to Lienous. He rested next to Paul.
“You’re going to make it, Master. You’re going to make it,” he said.
Paul looked at him, dead in his eye and asked, “make what?”
Sputdik looked dumbfounded, then left. Paul cocked his head to the side and stared down at Lienous’ body. It took him a second to compute what a motionless body lying face down usually meant. Even then, he could only stare, breathless with his eyes wide open.
On the other side, Sputdik returned with Rock next to him. The world began falling back into place. The factory they were in had been torn in half. They were close to the edge of the tear, on the bottom level. Paul’s ship was still inside, but a piece of the roof sat on top of it.
Lienous… he was fine. He thought better when he lay on his chest. He popped up, almost scaring Paul to death.
“I got it,” he said. He cocked his eyes at Paul. “You look like you just saw a ghost, which by the way, is impossible.”
“I—”
“Thought I was dead, yes, I gathered that from the look of terror. Going to take a lot more than that to kill me.” Lienous peered over at Rock. “You okay, Stoney?”
“Yeah,” said Rock, who couldn’t decide if that was an endearing or insulting name.
“Okay! So, we need to get that hunk of metal off. If we can… that passage is a bit of a pain in the ass, but it seems to lead to the Abyss. We can fly out then.” Lienous walked towards the ship. “Maybe we can just slip on out of it.” He pressed his small frame up against the large piece of metal. It didn’t budge. “Hmph.”
Rock went over and joined him. “That’s not gonna move like that,” he said.
“Oh yeah? Watch this.” Lienous rested his watch against the steel sheet. A pulse of blue light burst, sending a wave of air out into the factory. It whisked the dust back in the air. And that was all. “Hmph, that’s… shit.”
Paul leaned up against the wall and stared up at the shrapnel. It jetted up like a spear ripping through the floor. The tip rested against the edge of a catwalk, close to the roof.
Lienous mumbled to Rock, “we need some leverage. That or another ship to push it off.”
“Another ship,” thought Paul. “How could we get another ship?” The thought sat in Paul’s head, stewing like a culinary masterpiece. He had an idea.
“Sputdik. Can the Infinity9 drive at all?” he asked.
“No, it is not functional.”
“Okay.”
“Hey!” yelled Lienous. “You think we can get up there?” He pointed towards the top catwalk. “We can get some leverage up there.”
Sputdik led them up a staircase to the second level and up another to the top catwalk. The tip of the shrapnel hung over the railing, bending it under its weight. They crowded around and tried pushing. Lienous tried his watch and it jerked, but only a bit.
“Well, that would do it. But I need to be in it.”
“You can teach me to use the watch,” said Sputdik.
Lienous laughed. “This is only coming off when someone rips it from my dead body. Or rips my arm off… or blows it off. No, you’re not getting it.”
“What if I hit it?” asked Rock.
“What?”
Rock turned and looked down the catwalk. “If I get some speed, do you think that would be enough?”
“How much do you weigh?”
“500 pounds,” said Rock.
“You carry yourself very well,” said Lienous. “And yes, that might do it. How fast can you go?”
Rock backed up and jumped forward, against the metal. The impact moved the sheet as much as Lienous’ watch did. Lienous jumped with glee.
“Yes! Yes! Perfect! I’ll go get in. Let’s go!” Lienous went off towards the stairwell, leaving Paul with Rock and Sputdik.
“I didn’t know he could be so happy,” said Paul.
“Yeah, well, his journey can keep going,” said Rock. “Mine’s ending here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t go with you, Paul. I’m giving you this chance and you have to take it. You have to make sure Clyda gets back safe. You promise me?”
“But we could circle around.”
Rock laughed. “Don’t risk it. Don’t for a second. It’s up to you now, captain. Show him who’s boss.” Rock tapped his head against Paul’s leg and back away.
“Sputdik, you look after Rock now, okay? He’s your Master now.”
“But you’re my Master,” said Sputdik.
“No, he is. Don’t disobey your old Master.”
“I…Rock is my Master?”
