by Alan Spencer
"We're getting there," Dr. Fleming shouted. "We make a stand here and hold our own, we might just make it."
Water was breaking through every doorway. Sharks were spilling into the field of battle. They kept firing lasers and tearing up their targets until one after the other, the lasers lost their power.
"What do we do now?" Ram demanded. "Huh? I thought these were super guns. You never said anything about them running out of ammo."
Dr. Fleming touched his chest. He had a belt of grenades. He handed everybody two.
"Throw them good. Maybe it'll scare them away long enough for us to escape. Once these things go BOOM, you charge down the escalator."
Dr. Fleming pointed at the end of the escalator eight floors down from their position to a steel door that was green. The door was wide open.
"You go through that door, hurry through it, and you'll go down a short flight of stairs. That's Floor Zero. There, you'll find the emergency vehicles. Hop in, and you'll be out of here. Home free."
The automated system announced: SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE WILL BE ACTIVATED IN TWENTY MINUTES.
"GRENADES!" Dr. Fleming shouted. "THROW 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM!"
Everybody pulled the pins on their grenades and threw them up.
"RUN!"
Ram and Buffy did as they were told.
The BOOMS of erupting grenades sounded like killer thunder. Pieces of fin and pink bleeding hunks rained down on them. Treading down each escalator step until they reached the part submerged in water, Ram and Buffy dove and made a break for Floor Zero.
Ram was underwater. He could hear the sound of heavy bodies strike the water. The incoming rivers were bringing in more and more sharks. He kept his eyes forward. Buffy was paddling hard ahead of him. Dr. Fleming was right behind him.
When Ram crossed through the door leading to Floor Zero, he turned around to hurry Dr. Fleming through.
Dr. Fleming was in a panic. "Hurry! It's right behind us!"
Ram saw the threat. The giant great white shark was coming at them like a thrown dart. Dr. Fleming and Buffy pulled Ram backwards and away from the doorway. The great white was a 3-D image, its head becoming larger and larger by the second. The shark slammed into the doorway. It's head was stuck between the narrow gap. The shark squirmed, gnashed its teeth, and did everything it could to come loose from the threshold.
"That was close," Ram gasped. "You see the size of that thing? It's huge!"
Buffy didn't care about the shark. "Screw it. We're here. Let's get on one of those ships and get the hell out of here. Fuck those sharks."
"You're right. Words from a scholar."
They turned around, and that's when they spotted the horrific scene. It was over and done before they could do anything to save Dr. Fleming.
The doctor's head was in Mercy's mouth. Ram could see the doctor's wild eyes and mouth unleash curse after curse. Seconds later, Dr. Fleming's head burst from the power of Mercy's clamping jaws. Dr. Fleming's headless, neck-spurting body took three awkward steps backwards and splashed down in the knee-high water.
Mercy's fluid-garbled voice seethed hatred and re-anointed hunger. "You're next, Ram. Then it's going to be that whore that goes down my throat next."
Ram clenched his fists.
"It's you and me then, Bible banger. By the time we're done, we'll see whose going to heaven, and who's going to hell."
Ram charged at Mercy.
Mercy lowered into the water and sped towards Ram.
They soon collided.
Grudge Match
Ram was all fury. He was growling like a bear, charging the human shark freak.
Mercy had the speed. It's mouth kept chomping at the water, taking practice bites. Then Mercy lunged from the water, taking to the air. Ram ducked, grabbed Mercy by the arm-fin, and forced the arm backwards until the elbow snapped. Mercy unleashed a sharp cry of pain and splashed down into the water.
Ram didn't have more than two seconds before Mercy swam at him again with the speed of a bullet. His arm fin was leaning to the side awkwardly, a broken thing. Mercy didn't take him head on. Mercy's back legs swung and pounded Ram against the back. Ram was thrown several feet and slammed into the water.
He needed a moment to remember which way was up, and which was down. His head rang like a gong struck by an aluminum baseball bat.
Mercy was already arcing his way around again and speeding towards him completely underwater.
Half the lights in the room suddenly went black. Ram had no idea where Mercy was, and that cost him. Mercy bit Ram on the arm. The man shark didn't take much meat, just a strip on his triceps muscle.
Mercy gave a stranger tittering sound of amusement.
Mercy's fucking with me. He could've killed me just then.
I need to get under his skin before he eats all of mine.
Ram clutched his bleeding arm. Mercy was poised across from him at a standstill. The shark was licking his lips and teeth in fervor.
"You know something, Mercy? The way you just laughed, it sounded like every person in the crowd when I threw that pigskin into your brother's face. When Jake fell in the end zone on his stupid ass, now that got everybody rolling!"
Mercy was all motion.
The shark threaded through the water with rage.
"I'll take pleasure in eating you raw and shitting your worthless remains out my ass! IN THE NAME OF GOD!"
"Everything you've done in your life has been out of your ass, not in the name of God!"
Ram wasn't sure how he was going to counter the shark’s next advances.
Mercy pushed himself out of the water and was airborne. Any moment, the shark man would crash into him and kill him.
Ram thought fast and without true strategy.
