Evolutionary

by James Porter

  “Either way, we’ve won this fight. So give it your best shot.” Bud crouched as the huge being charged him but the force of the attack picked him up and carried him to the rocket slamming them both into the metal hull. Bud’s knife was impaled deep in the creature’s chest, but it was still alive. It reached for the knife which Bud was still holding grabbing his hand along with the knife and slowly pulled it out of his chest. “You are a strong SOB aren’t you?” Bud wrestled with the creature over the knife, but the orange humanoid was winning and slowly the point of the knife turned until it was facing Bud. “Well, crap” Bud struggled against the monster, but it was just too strong, the knife made its way closer and closer to Bud’s chest until the point finally pierced his skin and started to slowly cut through muscle. “AAAghhh!” Bud gave an involuntary cry as the blade pierced his chest and he was barely able to keep the knife from penetrating deeper into his ribs. The thing facing him grinned an evil grin as the muscles in its arms bulged, veins popping out as it fought against the puny human. Bud knew he was done for but he would fight until the end. “Figures, gonna die...and I don’t even… get a last dip” His pocket came to life as his little tobacco plant heard what it thought was its name. It popped its head out and seeing that its master was in trouble ran and leaped into the face of the huge humanoid. The man didn’t know what this thing was or what it was doing, but the momentary distraction gave Bud the opening he needed. He swung a right hook to the creature’s face that caught him square in the jaw, sending him flying backward stunned and shaking its head. Bud leaped up and caught the ladder to the rocket and snagged the cord leash to his tobacco pet. “Get up here, Dip” He started climbing as Tin Can fired the thrusters, the blast sending gouts of flame in all directions around the rocket killing anything that might have been alive on the ground nearby. Bud made it to the hatch as the rocket started to lifted off; its speed slow at first but rapidly gaining momentum. As Bud climbed through the hatch and sealed it dragging Dip in with him, Tin Can leaned from around the pilot’s seat and gave him a grin

  “Glad you could make it Sir Bud, How about we go save our people now?” He turned back now piloting the ship to where his people were waiting for a miracle.

  Chapter 35

  Star needed to push these things back or they wouldn’t survive to see the rocket ship. She had an idea, but wasn’t even sure it would work. She looked around at the pools of rocket fuel splashed around. They had pretty much ignored the stuff because it wasn’t toxic to them and wasn’t very volatile, unless you had a thousand degree match. She looked down at the welding torch and started formulating her plan.

  “You two. Bring those welding torches over here. I have a mission for us.” She gathered the two people over to her and explained her plan. “What’s the longest flame we can set these to?”

  The robots were pushed back to the escape boat at this point, backs to the wall the last defenders tried their hardest to keep the humanoids from overtaking the boat. The humanoids were trying hard to exterminate all of the robots when Star and her team leaped from the side of the boat with the torches shooting out a two foot flame. They landed with a thud and started running. The orange men were startled by her presence among them but even more startled when the first pool of rocket fuel was ignited by her torch. As the liquid exploded into flames, Star kicked the fuel sending a huge splash of it onto the humanoid attackers. The flaming fluid stuck to their bodies and burned their flesh, the riot that ensued as they tried to escape this burning horror gave some respite to the defenders. The people took this chance to push the attackers back into the flames and hopefully rout the assault. The mayhem didn’t last long though, as the flames died down too quickly to be of lasting help. Star watched helplessly as the humanoids regrouped and prepared for the final attack.

  “Pull back to the escape boat! This is it! Fight like our lives depend on it, because they do!” She leaped up to the side of their escape craft hefting the torch above her head in defiance as the hordes of Misty and Moot’s progeny stormed their defenses. Once again the fight was on, and even though the people had the higher ground, the attackers had numbers. There were thousands of them, and more streaming out of the woods. They wouldn’t be able to fend them off forever. If Bud and Tin Can didn’t make it back soon, this would be their last stand. As she stood watching the fight a sudden roar of an engine announced the rocket’ presence and great jets of flame showered down on the humanoids turning them to ash and bone. The rocket hovered near her position for a second and then the cargo hatch opened.