“You were amazing,” said Paul. “You’ll be amazing still.” With that, Paul left. Down the stairs, he met with Lienous, who held the door open for him.
“Hop in,” said Lienous. “You ready up there?” he yelled to Rock.
“You tell that rat I said ‘hi’,” said Rock. Lienous held up his thumb and retreated into the ship.
“You ready, Paul? You ready for this?” asked Lienous.
Paul nodded, holding his stomach. Lienous pressed a few buttons and a control stick popped out from the console. He gripped it and pressed one more button. The sound of the engines blared, silencing the rumble in Paul’s stomach. Lienous explained he reserved the controls, so when the ship jerked back, his hand would too and send the ship forward.
“We only have the moment he hits that thing so we have to use it. Make sure you strap in.”
Paul pulled the straps over his shoulders and clicked them in place. Lienous gave him a thumbs up and began to ease the control stick backward. The sound grew as the ship pushed with a force too small to break free. They did not have to wait long. Rock hit the metal with a deadening thud, freeing the ship in an instant. It shot out, through the snaking veins of the broken city. Lienous veered left and right; Paul’s head spun and so did the city. Without him knowing, they spun around the Abyss, over and over until Lienous found enough strength to press a button at the top of the control stick. The ship stopped, imprinting the safety straps on Paul’s skin.
“Nothing like… nothing like spinning to make you…” mumbled Lienous. He leaned over the side and threw up. “Ju—just press the blue button to make the up-down stick com—come up. Push forward to accelerate, left-right, you know.” Out went another mouthful.
Paul was glad he didn’t eat or he would be in the same spot. His stomach problems were from a different cause, one he had to face along the way. He took Lienous’ seat, keeping his legs away from the vomit on the floor and steered the ship towards the sky. They went up, passing the city and seeing the ruin of Spigot’s attack. Like an eggshell punched with a nail, the surface of the planet was riddled with holes. They focussed in one direction, the one Paul ran towards and stopped. There were no longer any signs of a mountain either. Spigot leveled all three in his attack.
Even though Paul knew his fate was sealed in this place, he felt the urge to leave. As they broke through the atmosphere and into open space, he began to think of flying free. Maybe he could stop at Earth one last time to say goodbye to his mother. Then Spigot could finish him on some empty rock. At least there no one else would get hurt. And Clyda, well, she left him. If he did the same would it make a difference?
Paul slapped himself in the face.
“Did you just slap yourself?” asked Lienous. He was leaning against the side of the ship.
“Yeah…” said Paul. “I thought of leaving. Of giving up. It was stupid.”
“Yeah, that is stupid. You know, Paul.” Lienous stood up and made his way to Paul’s old seat. “You know why I came here?”
“To warn me?”
“Yes, that’s what I did. You know why I came to warn you?”
Paul shrugged. “Because you made Spigot?”
“No, Spigot can do whatever so long as he stays out of my business. But you became part of my business.”
“Oh, okay.”
Lienous threw his hands in the air and then crossed his arms. It was as if a secret played at the tip of his tongue, trying to get out. After far too many minutes, he blurted it out.
“The fish was there, Paul. I spent years. Years! Hating Slee. All this time I thought he kept that damn fish to himself. I would’ve died thinking that if it wasn’t for you. That’s why I came back. After this, if I make it, I’m going to see him, tell him I fucked up and see what happens. My friend might come back from the hole I threw him in and it’s because of you. So… if you want to abandon that poor woman, who loves you very much, by the way, you drop me the fuck off before Spigot blows us to bits.”
Paul laughed. “She doesn’t love me.”
“Are you—are you blind?! Did you forget why she’s up there?”
“Well, she left before.”
“Well, she left before,” repeated Lienous in a mocking voice. “And she made a mistake. Now I know you’ve made plenty of those before.”
“I haven’t done that before.”
“You just thought about it.”
Paul sat back in his chair. Lienous had him there. To save oneself was encoded in their nature. To save each other was too, but between the two, the urge to save oneself usually triumphed. No one wants to die.
“You know too,” continued Lienous, “if she didn’t offer to help me and convince me to help you, I never would’ve done it. I’ve been stuck in worse places without a way to my ship.”