The strangest item touched his hand.
A wet Bible.
Ram grabbed it, and pitched it at the shark. The book came open mid-air and slapped the shark across the mouth. Mercy was so confused by what struck him, Ram had his opportunity. He lowered his shoulder and speared Mercy's back. The impact caused Mercy's spine to shatter. The shark man crashed into the water. Mercy was limp and floating on the water.
"This is for my family! And this is for everybody else you slaughtered in the name of God."
Ram grabbed Mercy by the neck and the back, and putting his entire body into it, he tossed Mercy towards the great white shark trapped in the doorway.
The shark chomped down on Mercy's body and swallowed him whole.
"Cram that nasty morsel down your throat!"
Buffy treaded water to reach him. "You're bitten."
"I'll be fine. The poor doctor, not so much."
The emergency ships were very much like the hovercrafts that brought them to The Redeemer. When they approached the closest vehicle, the side door came open. An automated voice from inside said: STEP INSIDE FOR IMMEDIATE SAFETY.
The great white shark at the door applied enough force against the doorway's edges, parts of the wall came undone in big chunks. Splashing into the room, the shark slide across the water and headed right towards them.
Death was incoming.
Eyes Set to the Future
The great white was a furious man-eating machine surging across the water. Ram and Buffy hurried up the step ladder to get inside the ship. Little good that would do, Ram thought, because the shark would chew up the ship like a tin can and free up the little sardines inside.
Buffy hugged him close at the top of the stairs. "I'm sorry it's ending this way. At least I got to meet you. I almost swore off men before this."
"At least we got one last fling out of life. I guess that's all you can ask. One last good moment."
"Who knows? Second Earth might've been a shit hole."
A giant explosion erupted out the top of the great white's head. A geyser of blood and cracked skull was unleashed like a concentrated volcano. The shark crashed headfirst into the water dead.
Pathfinder climbed out the side of the shark's mouth. Ha
lf his fake skin was melted away to reveal circuitry and steel. The cyborg was battle ravaged, but still alive.
"Change your tampon, Ram, you're not dead yet. Quit slinging the English to get into her panties. You'll live to throw another touchdown. Now get on that ship and get out of here. I'll cover you. Now move out! My orders! No more spouting flowery bullshit!"
They piled inside the craft. Ram and Buffy were quick to close the door to avoid flooding the inside. When the hatch door closed, they took a look at the interior. There were several chairs, rows of control panels, a restroom, and a screen at the head of the room that came on. The giant sized screen showed a live feed of the outside of the ship.
Pathfinder's hands had become machine guns. His chest was a rocket launcher. Out his eyes shot lasers that cooked shark flesh. Hundreds of the sharks were trying to invade the port. Pathfinder was blasting, blasting, and blasting, until his body was suddenly attacked by an electrical surge. The cyborg was fried, and crashed into the water.
Dead for good.
The automated voice inside the ship announced: Clear to take off. Self-destruct sequence three minutes from activation.
A wall of lemon, bull, blue, and killer sharks burst through the surrounding walls of the ship's port. The aquatic attack was heading right for the emergency ship.
Buffy cried. "I knew surviving this was too good to be true."
Ram knew there wasn't a damn thing he could do to change anything. They had done everything to scrape for another moment of life.
He remembered Gaby, and the time he was standing under a burning tree outside of his apartment. A silver blanket was all that protected him from being scorched to death by acid rain. Ram was a lucky guy, he thought. He had kept to himself for the past few years. Guilt and fear had ruined his social life. He no longer played football. He didn't date. He didn't see friends. Life was better now, despite the situation. He had conquered many things post-Earth. The Church of the Red Revolution was terminated. Mercy Lazar was dead. The people who killed his wife were long gone. He made love to a beautiful woman. Ram could see himself falling in love with Buffy, if they had the chance.
"It's a shame we didn't get out of this alive. We could've kept the world going. That mouthy cyborg was right. I thought about us, and how we could repopulate the Earth. And do things right, despite Globo Corps. Someone's got to challenge the system, and keep those rich assholes at least semi-honest."
"Quit talking," Buffy said. "Kiss me before the sharks eat our asses."
Ram and Buffy accomplished the best goodbye world kiss two tired and battle weary persons could attempt.
After that, Buffy refused to watch the monitor screens. Ram couldn't keep his eyes closed. His eyes stayed glued to the head of the ship, and the multiple camera angles.
He was confused.
"Wait. A think we missed something."
"I can't watch."
"Buffy, you need to look."
They weren't in the Redeemer anymore. They were miles away from it. Whatever technology was used, the hovercraft's thrust and ride were both smooth and impossibly fast. The screen showed the Redeemer from afar. They were floating in deep black space, and the best part, Ram thought, they were in one piece.
Buffy was so happy, she laughed hysterically. "If you're not killed by religious terrorists, and if you're not eaten by the sharks, or murdered by greasy businessmen, you might enjoy a pretty view of space."
Together, they said, "Globo Corps. Eyes set to the future."
And Ram added, "And heads way up our asses."
