Monster

by Patrick F. Johnson

  * * *

  Frank awoke with his face down on the hard floor. A pain had formed on his lower back and he realized something was clawing him. He quickly turned to discover Doris frantically clawing at the varitherm to find an opening. The sight of the massive, prehensile penis enraged him. He felt his shield pulling in close to his body and then retracting. Somehow, it was pushing the hulking mass of the Gote away from him. He found the strength, suddenly, to stand and look at his attacker's face as the shield had Doris now pinned against the wall.

  “You again,” Frank said in Gotian as he stared Doris in the eye. The Gote was frantically trying to find the correct button to push. “No,” Frank said as he pushed harder. Doris flattened out against the wall, barely hanging on to the device.

  “Your eyes,” Doris said with a gasp as he stopped struggling.

  “I don't know why you are this way,” Frank said as he willed the shield to press harder. “I am sorry for you.” He pressed harder, until he could hear bones cracking as Doris was crushed against the wall of the cell. After a couple of minutes of not breathing, Doris was dead, and Frank dropped back to the floor. Doris's body landed with a thud near to his feet. Small jolts from the collar reminded Frank that although he had fended off Doris, his situation was still very bad.

  “Frank?”

  His eyes had returned to normal and opened in disbelief. “Am I dreaming?” he asked.

  “No, my love,” Gladys answered. “This is a cloaked remote. It is killing me to see you like this.”

  Frank was unable to push himself upright. “I'd stand up, but, well, I can't.”

  “The gravity has you.”

  “Boy, does it ever.” Frank tried to move and received another jolt.

  “Your body should adapt,” she said. “Aren't they feeding you?”

  “They're only serving meat, and as you know, I am a vegetarian.”

  “Oh, Frank, eat the meat.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes, I'm sure. You will have to free yourself. None of us can withstand the gravity.”

  “You're sure that I can adapt to this?”

  “I see no reason why not. Just look what you were able to do already. Have you been raped this whole time?”

  “No,” Frank chuckled. “That guy had a score to settle with me. I did that to his jaw.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “They always knock me out before they open the door so I don't know that I will have a chance to break out that way. Maybe I can find a way out of the dome once the tournament starts.”

  “That is several weeks away, Frank.”

  “That will give me time to do some adapting. I think I may have an ally in the next cell.”

  “Oh? What species?”

  “Construct. Professional assassin.”

  “Do you think you can trust him, or her?”

  “He was hired to kill Korick. He wouldn't say who hired him, but I have a feeling that he would like to complete the job.”

  “I know how you admire a strong work ethic.”

  “Yes, and he's funny too. How is everyone holding up?”

  “The Nakamuras have accompanied Nera to Nuun to help Bett defend the people there.”

  “What?”

  “Shortly after you left, Bett showed up in a Gote ship. They had attempted to acquire humans. He killed them.”

  “Okay. That's cool.”

  “Denise took Constanthos to Japan.”

  “Why Japan?” Frank asked.

  “Hiro had suggested it. Constanthos seemed to like the idea.”

  “I wonder if she was wanting to train,” Frank mused.

  “Frank, they are coming,” Gladys said. “I will park the remote up above the camera.”

  “Are you going to stay?”

  “No, I am going to search for more allies. The royals may be moving against Korick. I love you.”

  “I love...” Frank was shocked into unconsciousness before he could finish the words.

  25.

  Yohei Nakamura watched as the mysterious young lady systematically wore out every martial arts practitioner that he could supply. Most of them had remained well-mannered, except for the Yokozuna, who had felt very offended. Yohei simply had no words to soothe their wounded pride, so he sent them away. His swordsmen, however, cherished the experience of training with such a well-rounded combatant. And she was very easy to look at.

  “I'm afraid we are unable to provide a true challenge for you,” he said with a smile after everyone had finally given up.

  “I am just training, Master,” she replied with a bow. “It is not my intention to be challenged. I only wish to hone my skill. The true test awaits on the other side of the galaxy.”

  “Young lady,” he started, “I cannot possibly comprehend what you intend to do. I only hope that we have been a help.”

  “You most certainly have. I wish the wrestlers weren't so unhappy. They taught me so much about leverage and momentum.” A smile formed on her face. “By the way, I'm not really a young lady.”

  “A gentleman neither asks, nor assumes, a lady's age.”

  * * *

  “Why are you hailing me from your ship?” Korick asked as he hardly looked up from the reports that were piled on his massive desk.

  “You need to turn on the monitor of the Monster's cell,” Ottwan replied. “Doris smashed my drone on his way to assault the human.”

  “Ahn!” Korick yelled as he stood to look at the view screen.

  “Yes?” Ahn said as he entered the room. “Is something wrong?”

  “It's Doris. Watch.” They stood silently watching the footage from both the corridor and Frank's cell. Korick had a look of shock on his face. “He killed him without even touching him. How is this possible?”

  “I am at a loss,” Ahn replied.

  “And when were they planning on telling me? Have the guards on duty questioned.”

  “Right away,” Ahn said as he turned to leave the room.