  “You guys need a hand down there? Or maybe someone can throw that chain up here.” Bud was standing in the hatchway trying to get Star moving. She was a little stunned at the sudden appearance but burst into action, sprinting to the front of the boat while her people continued to fight off the orange men.

  “Come closer! I need to jump in with the chain. It’s too big for you to catch” Bud knew that Star was right so he signaled Tin Can to come a little closer. Star grabbed the massive chain and jumped with it into the rocket. A small tremor ran through the ship causing everyone to pause, even the attackers. The ground started to ripple like water as the tremors grew into a full-fledged earthquake. Trees in the distance were collapsing and falling as the earth tore itself apart. The escape boat rocked and jerked sending Star out the hatch. Her fall was suddenly stopped as Alan grabbed her arm keeping her from falling over the edge.

  “I’m not going to let you go that easy.” Alan had a hold of her by the only good arm he had, wincing at the pain as he tried to pull her to him. Together they managed to get her back onto the boat. The rocket had lined up as close as it could, but now the boat was shaking and rocking making Star’s rescue even more treacherous.

  “I’ll try and keep you from falling off, just don’t miss on the other end.” Alan tried his best to be a brace to keep her steady while she crouched and calculated her trajectory. Once the timing was perfect she leapt into the air into the hovering spacecraft and flew right into the hatchway. Bud grabbed her as she landed and kept her from sliding around. They managed to get the chain fastened to one of the storage platforms and signaled Tin Can to take off. Alan struggled back to his harness as the boat jerked at the first tug of the chain.

  “Keep it in the atmosphere until I can get Alan and Lori aboard. They won’t last if we take them into space on that thing, unlike what we believed about ourselves, humans do need air.” As the boat pulled taut on the chain it began to drag humanoids underneath the tons of steel sliding across the rippling ground. The shaking intensified ripping open sections of earth and toppling wider sections of trees.

  “I’m going to get Alan!” Star leaped out onto the chain and swung around it in a long spiral toward the escape craft. As she reached the boat a large quake almost knocked her off her feet. “Try to keep it steady!” She wasn’t even sure if anyone could hear her over the turmoil the earthquakes were causing. The humanoids were running alongside the lifeboat and were leaping onto the side, clinging to it and trying to climb up.

  “Star you better hurry!” Bud wasn’t sure it would do any good, but the last quake had ripped open a huge chasm in the earth and if they didn’t get up in the air soon the whole thing would be swallowed by the hole.

  Star made her way to where Alan was strapped in. He was pale and looked very weak, but he still managed to give her a small smile as she appeared over him.

  “Tell the driver to try not to hit every pothole, ok?” He started coughing and winced at the pain.

  “We are moving you to the rocket ship, you won’t survive for long down here.” She unstrapped him and pulled him up. Again he winced and almost collapsed from the pain. “Please try and hold on, I can’t lose you, not like this.” She hoisted him over her shoulder and headed for the chain. Around her the robots were trying hard to beat the invaders off the ship, they were keeping them at bay for the moment, but that wasn’t going to last for long. When she got to the chain what she saw stopped her in
her tracks. Up ahead was the gaping chasm. Bud had been trying to warn her about. It was huge, and every second it grew larger devouring trees and grass and beasts all falling into the rip in the earth.

  “Just leave me, save yourself…” Alan’s voice was weak.

  “Shush, I’m not leaving you, but you might want to close your eyes.” She gripped him with one vice of an arm and then ran up the chain in a low crouch using her free arm as a third leg with grip. In a flash they were up the chain and in the storage bay. When Star looked down, she saw Lori crouched in a corner of the lifeboat. She motioned for the woman to come with them. Lori, in shock, actually got the message and followed the robot up the chain jumping in after them.

  “They’re in! Pull up! Pull up!” Bud yelled up to the cockpit where Tin Can was steering. In response he hit the thrusters and piloted the ship higher pulling the escape boat into the air behind them. The robots cheered as their boat left the ground and cleared the tree line. They were on their way.

  Chapter 36

  The ship screamed away from the planet leaving a trail of humanoid creatures sliding down the hull to fall back to the surface. Star climbed all the way in and closed the hatch. “That was quite close enough, I should think.”