Big Boom
What do two people who survived near death multiple times talk about?
Ram learned the answer.
Absolutely nothing.
That wasn't by choice. Three minutes after realizing they were safe, there was a giant sonic boom. The ship was jostled hard moments later.
"What the hell was that?" Buffy cried out. "Please tell me this is over! I can't take anymore."
Ram pumped his fist. "Ye-ah! Look at the screens. Now that's what I'm talking about."
The Redeemer was belittled by distance. The monitors showed the giant steel hamster ball erupt. Top to bottom burst. Orange fire spread as the once space marvel was diminished into flying chunks of destruction.
"It's over," Ram said, trying to convince Buffy. "You see! The ship's gone. We fucking made it. There's no chance anything else can happen to us. We've been through fish hell, and you know what? We survived to swim another day."
"Ram, would you stop talking and look."
He felt his body deflate. He had to hold himself up against the wall so he wouldn't fall to the floor. "No. It can't be."
Thrown from the blown up space ship and picking up speed were what had to be a hundred sharks. They were champing at the air, pivoting their bodies to use the force applied to their bodies to reach their ship. Even outside the ship, the sharks craved blood, and in ninety seconds, the sharks were going to get it.
Ram and Buffy could only watch and wait for their incoming demise.
Unbelievable
Ram searched the consoles for anything they could defend themselves with. He scrambled and couldn't see anything that stood out. The system was completely automated. Designed for freaked out passengers to jump in and take a ride and nothing more.
The sharks were floating in a wall and getting closer.
"This thing has no weapons," Ram growled. "I can't make this thing move any faster. Come on, computer. Help us!"
The computer didn't respond.
Buffy was on the floor. He thought she was going to break down. What had really happened, she had located a compartment that had a silver platter of booze, cigarettes, and cigars.
"You should join me. We're dead in less than a minute. It's long enough to enjoy a few more drags and drinks."
Ram kept searching. "I refuse to give up. After everything! It can't end this way."
"It will, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Buffy was enjoying her cigarette with a smug, I don't give a fuck anymore expression. "Smoking this is better than sex. Sorry, Ram. It just is."
Ram couldn't hear what she was saying. The monitor screens said everything.
Things weren't going to end badly.
They were going to end infinitely worse.
By the time Ram decided to give up and enjoy his final moments with a sexy woman and a cigarette, the hellacious show commenced.
Incoming!
Ram was thrown from his standing position. The emergency ship surged forward in a burst of speed. The automated voice said: Engaging Hyper Speed Mode. Please buckle up in the safety seats for your protection.
Ram and Buffy rushed to the seats and strapped in tight. They were posed right in front of the wall of monitor screens. The ship was weaving, turning, dropping, dodging, rising, surging, stopping, braking, and powering forward non-stop, while being jostled the entire time.
Buffy lost her stomach.
Ram lost his next.
His head ached from the constant infliction of whiplash.
He did his best to catch glimpses of the screens. There was a lot going on outside the four walls of steel that protected them. The ship's ride was a sickening one, but it was for a good reason.
The ship was doing its best to avoid the massive meteor shower!
Sharks were taking hits. The giant hunks of meteor would smash through the sharks and detonate them on impact. Some were merely decapitated, split in two, or broken into deflated carcasses. Sharks guts spread about space, floating aimlessly. Ram imagined a psychotic seafood restaurant chef's chopping block if his tools were only hammers and blunt force.
The ship kept dodging close calls with sharks and meteors alike. A shark split in two by a meteor slammed into the ship. Whatever cameras were on the outside of the ship were smeared in red. They were blind to their fate.
Ram held Buffy's hand and didn't let go.
Awake
Ram's return to consci
ousness left him full of questions.
Why weren't they floating in space anymore?
Was he dead?
Where was Buffy? Was she dead?
That question compelled him to get up and moving. He was brought right back down by the weight of his head. Crusted blood covered his face. The seat belt apparatus had snapped, and threw him from his seat. That's why he was unconscious.
Where was Buffy?
He couldn't stop thinking about her.
Ram forced himself to his feet once again. He shut his eyes against the bright sunlight filtering in through the opened side door. The door wasn't exactly open, he realized. It had been forced open.
Working his way outside, he realized the side of the ship had taken some serious damage. Meteor divots and shark blood covered the outside. Flies buzzed around the ship, tantalized by the rank smell.
The ship had landed next to a moving stream. Woods surrounded them. Ram imagined they were in a backwoods location in the Mid-west. He scanned the dense trees and down the stream. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Buffy bathing naked in the stream.
If there was a sight to cure every ache in his body, that would be it.
When Buffy saw him, she ran right for him. Her face was relieved. Happy tears sprang into her eyes.
"I thought you were dead! I checked your pulse. I couldn't tell if you were breathing or not. You're alive. I didn't know what I'd do alone. I thought...I thought you were dead."
"You're not getting rid of me that easily."
"Oh, Ram. We made it. This is Second Earth."
"It looks just like...Earth."
"A chip off the old rock. Who cares? We're alive."
She was right.
That was good enough.
For the moment.
Scouting for Answers