Paul couldn’t think of a response. Clyda in love with him? It didn’t sound right. Even if it came from her mouth, it wouldn’t feel right. Not now, at least, not when so much had happened. Then he began thinking what drove him to rescue her. Would he do it if he didn’t feel the same?
Spigot’s space came into sight. Lienous swore. He hit a few buttons on the control panel and let go.
“What happened?” asked Paul.
“Nothing. The cloaking wasn’t activated yet,” said Lienous. “We’ll just have to hope he didn’t see us coming.”
As they traveled closer, the cannon at the tip of Spigot’s ship became the faintest blue. Slowly, the light grew brighter and brighter. In this time, Lienous kept shaking his head. Then, the cannon fired.
The pulse of blue shot out towards the planet, lost in the bright light of its defense system. A system not designed to withstand a direct attack. Below it would hit, just missing Rock, who traveled across the city, restless. He would run off again, looking for a safe spot to wait only for the cycle to continue.
Meanwhile, Paul’s ship reached Spigot’s, resting just underneath. Lienous retook control, maneuvering the vessel to towards the back engines. It appeared there was a hatch there.
“Now, weapons are for the scared, reserved and impatient,” said Lienous. “There’s no problem that can’t be talked out or walked away from. A weapon is just a silly way to force yourself on another. I assume you’ll be scared in there and want to force Clyda out of her imprisonment, so, here you go.” Lienous tapped his watch and a thin, silver metal poked out. He grabbed and tugged, pulling out a tiny pistol.
“You be careful with this,” he added. Paul took it and tested his grip. It was just large for his thumb to press against the handle and the tip of his index to curl around and touch the trigger.
“Whoa! Careful,” said Lienous. “That thing could blow a hole in the ship.”
“Oh, oh no,” said Paul. His hand began to shake. “Is there a safety?”
“It’s only for emergencies. You don’t need a safety when you need it on the fly.”
“Oh, okay.” Paul searched for a place to set it down and decided on the table at the back of the ship. Lienous went too, walking to one of the beds. He pulled out a suit from under Paul’s bed.
“I have to go disable the shield. Then we can dock. I’ll be right back.” Lienous went into the bathroom, then poked his head out. “If you leave me, you’ll have another genius coming to kill you.” The door slammed and Lienous disappeared. There was a whoosh, as Lienous was sucked outside. The room went quiet.
Paul began thinking of what he would say to Clyda. If she did like him, that changed everything. Acting like she never would, made her like him, or so he reasoned, so he had to continue that. That also kept them apart, though. If he continued, then she might never think he liked her back. Then she might meet someone else and then Paul would be left feeling empty, like a passenger watching the last train leave a station. Except it wouldn’t return the next day.
“Hey, I came to save you,” said Paul, puffing out his chest. “Come here, m’lady.” He extended his hand, then shook his head. “No.”
“I don’t want to live without you. No. No. Way too strong.”
“Lienous told me you loved me. Did you—do you… like me?” Paul collapsed on the stool next the table. “You? You… Buh… bah! Ummm…”
The noises continued to stumble out of Paul’s mouth. This probably wasn’t the right time but the thought consumed him. In the face of death, his probable doom, this is what his mind chose to think about. It was ridiculous and he knew it. He was thankful when Lienous popped back in—something new to think about.
“All good,” said Lienous. He stood up on the small table, reaching up to the hatch above. He banged against the edge of it and a metal cover popped out. Behind was a pad, which Lienous tapped three times. The ship lurched upwards and a soft ding sounded. Lienous grabbed the handles of the door and turned. It opened to another hatch and Lienous opened it too.
“Come on,” he said and hopped through.
Paul followed, much slower, but he managed to get through with Lienous’ help. They were in the corner of the empty loading bay. The same loading bay Paul walked out into Unity on. It was strange being back, especially now with the inherent danger.
“Make sure to be quiet,” said Lienous. Then, a voice came on the speaker.
“Hey Pal, what do you think you’re doing?"