  “I obviously have no idea what you just saw,” Ottwan said. “Could you please describe it?”

  Korick sat down heavily in his chair. “Doris had used the collar to render the human unconscious. He entered the cell and was attempting to mount him, but he was unable to get through that coating. But then the Monster woke up. Doris was somehow lifted off of him and pressed against the wall. He couldn't move. And then he simply died. The Monster dropped to the floor and appeared to talk to himself.”

  “That is an entirely unique ability,” Ottwan said. “I have never heard of such a thing.”

  Korick looked back to the view screen. “How can something that looks so weak be so powerful?”

  “It is the Curse. How does he look? You should try to do something to make him look more impressive, or no one will want to bet on him.”

  “I will have Moldew's human work on that. Were you able to get any information out of him before you were interrupted?”

  “No. He insists that he is not affiliated with any of Earth's governments and therefore has no access to any weapons. I was working up to asking him what became of the Li capital ships, but Doris smashed my drone.”

  “There was no report of wreckage of any sort from our scout ship. Could they have retreated?”

  “They were answering to me at that point. They seemed to have simply vanished.”

  “And they were loaded with nuclear weapons?” Korick asked.

  “I'm afraid so. Every capital ship that Tirogof had was either destroyed or lost. Every nuclear weapon was lost.”

  “Damn,” Korick said. “What of Earth now? Is anything stopping me from taking them myself?”

  “Korick, they turned back the Mingrein. They somehow overcame seven capital ships.”

  “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

  “Have you ever seen a Li capital ship?”

  Korick chuckled. “I will have to admit that I have not.”

  “That is because they are cloaked. They
are far larger than your warships and more heavily armed. We Li aren't as physically powerful as you Gotes, so we have to make up for it with our technology.” Ottwan fought to work a compliment into the exchange.

  “You have given me much to think about. I have few other issues to tend to as well.”

  “Is there anything that I may help with?”

  “As a matter of fact there is,” Korick replied. “I had a warship dispatched to retake Korbaal and they haven't reported back.”

  “I am running low on supplies,” Ottwan admitted. “I can restock, and then jump to Korbaal. I can give you a report within a couple of days.”

  “That would be tremendous.”

  * * *

  “I, wow,” Michelle started. “I can't believe he volunteered for that.”

  Robert had a far away look in his eye. “He's going to need help. I'm having trouble thinking of a solution.”

  “I can feel your anxiety from across the garden,” Cindy said as she strolled down the path toward them. “May I?” she asked as she reached out with her hand.

  “Yes, of course,” Robert replied as he offered his arm.

  After her eyes came back into focus, Cindy said, “I fear that I may have sent him on this path. I went in search of help, and he is the only one that answered my plea.”

  “He's not the only one,” Robert said with a smile. “You are a kind and gentle, uh, being. I'm learning that that's a rare quality. I know I'm with Frank on this.”

  “Me too,” Michelle added.

  “As are we,” Gladys' voice came from the direction of the finished area, as she and Phildan came down the path. “Robert, your words are very true. There is only a handful of beings that I consider true friends. You all are at the top of the list.”

  “So, what do we do now?” Michelle asked.

  “We have jumped away from Vera,” Phildan answered.

  “Where are we off to?” Robert asked.

  “Earth,” Gladys responded. “If Constanthos is ready, we may be able to regain some speed.”

  “I don't understand,” Robert said.

  “She and I worked on a new halo design that will allow her to interface with the computational systems, enabling her to use her ability to perform the more abstract mathematical calculations that she was able to perform in her previous state of existence.” Phildan paused and was about to elaborate with much more detail before Robert cut him off.

  “Phil, I don't know what any of that means.”

  “Oh. She's good with computers.”

  “But what about Frank?” Michelle asked.

  “The tournament is several weeks away,” Gladys answered. “Frank believes that his recent attack was an isolated incident. I advised him to eat the food that they offer, so that his body can adapt to his environment.”

  “We're all going to have to have a long talk about that some time,” Robert said.

  “What do you mean?” Gladys asked.

  “I mean no disrespect,” Robert started, “but Frank can't keep this up forever.” He was met with a blank stare. “He can't, right?”

  “I won't lie to you, Robert,” Gladys said. “There have been some unforeseen side effects from the procedure that he went through when I appointed him Custodian.”

  “Well, I know about the healing. And the speed. He says he isn't that strong but I know he is. What else is there?”

  “He has an odd ability to control his velocity shield,” Gladys answered. “They are designed to protect us from projectiles, as you know. But they interact directly with the wellness implants. I didn't realize that the adaptive traits of a human would cause him to have the ability to actually weaponize his shield.”

  “Yeah, we saw him crush that fat fucker. Is there anything else?”

  “He will adapt to the gravity. Not many humans are able to do so without some type of assistance. That Raymond Stewart seems to be an exceptional human for having done so. Frank hasn't been eating. They only serve meat apparently. I told him to eat the meat.”

  “So just like that, he's going to adapt?”

  “Yes, Robert.”

  “And he's going to be, like, super strong?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well damn. Those Gotes are fucked then.”