  “Hey, Star? I think we have some bigger problems….” Tin Can was gesturing to the rapidly receding sphere below them. The planet was shaking heavily now as trees fell over and smaller hills crumbled to rubble. Tin Can deftly piloted their rocket over the crumbling terrain as they prepared to leave the atmosphere and make orbit. The shaking was getting more severe and as they watched the planet dwindled in size they could see a crack form along the surface that spanned the length of the equator.

  “It’s tearing itself apart! “As they watched the crack split and molten rock erupted from the fissure. Spewing miles into the atmosphere. Their ship was barely out of range. More magma shot from the crevasse as they tried to escape the planet’s gravitational pull.

  “Um, you think you could just get us out of here now? That’s getting a little too close for my comfort...” Bud seemed more than a little agitated at the proximity of the spouts of fiery magma.

  “I’m trying but were not accelerating anymore” Tin Can tapped one of the dials making a dramatic clicking sound as if to emphasize his dread realization. “It looks like we are starting to slow down.”

  “Look at these readings! It looks like the planet’s gravity is actually increasing! ” Star was pouring over the readings that the ship’s processor was generating “And if that’s the case then we will never get out of here.” As the words fell from her lips her eyes caught a glimpse of the terror below them…“No, it can’t….That impossible…!” Tin Can started to say something but his voice was lost as he peered down into the abyss below him. The crack running the length of the planet had split open and was moving back and forth giving the impression of a great gaping maw trying to devour them.

  “The planet’s going to eat us!” Tin Can had as much horror in his voice as his mechanical voice box could generate, and that was a lot. The planet’s “Mouth” opened and closed below them, magma spittle flying from the cavernous orifice. They all stared in horror as the planet tried to swallow them. “We are truly doomed!” Tin Can shrunk from the cockpit canopy, but there was nowhere for him to run.

  The radio crackled to life “Not on my watch, knucklehead…”

  “JAKE!” Star barked into the radio “but I thought you were dead! How..,? Where…?”

  “Not now sweetheart, I need you to swing that ship into a sweeping trajectory away from planetzilla over there, while I maneuver into position.” It was then that she noticed the movement out the viewport. She had to squint to see it, and could hardly believe what she was seeing. Lori jumped at the sound of Jakes voice and rushed

  “Are you on…?”

  “The mining rig….yeah, of course... The safety harness you made me put on when we were refueling, well I never took it off, kind of forgot to with everything that was going on. When I realized that ugly toad and I were too high for a safe landing, I activated it and jumped off. I was far enough out when the explosion happened not to die. The emergency suit kept me alive while the beacon flew me out into space toward the rig.”

  “Oh my God, Jake! I’m so happy you’re not dead!” Lori’s eyes teared up again, even though she had thought that she was all cried out.

  ”But how are you flying that? The mining rig isn’t designed to be flown as a spaceship.” Star interjected. Star couldn’t process how he could have reprogrammed the mining rig to launch.

  “That’s the problem. Remember the thrusters you told me not to mess with?”

  “Yes, but those aren’t connected to any steering controls.”

  “Precisely, I’m not flying this thing so much as I’ve caused it to start falling in a semi controlled direction” She swore she could hear the exhilaration in his voice.

  “Jake you need to come down from there right now!” Lori could feel her stomach tighten as she realized that Jake was on a crash course with the planet beneath them. “I can’t lose you again!” She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but what was said was said.

  “Lori, I have to kill a planet right now, but when I’m done can I take you to dinner or something?” Jake had to fiddle with the thrusters a little to adjust his trajectory.

  “Yes, YES! Absolutely.” Lori was crying now and having a hard time choking out her words. “Please just don’t die!” She had to turn away as the sobbing took control of her. Bud put an arm on her shoulder.

  “Good luck, buddy.” Alan said as they watched the mining rig come closer and closer.

  Chapter 37

  The rocket slung around the planet leaving the mining rig behind them as they sped up faster and faster in their attempt to escape. The landscape below them was a hellish scene of fire and destruction as the planet attempted to still destroy them.

  “So you see, I really can’t change direction much, but I have managed to use the small maneuvering thrusters to aim the whole damn thing right into the center of that monster.” Jake was trying to explain how he got into this situation while he was trying to figure his way out of it. “I’m just not real sure where to go from here.”