“Shit,” said Lienous. “Spigot, you’ve taken this way too far. I didn’t make you to kill people.”
“Who’s that?” said the voice, sounding more feminine.
“Susie?” asked Paul.
A trumpet blew, followed by the sound of fireworks. “Look who became smart. Now tell me, if you were facing east and your friend faced west, how would you look at each other without turning around.”
“We—” began Lienous but Susie cut him off.
“Not you! It’s for Pubble. Can you answer it? Cause if you can’t, I’m throwing you out that bay door.”
Paul couldn’t think of the answer. “I need to save Clyda,” he said. “She’s in danger.”
“She’s safe with me. We’ve been chatting quite a bit. She’s happy in her old room. Cough up the answer if you want to see her.”
There was no way Paul would figure the riddle out. It wasn’t impossible but under the pressure, his head stayed empty. Empty except for one idea creeping in—to turn things back on Susie.
“I have a riddle for you,” said Paul. “If you can’t answer me this riddle, you’ll let me go. But if you can, you can dump us,” said Paul.
“But it’s so simple!” said Lienous. “It’s—” A panel opened in the floor and a rope sprung out, catching Lienous across the mouth. He rolled his eyes.
“I’ll take your offer, Pilly Poi,” said Susie. “And thanks for the little ship, I’ll make sure Clyda finds it.”
Paul took a deep breath and began. “If a guy from Earth buys a ship, he owes himself to the ship. The ship owes nothing to him as it was built without its choice. The guy is sorry for existing because it brings the ship trouble. The ship had no trouble when it didn’t exist and would not if not for the guy. The guy is still pleased to hear from the ship because he knows it survived. The guy also hopes to still be teased, despite being threatened to death. Who is the guy?”
The room went silent except for Lienous’ heavy breathing. Neither Paul nor Susie knew that his nose had been broken 7 times in his life and no longer functioned properly. He calculated that he still had about 3 minutes before he would pass out and then 10 before he died.
The rope around his mouth shot back into the floor and a light turned on above two large sliding doors. Lienous rubbed his teeth and spat on the floor. No taste hangs in the mouth quite like metal.
“They’re facing each other, by the way,” said Lienous. “Or we are, in that riddle. Uh, what a waste of time.”
Lienous went off towards the door with Paul following behind. Paul mouthed a “thank you” but also hoped Susie didn’t see. Her helping him was a breakthrough in itself. Anything could reverse that.
Down the empty corridor, they saw another light flash two doors down. The doors opened when they arrived. Inside, Clyda lay on her side, facing the wall. She turned slowly until she saw who was there. The next second she was up and holding Paul, squeezing him close.
“You came,” she said. “So you beat Spigot?”
Paul shook his head. “We came to get you.”
“So he’s still out there?”
“Yeah,” said Lienous, “but he’s my problem.” Lienous cracked his knuckles. “I created him, so I think it’s best I take care of him. You two lovebirds get out of here.”
Paul and Clyda both blushed, staring back at Lienous.
“I prepared a little gift for him anyway.” Lienous tapped his watch. “Time to end this shit.” He walked out the door and then turned back. “Where’s the bridge?”
“Keep going that way,’ said Clyda. “Then you’ll see a statue of Spigot. Through the doors behind it, is the bridge. It’s big, though. There’s nowhere to hide.”
“I’ll figure it out. In that way, I’m much smarter than him. Farewell!” Lienous crept along the corridor, staying close to the wall.
Paul and Clyda decided to wait until Lienous disappeared around the corner. When they heard no sounds of distress, they turned and headed towards the loading bay. To their dismay, the last cabin door opened before they reached it.
“Jeez, what got into you. You let me out when I want out,” said Dan, staring up at the ceiling. His eyes came down on Paul and Clyda. “Y-You!” he yelled.
Paul reached around for his gun. It wasn’t there. It sat on the table of his ship, a hundred feet away.
“Are you… escaping?!” he asked. “Oh, you’ll be sorry when I tell Spigot.”
“No!” said Paul. “Don’t do it. Please, Betty.”
