The Skink Master said, “Ingenious plan, but the odds of your success were mathematically slim. You will be imprisoned until it suits us to begin your treatments. I warn you to be cooperative or face unseemly consequences. It would be illogical to be insubordinate.”
“Take them away,” the Skink master said.
Before he turned, Tarik said, “Why? Just tell me why.”
Looking a little perplexed, the master said, “What are you asking?”
“Why did you even bother genetically altering the human race? Why didn’t you just engineer a plague and wipe out humanity? Why did you create the Nu-Mans? With your technology, you can practically do anything. You have machines. You could have made robots, androids, that would have acted as slaves to do your bidding. Why defile another sentient species when you could have just destroyed it?”
With a shrug, the Skink master said, “There is a sense of accomplishment when living and breathing entities succumb to your will. We enjoy lording over the inferior. Besides, we learned a long time ago that machines are not to be trusted. With the level of technology it takes to make them useful to the extent of being sentient, they operate under the delusion of superiority. We have fought more than one war in our ancient past to quash machines’ rebellion. We are not prone to make such a devastating mistake like that again.” He then turned and walked back the way he had entered the room. The two Skink warriors followed behind, and four of the Nu-Man guards, including two that had the data crystal and Zax’s blaster and backpack, followed.
Caxeem motioned his blaster to the door they had entered. “You will come with us. Both of you, exit the room and turn left. Don’t make any sudden moves. You will not be injured. Cooperate, and you will receive a great reward.”
With defeat in his eyes, Tarik glanced over at Zax and did as instructed. Zax followed. Even when he turned from the doorway and looked down an empty hallway, he didn’t feel the urgency to flee. Now he knew what true hopelessness felt like.
The six marched in silence to their destination. One hallway led to another. Surprisingly, there were no curiosity seekers along the way. Maybe the halls had been cleared for security purposes.
As they turned down another hallway, the sound of additional boots on the floor joined in. Tarik turned his head to look back and saw Caxeem staring at him. The Nu-Man jutted his nose upward as a reminder for Tarik to keep walking.
As the entourage turned another corner, more Nu-Man security joined. This was unusual. Were the Skinks so afraid of him and Zax that they felt the need to beef up the security force?
As they came to a unique looking door, Caxeem ordered, “Stop.”
Tarik and Zax obeyed and turned to face their captors.
The seven Nu-Man security team gathered in front of them. One held Zax’s blaster and his backpack.
“The time machine is in there. The data crystal is in the pack. The mission is all but complete,” Caxeem said, more matter-of-factly than victoriously.
“But—” Tarik started.
“There was no way to sneak you two in. We had volunteers to be scapegoats for the cause. I turned them in to keep the Skinks’ trust. Our plan worked,” Caxeem said. “Like the others, I will deal with the consequences later. We all will.”
“We have the spirit of warriors,” Zax said.
The Nu-Man rebels grunted a low affirmation.
The door opened. The Nu-Man holding the backpack and blaster gave it to Tarik.
“Thank you all. I will not fail you,” Tarik said before he entered the room.
The lights were dim in the front. To the rear, some thirty feet away, lay the machine. It was simple in design. Two obsidian slabs, shaped like the dominoes he played with Hudson when he was younger, faced each other atop a low pedestal. They were ten feet or so in height and spaced the equal amount of distance as they were tall.
Over to the left side, a single Nu-Man scientist sat at a control console equipped with a viewscreen. He stoically raised a hand to acknowledge Tarik, and then pushed a series of buttons, which pulsed the machine to life. “Two stars will die this day. Through quantum entanglement, their power will be used to transfer you in time.”
Tarik couldn’t begin to imagine the technology involved to make time travel possible. It didn’t matter. He was going to use Skink superiority to ultimately defeat them in a battle that they would never be aware that they had lost. And he, Tarik, would be in a world filled with humans just like himself. Perhaps for once in his life, he’d begin to know what normal felt like. Then the thought of losing his beloved Nu-Man friends cut his brief delight to the quick. He was a man torn, but the inevitable had long been decided.
The scientist motioned for Tarik to enter the confines of the machine.
Before he could make one step forward, a barrage of blasters rattled outside of the room. He turned and saw Zax run toward him and the rest of the Nu-Man rebels spilled into the room.
“We’re under attack! Go!” Zax said, standing between Tarik and the doorway, with nothing but his bare fists to fight back.
A Nu-Man rebel fell, and then another.
A projectile whizzed by Tarik’s ear as he turned and ran. He took two steps, and something hit him so hard in the back that he fell face-first to the floor. The backpack and blaster skidded in front of him. He’d been hit! Burning fire consumed the right side of his chest. Blood spilled like a broken water pipe underneath him.
“Tarik!” Zax cried and bounded to his side.
The world around Tarik bobbled like a ship in a storm. He felt Zax’s fingers caress his left cheek. He had failed. The Skinks had won. The Earth would be pillaged by alien invaders and one day be left to die without one of its children left to shed a tear.
“Tarik…Tarik…” Zax’s words carried the futility of the situation, nearly drowned out by the gunfire.