  “We are coming to a point of no return, Jake, you have to jump!” Star had to convince him to get off the mining rig before it was too late.

  “I’m still not really comfortable about jumping out into space and hoping not to be sucked into a killer planet’s mouth” Jake checked to make sure the harness was on tight. “How long do I need to wait before activating the suit again?”

  “Count to ten, then activate the suit.”

  “Ten, right.” He thought he heard a reply, but he lost radio contact. Their ship was gone, racing around the planet, speeding around to catch him before he fell. He waited a second, took a deep breath and then took a running leap into space. The planet below him glared at him with the gaze a shark would give a minnow before swallowing it whole. He wondered for a second why he even took a deep breath, he exhaled immediately so his lungs wouldn’t explode. His body felt cold but Star assured him that he wouldn’t freeze to death in fifteen seconds, something about not enough convection or conduction to lose heat that fast. “Three…Four…Five…” This was probably the most insane thing he had done, besides flying the mining rig into the planet. He basically willed himself to float higher up and farther away from the mining rig, but he really couldn’t control his speed or direction. Jake could feel his body start to swell as the water in his body vaporized. Well, that’s damn uncomfortable. Everything was in Star’s hands now, he just hoped that brain of hers was as big as he thought it was. “Seven….eight. His lungs were starting to burn. Shit, here goes nothing. He punched the button on his harness and felt the suit come alive around him. He suddenly could breathe again and feel warmth against his skin. The suit normalized the atmospheric pressure and his body stopped swelling. Glad that parts over. Suddenly he could feel the suit sta
rting to tug him back the way that he came. Back to the rig. Well, shit!

  “We’ll be coming back around any minute! We have to be ready!” Star had a plan, but it needed to be timed down to the millisecond or none of them would survive this. The rocket came screaming out of the planet’s shadow dragging the ruined hull behind it. “There he is!” She could see Jake in the old safety suit as the suit kicked to life and started thrusting him toward the rapidly descending mining platform.

  “Quickly now!” Her people moved rapidly and precisely in a way only machines can, forming a long chain of writhing metal bodies. Held together with the impossibly strong grip of their inhuman hands. Tin Can held the rocket in a straight trajectory as Star ran to the hatchway. As the door popped open she knew she had one chance at this. She leaped out and grabbed the tow chain in one hand as she spiraled down to their rigged escape craft. As she landed she ran along the twisted shell straight down to the snaking trail of metal bodies. Once she reached them she continued to run along the length of bodies keeping her eye on the target. Jake saw them coming and couldn’t really believe what he was witnessing. Star was coming to the end of her road, now was the tricky part. She reached down and grabbed the last hand on the chain and swung out into the abyss. The planet seemed to know what she what she was going to do and doubled its efforts to spew lava and gnash below them in an attempt to eat its’ killers. As the jaws crashed together pieces of the planets crust broke off. Shards of broken rock flew outward past the ship and the people dragging along behind it.

  “You know, you’re not programmed to protect humans anymore, this is too dangerous!” Jake looked up helplessly as Star sped toward him, this was probably going to hurt.

  “Dangerous or not, Jake, I get to choose, and I choose to preserve life even at the risk of my own. My choice, my consequences. True freedom.” He tried to change directions to match hers but the suit wasn’t really cooperating, and as she slammed into him he could feel ribs strain and crack expelling the air from his lungs in the most painful way possible. She clamped around him as they crashed together holding onto him like the most precious treasure that he was. Below them the planet seemed to scream in rage, magma spittle flinging from its maw in rage as the mining rig disappeared down its gullet. The planet seemed to chomp down on the tasty prize. “Time to hope beyond hope, Jake Wonder.” They clung to each other as the mining rig exploded deep in the core of the planet. The explosion really was a beautiful display of reds and yellows as the planet coughed out its life-blood into space. Streams of molten core trailed away like ribbons of fire to quietly darken and cool into long streams of silvery nickel. The planet gave a last shudder as it was ripped in two by its own gravity and the force of the explosion. Sending one half of the planet careening toward the sun and the other half spinning off into the cold grave of space.