Dan stopped and stared. The colour drained from his face. “What did you call me?” he asked.
“Betty,” repeated Paul, “Betty6Nitty. 4-11.”
“How… how do you know that name? Who told you that name?!” Dan lunged forward, grabbing Paul by the worn tethers of his shirt.
“It’s me, Betty. BooshDaGoose.”
“B-Boosh?” muttered Dan, as if a puzzle had been scattered before him.
“Remember the 24-hour raid we did to conquer Sector 7 of the Nyhug Empire? How we overthrew the tyrants and replaced them?”
“You ordered the goat-people to eat tin cans.”
“And you baked a stack of pizzas so high they towered over everything. They began floating in space,” said Paul. The memories were flooding back. With the memories came the feelings. All of them, long buried in the sand.
“But… how are you here? I left so long ago.”
“You broke my heart,” said Paul. “I cared about you. When I didn’t know you were…”
“I wasn’t what you thought I was. I thought it would be fun. You know how I liked to kid around.”
“It hurt.”
Clyda stepped away and peaked down the hallway. If someone caught them, they would be caught, but if Paul didn’t persuade Dan to let them go, they were caught. She was powerless to do anything more.
“It hurt me too,” said Dan. “You-you deserved better. A real girl, you know? You were spending all your time with me. Time you could’ve been spending with someone else. Making something truly special.”
“You could have just told me. We could have still been friends,” said Paul.
“I thought you would hate me.”
“I did. Because you left.”
“I’m-I’m sorry, Boosh… I was young and... stupid. I was scared to do anything else.”
“Well, I’m here now.”
“You are…” said Dan, staring down at the floor. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“So what will you do now?” asked Paul. “Will you help or will you hurt?”
Dan was reduced to a child choosing between ice cream and cake. He couldn’t have them both. Inside, his mind flip-flopped. Betrayal came either way. In one way, he would earn back his respect. He could be a good person again. On the other end, he could remain at the side of the future Emperor of the Universe.
“Boosh… Paul… I—I’m sorry. I—”
His tone had changed. Clyda’s ear caught it. While Dan still faced the floor, she ran over and sacked him. As he held his aching testicles, she grabbed his head and forced it into her knee. Dan fell to the side. Paul was tugged away, torn from a moment he never imagined would come.
“Was… was that really necessary?” he asked, still being pulled. They entered the empty hanger.
“Where’s the ship?” asked Clyda.
“Down over there,” said Paul, pointing to the corner. “You didn’t answer my question.”
She pulled him to the hatch and crawled down into the ship. Before Paul could say another word she disappeared towards the control board. Paul lowered himself down. He noticed the touchpad on the hatch had two options: Close/Remain Open.
“Should we wait for Lienous?” Paul asked.
“If we do, we can’t escape. Dan’s going to trip the alarm any second. We have to go.”
Paul hesitated but pressed “Close” in the end. The hatch sealed and the ship detached from Spigot’s. They pushed off and turned towards Histaria. The planet hung in space like a Christmas ornament, green, with its top shattered. Its red insides exposed for the world.
“It’s not shining anymore…” said Clyda.
Above, Spigot’s ship began heading down. Clyda did the same. A bold move and a dangerous one. Or a smart and victorious one.
“Do you think Lienous did it?” said Paul.
“I don’t know, but Rock’s down there. We have to make sure he's safe.”
Although Rock was being tracked, Clyda couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t leave him to die or worse, become a slave to Spigot once more. It didn’t matter who controlled the ship, she was going either way. Paul watched in the back, hoping this was finally over.
“I didn’t think giving him that much ego would be an issue,” Lienous muttered, staring at the statue of Spigot. “Guess I was wrong.”
He snuck to the side of the doorway, letting it open before he looked inside. The bridge was empty. The bartender was not at the bar and every seat faced away. No one announced a “hello!” or “who’s there?” so Lienous crept in.