Tarik coughed and blood stained his lips. He would be dead soon, but there was still one more chance. “Zax,” he said weakly. “You have to go back.”
“Me? I can’t go. I’m a Nu-Man. I’ll probably be killed on sight.”
“You’ll have to find a way. You trained right along with me—helped me remember how to change the data crystal. You know what to do. Go—” Tarik ended in a short cough spasm.
Zax looked over at the backpack and blaster.
“Zax, I love you,” Tarik said before he closed his eyes.
The barrage of blasters slowly faded.
Tarik felt comforted, just like when Hudson used to hug him goodnight.
*
“I love…” Zax held his words as he saw he’d lost his friend. Shaking off the shock, he picked up the backpack and blaster. He didn’t know how he was going to pull this off, but he knew he had to try. In four great strides, he was up to the pedestal and stepped between the dark slabs. The energy flowing through the machine made him feel like tiny insects were feasting on his skin.
Quickly looking over at the control console, the operating scientist wasn’t in his chair. He was laying beside the desk on the floor.
The gunfire had stopped.
Zax looked up and saw three Nu-Man security guards and two Skink warriors stepping over the dead rebels who lay on the floor.
“Hold your weapons. Do not damage the machine,” one Skink warrior ordered. He pointed at Zax. “You, come down. Give yourself up. You have lost.”
He still had a blaster. At best he could take out the Nu-Man security guards. What was the point?
“We have captured others in your group. They will be punished most painfully if you do not comply,” the Skink warrior said.
There was no way to know it this was a bluff or not. Zax’s head and shoulders slumped toward the floor. He was going to give up. He couldn’t stand feeling the energy crawling over his body anymore anyway.
Just before he stepped out, a movement by the control console caught his eye.
The scientist’s arm was up, and his hand lowered to a button on the control board.
&nbs
p; Reality twisted clockwise as if something unmovable held center point, forming a spiral that increasingly turned black until Zax no longer realized that he had ever existed.
Chapter 14
The Present
“Good morning Salem, Missouri. Time to get up and shave, shower, and get in ship-shape to start the day. This is your ol’ pal Al on KQKY bringing you the best of Classic Rock of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Guess what time it is? It’s time to drive, The Cars!”
Cole woke to the laid-back rhythm of Rick Ocasek’s guitar enticing the listener to “Let the Good Times Roll.” As sleep let go of his mind, the pulsing beat gave him an extra dose of energy.
He sat on the edge of his bed with his feet hanging down, feeling the dampness of yet another night sweat. Though he could not recall, he inevitably had his reoccurring bigfoot dream.
Bringing his hand from behind his head, he rubbed it through his hair on the top of his head. He immediately thought of Charlotte, and how last night she said that she had preferred it when his hair was longer. Crap! He didn’t want anything to work against him with her. There was nothing he could really do to make his hair grow faster. Then, he remembered an ancient bottle of Rogaine still in the washroom cabinet that his dad had bought to treat thinning hair on the crown of his head. Would that stuff help his hair grow faster?
He glanced at the clock and realized he was wasting time. Feet hit the floor, and then socks went on. When he stood in front of the mirror, wearing only his underwear, his gaze immediately went to his hair rather than inspecting his developing muscles. Maybe he could wear a cap until his hair grew out? But that wouldn’t work. School policy didn’t allow boys to wear caps during class. He was just going to have to have patience and let nature take its course.
Cole put on his pants and shirt, and then went through the morning rituals in the washroom. He picked up his pace a bit to make up for lost time.
The automatic coffee maker had a pot brewed, and the warm aroma hung in the kitchen’s air. Cole heard his dad stirring about and quickly grabbed a spoon from the drawer and a cereal bowl from the cabinet, and scooped two spoons of sugar in the bottom. He had to change his routine up a little to ensure he didn’t get caught sneaking sugar in. He went for the milk next and poured it half-full, and returned the jug to the fridge. His dad was by the kitchen doorway as he headed for the bowl, with the cereal box in hand.
As usual, focused on the coffee pot like a zombie going after fresh brains, Mark Rainwater lumbered in. With the grace of the Frankenstein monster, he pulled a mug from a hook under the counter and poured a cup of coffee. His eyes fully opened as the mug reached his lips. “Morning,” he said, and then took his first taste. “Ugh, forgot to put in the sugar.” He opened a drawer and picked out a teaspoon.
Cole had a mound of Cheerios in his bowl and was carefully digging toward the milk layer without spilling any on the table. He watched his dad step over to the sugar bowl and scoop out a heaping spoon full. Why did his dad decide to use a spoon for his sugar this morning?
While stirring the sweetness in, he said, “Charlotte seemed nice.”
Cole nodded, crunching away at the whole grain goodness. Then he wondered what marshmallow bits mixed in would taste like. A whole lot better, for sure. “She is a nice girl. She’s good in science and mature for her age.”
Mark smiled. “Are you mature for your age?”
After a pause, Cole said, “You know, Dad, that’s a question I’ve never thought much about until lately. I’ve read a lot of things, and I do know more about certain subjects than some adults do. But I’m just starting to understand what feeling mature is like. I’m starting to think differently than I used to. I see things in a different way. It’s like I didn’t know what I didn’t know until I could see with different eyes. It’s like my conscious is expanding, or something.”