  * * *

  “Frank, are you awake?” Raymond asked from outside the door.

  “Yeah.”

  “They still aren't letting me get anything for you other than meat. I'm sorry. I tried.”

  “I guess I'll just have to eat the meat then.”

  “Okay, I'll be right back.”

  Frank hadn't moved much since he came to again. He was pleased to see that they had removed Doris' corpse from his cell. He was expecting some form of punishment, but so far, nothing had happened.

  “Would you mind telling me what is going on?” Jard asked from the next cell, in that painfully slow language.

  “Some Gote tried to have his way with me,” Frank answered.

  “That is terrible. Are you going to be able to recover?”

  “Oh, I am fine. The Gote, however, is dead.”

  “You killed a Gote? Inside your cell? How?” Jard paused but he didn't get an answer. Finally, he asked, “Frank, are you telling lies?”

  “No.”

  “How were you able to do that, then?”

  “Leverage.”

  “I am afraid I do not understand.”

  “I do not understand it myself. Just listen to what you hear from outside your cell. They gossip as they pass.”

  Jard laughed. “You are so right about that. I am starting to think that the Gotes do not have nuclear weapons at all. Either that or they are more stupid than I thought.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Frank asked.

  “Korick always threatens to destroy worlds, but he never does. He has destroyed nothing. Yet worlds are too afraid to stand up to him.”

  “That is an interesting line of thought,” Frank mused.

  The slot opened and a tray of meat slid through. “There you go, Frank,” Raymond said.

  “Thanks, Ray. Keep it coming.” Frank forced himself to spin around to where he could access the tray and then began to eat.

  * * *

  “Please, just call me Stan.”

  “I see Frank's informal ways are rubbing off on you,” Dave said.

  “Absolutely,” Stan answered. “We're all friends here. This goes beyond borders. You guys have been through a lot of shit. You've made it through and Frank thinks the world of you. Any friend of his is a friend of mine.”

  “You've been through way more shit than we have, Stan,” Potts said.

  “It really isn't a fair comparison,” Stan replied. “You guys march in, fearlessly, to face whatever foe you meet. I was a prisoner of war. I didn't have much say in the matter.”

  “We are very glad to have you back, just the same,” Dave said.

  “Thank you. Well, as you know, Colonel Taylor here has been recently promoted. He will be in charge of what we are calling, for lack of a better term, our alien task-force.”

  “Congratulations, Colonel,” Chavez said with his odd smile.

  “Thanks,” Taylor answered suspiciously. “Nothing has changed, though. I'll still be here to bust your balls and keep you in line.”

  “I'd expect nothing less,” Chavez replied awkwardly as the oval office erupted in laughter.

  “Alright,” Stan said, “let's get down to business. Has anything changed since the last report?”

  “No, sir,” Dave replied. “There is no word from Gladys. The bugs are still doing their thing on the moon and Pock will call if anything appears.”

  “So, we don't know what this new group's intentions are. Does anyone have any ideas?” Stan asked.

  “All we know is that they threatened the Earth, so Frank left with them,” Dave replied.

  “Well, shit,” Stan said.

  “Stan,” Potts said, “we need to talk about Cindy.”

  * * *<
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  Ran burst through the doors to the throne room and then came to a dead stop as he realized there was a group of nobles having a conference with the princess. She glanced at him, and seeing the anxious look on his face, dismissed the nobles. She motioned for Chloe to remain at her side as Ran stepped forward to deliver his report.

  “Your Highness,” he said with a deep bow. He turned and respectfully bowed toward Chloe. “I have met with Moldew. Korick wished them to stay for a while as he requires Raymond's assistance as a translator. The Monster, of Earth is there, in a cell.”

  “Yes, I've seen the advertisements. Is the human as impressive as they are portraying him to be?”

  “Moldew seems to think so. Raymond did not disagree. The Gurdiks have evacuated Vera.”

  “The Gurdiks? Why?”

  “I'm still putting the pieces together, but it seems that the Monster killed two Gotes that were riding along with a Gurdik crew at Rhoshe.”

  “Ran, why would he kill Gotes?”

  “The story I got, from several sources, is the soldiers attempted to claim the Monster's female. He followed them onto the freighter and killed the two of them.”

  “Was he able to reclaim his mate?” Caja asked.

  “Yes, Your Highness. But here is where the story gets more unbelievable. Apparently, the Monster and his female opened the boarding ramp long after liftoff, and were sucked out of the ship and into the open atmosphere. Somehow, he survived.”

  “How is that possible?” she asked.

  “There is talk of a curse. Some say he is immortal. The Gurdiks fear his wrath.”

  “And what is your opinion of all of that?”

  “I've not yet formed one, Princess. But Moldew says he has seen the Monster do incredible things.”

  “So if the Monster was to somehow escape, do you think he would kill Korick?”

  “Undoubtedly.”

  * * *

  Frank was choking down more meat. He decided after his third helping that it wasn't so bad. He forced himself to stand for a drink of water. “No time like the present,” he said to himself as he tried to do a squat.

  “What is all that grunting about, Frank?” Jard asked jokingly from the next cell.