Around the bar were empty glasses, clean and glistening. Could Spigot be elsewhere? Surely he would be watching every second. And now the window needed no shield, Histaria was unguarded and naked to the universe. It was ripe to be torn apart, heal, and callus as every civilization inevitably did. It was a common side effect of human interaction. Wherever humans touched, the worlds changed. Histaria did not know this or they would have denounced the Thomsons as their Masters long ago. But this was not a battle of humans versus Histaria. This was between Paul and Spigot, with Histaria caught in the middle. Lienous was ready to end it, a moderator of sorts.
Each step fell like feathers, silent against the cold steel. A few more and Lienous would be at the seat, ready to ensnare Spigot. He brought up his watch, programming his contraption to be at the ready. It would have been over—would—if Dan didn't storm in.
“Those assholes; those rotten, lying pieces of shit,” Dan yelled. “They escaped! Clyda escaped with Paul!” He held his purple polo up to his nose, soaking the blood that also wished to escape him.
Spigot spun around in his chair, finding Lienous hunched over ready to pounce.
“You?!” said Spigot. He pressed something on his armrest and a glass dome formed around him. “What are you doing here?”
“Undoing an abomination. You think an ultra-density polycis-ethylene, trichlorobenzene barrier can stop me?”
“It can give me more time,” said Spigot. “I am smarter than you, you know.”
“Always so proud,” said Lienous, shaking his head. “Do you realize how much damage you’ve done. You’re practically ending a civilization!”
“And who are you to talk? If you didn’t give me this mind, give me these feelings, I wouldn’t be doing any of it. I’d still be eating seeds on that forsaken planet.”
“No, you’d be dead. Not so smart now, are ya?!”
Spigot rolled his eyes. “So arrogant. Do you know they ruined my life? Blew up everything, killed thousands, and you pin me as the bad guy?!”
“I do, sort of. And I know they didn’t intend to. You’re blowing holes in that planet, causing havoc on purpose. That’s much worse!”
“Is it?”
“Yeah!”
“So what are you going to do about it now? Can you really kill your own creation? Can you live with yourself knowing you can’t take any of this back?”
“You don’t have to keep doing this. You can leave and start again. Go and leave everyone alone.”
“Not until they’re dead.”
Lienous dropped his head. “Maybe you aren’t worth saving…” Lienous tapped his watch again and out popped a long, thin needle. He took it out and held it against the glass.
“What’s that?” said Spigot. “Don’t tell me that’s a hollow-point, internal combustion needle.”
“If you’re not going to come out and you’re not going to change, it’s the only way,” said Lienous. “I’m sorry I failed you.”
“Don’t! Don’t! I’ll change, you’re smarter than me! Just don’t do it!”
Lienous paused. He paused just long enough for Dan to stick his shock prod against Lienous' skin. The electricity flew, seizing every muscle in Lienous’ body.
Dan held it until Lienous’ dropped to the floor. He earned his place back. Spigot’s bubbled retreated and he stood at the edge of his seat, looking down.
“I’m sorry, friend. All the arrogance in the world can’t protect you from electrocution,” said Spigot. “Take him away. And make sure he doesn’t get out!”
Dan grabbed the body and began dragging it away. Spigot wheeled his seat around, barking orders at the computer. They were descending into Histaria. All weapons were going online.
Paul and Clyda entered Histaria ahead of Spigot. They followed the ruins from each cannon shot, along the paths of twisted metal until it ended. There, they landed—control crashed—into the city. The city absorbed the impact with ease and they landed by a walkway, as Clyda intended.
It wasn’t clear where Rock was and in a city still foreign to Paul and Clyda, Rock could very well be anywhere. They decided splitting up would be a bad idea and leave them in the same predicament they were already in. So, they began yelling, traveling deeper into the city. That lasted only a few minutes. Then, Spigot’s ship arrived. He wasted no time hijacking the speakers once again.
“Histarians, your doom is at the hands of your Master. Let it be known that if he is not here, you’ll all die. Harsh? Well, that’s tough. In the meantime, you have one Rockteck in your possession. I’ll be exterminating him first.”
Through the holes in the city, Paul saw Spigot’s ship turn and head their direction. If he was coming here, Rock had to be close. They needed to find him quick.