“You’re growing up. Your brain is still developing, and you’re learning from your experiences. Hormones play a role in that too. Part of being mature is not to let your hormones overrule your head.”
“I guess so,” Cole said, letting his dad’s words sink in. The way the world worked in his mind was changing. There were so many things he thought he understood that now he wasn’t so sure. There were things too he never cared to understand, but now he did. He forced in another spoon of cereal. Life used to be simpler, he thought.
“You think you could catch a ride with Joey, after practice? His dad has offered to do that, for when I get held over at work.”
“You’re working over today?”
Mark shrugged his shoulders and closed one eye, “Wellll, not exactly.” He cleared his throat. “I…I was thinking I might go into town after work, and…uh, check out the gym Charlotte’s mom mentioned.”
Cole stopped chewing. He turned his head and gazed up at his dad.
After an uncomfortable amount of time had passed, Mark asked, “What are you staring at?”
Chewing what was left in his mouth and swallowing, Cole said, “I thought you said you didn’t have time to work out?”
“Yeah, I said that. But you know, I’m not getting any younger. If you want your old dad to be in good shape and live a long life, then he’s going to have to start taking better care of himself. You see how working out is getting your body in better shape. You don’t want your dad to become some fat old man, do you?”
There was no use in arguing that point. It was funny, though, that his dad didn’t get that grand revelation until meeting Lori Meadows last night. “You like her, don’t you?”
His dad became the proverbial deer in the headlights.
“Charlotte’s mom. You like her. I can tell.” He had thought so last night but hadn’t given any consideration this morning.
“Hey, well, you know. She’s a nice lady…takes care of herself…she’s a good mother, I can tell.”
“She talks too much,” Cole said, and then commenced reducing the pile of cereal to the last floaters atop the milk.
“Lori? Nah, I wouldn’t say that. She was probably just a little nervous last night. Wanted to put on a good first impression. I ended up talking as much as she did after you two went out to watch the space station.”
“You didn’t ask her out on a date, or anything, did you?”
“No, didn’t do that. That gym is having a special going on this month. Lori gets bonus points she can apply to her membership for every new customer she can get to visit. She invited me to come this week, that’s all. Figured I could spare an afternoon. You good with that, right?”
“Sure Dad, whatever.”
“Cole, son, don’t get an attitude with me. You’re growing up fast, and in just a few years, you’ll be off to college and won’t be living at home anymore. You becoming more independent means that I’m gaining some independence too.”
“You’re right, Dad,” Cole said. He really didn’t mind his dad getting out more and living his own life. But what first concerned him, was that it was Charlotte’s mom whom he found interest in. What if his dad and Lori Meadows did start dating? What if they broke up over something and Lori turned Charlotte against him because of his dad? What if his dad and Lori really hit it off and got married? Then Charlotte would be his sister. His sister! How screwed up would that be? “I hope you have fun at the gym, tonight.” Cole picked up his bowl and headed to the sink. “I gotta hurry. Bus will be here soon.”
He ran some water in the bowl and rushed toward his room to brush his teeth, put on his shoes, and gather his books. He couldn’t wait to see Charlotte. And, he hoped she couldn’t wait to see him.
*
When Cole arrived at school, Kirk Ford and Dean Setters waited as usual by the mulberry tree. For some reason, he was too self-conscious to tell the two boys about the science project he had done with Charlotte Meadows. They were sure not to believe him, at first. He didn’t want to try and convince them otherwise. Too many things could go wrong. They might think that he was bragging, and there was no way of tellin
g what rumors they would spread that might come back to bite Cole in the butt.
No, it was just better to act like today was any other day, and just wait for the news to come out in science class. Cole would then just stay cool, be mature about the matter. After all, it was just a science project. He would act that way about it and not let on that Charlotte had said that she had wanted them to become friends. If one thing led to another, well then, if they started going steady, then he’d be happy to talk to others about it.
Cole headed to the front doors of the school building alone. He had told Dean and Kirk that he wanted to be sure to get to Mr. Ritzman’s class early—to show Ritzman he had learned his lesson from the day before. Mr. Ritzman would appreciate that. At least the man walked the walk. He demanded respect but always offered it to others first.
Mr. Buddy unlocked the school doors, and the first wave of kids entered the main hallway.
Cole watched the humble janitor step out of the way of the human rushing river and man his trusty mop and bucket. How many piles of puke would he have to mop up today? Cole wondered if Mr. Buddy kept a mental record of things like that. The job seemed pretty mundane. If Cole were the janitor, he’d do things differently. He’d find a way to make the kids be a little more responsible and help keep the school clean.
There weren’t many people in the hall by his locker. Cole sat his backpack on the floor and opened his locker door. There were some old papers, a plastic bag, and candy wrappers shoved in amongst his books and notebooks. What a mess. He took the plastic bag and filled it with the unwanted trash, and then straightened everything in his locker. Wow, it was a lot neater and looked like it had twice the available space.
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