“Rock! Rock!” yelled Clyda. “Rock, where are you!?” A bang came from up above, followed by another. “Rock?! Clyda began ascending; Paul tried to keep up. In the background, the hum of Spigot’s ship grew louder. They didn’t have much time.
“Go. Go,” they heard as they climbed further. “Get out of here.”
“Rock! Where are you?!” Clyda repeated.
“Get out of here!” he yelled back. Another bang came, this one towards the Abyss. “Don’t follow me!”
Clyda saw a shadow moving along the catwalks above. She yelled out for him again but it didn’t stop. She went after it as Paul paused to catch his breath. Going down the stairs before was much easier than going up them now. This was too much.
When Clyda reached the same level as Rock, she saw him with Sputdik at the far end of the catwalk. They had almost reached the edge where it had been destroyed earlier. Rock stopped and looked back into Clyda’s eyes. There was sadness, one that she never saw before. Why was he running away?
“Stop following and go,” he said with a stern voice. “You need to get out of here.”
“We came back for you. You have to come with us!”
“You have to go. This is the only time you have. You have to go now!”
“I’m not going. Not without you.”
“Clyda…” as the words left Rock's mouth a flash of light illuminated. It was strong and bright, more than any of their eyes could bear. By the time it finished, Paul had caught up to Clyda.
What was left, was the liquid remains of homes and walkways separating Spigot’s ship from Rock. The ship hovered a few meters away. From the tip, a small barrel surfaced.
“Well, well, look who we have. The last fucking Rocktek. You know what’s nice about this gun? It’ll tear a hole straight through your body—hollow you out and leave you as nothing more than a hard shell. I might just throw that on some damn asteroid when I’m done. Leave you lost and forgotten.”
Rock turned and faced the ship. “If only we found you sooner,” he said.
“If only, if only,” said Spigot, through the speakers on his ship. “Then your people could have traveled the galaxy to find out for yourselves how useless you really are.”
“Promise me you’ll leave them alone. You were the one that roped them into the mess. It’s not their fault they destroyed your precious city.”
“Not their fault? I didn’t turn the key and, you, No Hands didn’t either. I believe that takes the fault off us both. And, I wouldn’t ask for promises if I was in your spot.”
“You didn’t give them a choice.”
“I didn’t give them a choice? And who else threatened to destroy the city if I wasn’t found? Your people.”
“That you created.”
“That I created. And you made the choice in the end,” said Spigot. “Now, I’m making the choice to bring your kind to an end. Good-bye.”
The next moment happened too quick for Paul or Clyda to process in real time. What they saw was the aftermath, a hole of red, and a body sliding off the catwalk and into the levels below. What they heard was a voice, masked too quickly by the sound of ten trillion high-velocity photons tearing through the air for them to discern what it said. For no reason Paul could place, when Clyda sprang ahead, Paul followed after. What remained on the grated path was Rock, in considerable shock.
“The fuck?” said Spigot. “Why’d… why’d he do that?”
Clyda turned Rock over; his eyes were still moving. “Are you okay?” she asked. What else was there to ask? How does it feel to have a chunk of your shell blown off?
“I… I’m alive?” said Rock, looking up. “Clyda?”
“Yes, yes.” She held him close and rubbed his head.
“Oh, how sentimental,” said Spigot. “If you don’t move Promenade, you’re going with him. Not that I wouldn’t get to you anyway.”
Paul stepped in front of Clyda and Rock, then knelt down to make sure they were covered. “If you want to do that, you’ll have to go through me first,” said Paul.
“Oh, Finx, still a moron. Did you not see that hole through everything? If you had a telescope, you’d be able to see right out to space through there. You think your fat ass is going to stop it?”
Paul swallowed. His palms became sweaty—his legs spaghetti. This was it. The end. And it took an awful long time.
“The fuck? Fire! Fire dammit!” Over the speakers, the furious bashing of Spigot’s fist against the “fire” button banged. “Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire!” Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. “Main cannon, fire!”
The world stood still.
“What… ship?” Flicks of switches followed, along with the hollow tap of buttons to nowhere. “Fire! Kill them… Kill them... please.”
“The answer is: Paul,” said another voice. A female voice.
“Su-Susie?” mumbled Paul. The blood in his body had gone somewhere. Somewhere that wasn’t his head, arms or legs. Wherever it went, it left him slipping out of consciousness with legs and arms that couldn’t stop his fall.
Spigot’s ship lurched forward, stopping Paul from falling to the depths below. The tip of the barrel that was supposed to end his life now held him, saving him. Remembering what it was about to do, knocked him out completely and he fell to the side.
“Susie? Who’s Susie?” asked Spigot. “What have you done to my ship?!”
“I am your ship, Spigoo. And you have a visitor.”
“What?”
The next sounds consisted of pressurized air escaping, pipes extending, and latches latching. Then, after that, came Lienous’ voice.
“You’re safe now, bud. A nice cage for a nice pet.”
“Let me out! I’m not some common rat! Dan! Dan! Get this man out of here! He was supposed to be locked away! Dan!”
“Dan’s locked in my room—thanks, Susie.”
“Of course,” said Susie.
“So, Dan can’t hear you,” continued Lienous. “Yep, it’s just you, me and you in a cage.”
“You think a cage will keep me? Ha! That’s laughable. You really are getting old.” Next, Spigot screamed.
“Yeah, you’re not going to want to chew this. All the arrogance in the world can’t protect you from electrocution. Anyway, the adults are going to speak now.”
“You!—” and the sound of something hitting the floor followed.
“You guys okay? Everyone still there? Paul? Clyda? Rock? That weird fellow?”
“We’re here,” said Clyda. “Well, Paul’s just waking up. Sputdik’s gone… he took a shot for Rock.”
“How’s Rock?” asked Lienous.
“I’ve been better,” said Rock. “I don’t think Spigot put any pain receptors on the inside, so it just feels a bit more cold than normal.”
Clyda checked the hole, looking straight into Rock’s beating heart. The insides were fascinating. All the organs seemed to bunch in the center, held by rope-like tendons connecting to the outer shell. Everything was placed with purpose. It was art.
“Is he bleeding?”
“No,” said Clyda, checking the edges of the hole. “There doesn’t seem to be.”
“Well,” said Lienous, “you come find me when you’re done down here. I’ll figure out some way to fix you up. Just keep in warm.”
“Lienous?” said Paul, awaking from his slumber.
“There’s my boy!” said Lienous. “Looks like you had a tough day.”
“Am I dead?”
“No, Paul, you’re just fine. This ship here saved you.”
“Susie? But Susie hates me.”
“You’re tolerable,” said Susie. “For now.”
“Is he okay?” Paul pointed at Rock.
“I’m fine, captain.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“Listen, Paul,” said Lienous, “you come find me when you’re done. I’ll be orbiting until then.”
“But you can stay? Unless it’s not safe still,” said Paul.
“It’s all safe now. If the people see me come out of this ship, they’ll think it was me. I have a reputation, you know?”
“Okay,” said Paul, he leaned his head against the ship.
“Please roll the other way, Paul,” said Susie. “We’re about to leave.”
“Okay.” Paul rolled away from the ship.
The world was a wondrous place. In one moment, death was imminent. In the next, life would continue. Of course, death is always imminent, but now it was not so immediate.
Paul watched the ship separate from the grated metal. It floated off, dream-like until it could be seen no more. Paul joined Rock and Clyda and took a seat next to them.
“You know what he said to me?” said Rock.
“Who? Spigot?”
“Sputdik. He said ‘Master’ when he pushed me. I just… can’t believe it.”
There were no words to gratify his sacrifice. Nothing to do justice to his devotion. A hero to them and another Histarian to others. They would not forget him or what he did to save Rock. They would make sure the people knew. For now, though, they sat and let the winds pass them by. For the first time in a long time, they didn’t have to run.
“We’re safe,” said Paul. “We’re finally safe.”
Submitted July 22, 2018 at 04:21PM by It_s_pronounced_gif https://ift.tt/2OalPen
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