by RJ Johnson
The grizzly, running towards Geoffrey, stopped and roared, the stone lodged in its ear flashing a dark purple.
Geoffrey aimed the pistol at the great beast’s head and pulled the trigger. Roaring in pain, the grizzly peeled off and moved away. Geoffrey fired as many times as he could, pumping every round of his high-capacity clip into the bear.
Roaring in pain, the beast scampered off to recover, and Scott stared in disbelief as his new ally retreated.
Scott shook his head. “Well, that’s not something you see every day.”
Geoffrey peeked out from the corner he had taken refuge behind. Reloading his pistol, Geoffrey moved towards Scott and aimed. He was done messing around with this chess club reject.
But before he could get the drop on him, Scott whirled around and fell to the ground. Two shots whizzed over Scott’s head, dangerously close.
Moving quickly, knowing that every second counted, Scott pushed himself up, firing his MISAMP dead onto Geoffrey’s chest. The whip crackle of his greatest invention snapped the air as the beam instantly boiled any vapor in its path.
Amazingly, Geoffrey stood his ground and absorbed the impact from the beam, and only stumbled a bit as gale-force winds slammed his body. Alex’s stone, now wrapped in Geoffrey’ fist, flashed a brilliant blue, retreating from around his form after the pulse from Scott’s MISAMP had failed to kill him.
“See that?” He called out to Scott. “I’ve got your buddy’s little miracle stone here!”
Scott swallowed. OK, now he might be boned.
Scott around looked frantically for anything that might help him. His stomach sank when he looked down and checked the power level of his MISAMP. One, perhaps two shots left if he was lucky or turned down the intensity. Darting his head out from behind his vantage point, he caught a glimpse of Geoffrey approaching his position slowly.
Breathing hard, his mind racing, Scott smiled. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all he could think of, and that was better than doing nothing.
Scott sprinted across the tiny college street and towards a set of Greek Ionic columns that stood monolithic in front of the university’s library.
Geoffrey, waiting for Scott to make such a move, didn’t quite catch him in time, but he did manage to get off two shots, one of which hit Scott painfully in his right calf.
Scott cried out in pain as his right leg gave out, a few feet away from his goal. Falling a few feet short, he dragged himself the remainder of the way, his calf gushing blood generously. Hiding behind the marble column, Scott prayed his plan worked.
Rotating a dial on the MISAMP, Scott turned, facing the column in front of him, and went to work cutting the base of the column, ignoring the incredible stinging pain from his leg. If he timed this right, his wound wouldn’t be a problem for long.
Geoffrey smiled as he approached his cornered prey. The weapon had been a surprise, but once Geoffrey killed this annoying little nerd, he could take it, and use it on Kline if needed to complete his new plan.
Geoffrey walked confidently closer to the column, his pistol at the ready in case Scott popped out at any moment.
“Enough of this,” Geoffrey called out. “I have the stone, and you have nowhere to go.”
For a moment, there was nothing but silence, and then a great moan emerged, a sound that Geoffrey could not quite identify. It sounded otherworldly. Alarmed, Geoffrey looked up, and saw the enormous Greek column falling down on top of him. The two-ton marble column fell to the ground with a great crash, landing directly on Geoffrey’s body.
Geoffrey screamed as the great column hit him dead on, crushing his chest and rib bones to bits. The pain was unbelievable. The black stone glowed brightly as his bones quickly began to knit back together into perfect condition.
Scott’s jaw dropped as he watched Geoffrey’s body repair itself. The smashed and broken body of Geoffrey Tate healed in an instant, nearly as fast as Alex did. For a moment, Scott was reminded of an inflatable man being blown up as Geoffrey’ body healed. The mammoth marble column rolled off of Geoffrey’s body, stopping as it pinned down his right arm and hand, which also happened to be holding the bodyguard’s pistol.
Scott approached the man cautiously, but he felt fairly safe. Geoffrey was well pinned underneath. It would take a heavy crane and maybe the Jaws of Life working together to get the mercenary free. Scott looked at his handiwork, appreciating the bad plan gone good. Geoffrey’s body was awash in the strange blue glow as the stone repaired his battered body. The stone worked for anyone, it seemed. Scott limped over to where Geoffrey was trapped, shaking his head. He knelt down, grabbing Alex’s stone out of Geoffrey’s left hand, and clutched it tightly in his own. The familiar blue glow extended down and quickly healed the bullet wound on his calf.
Thankful for the stone, Scott stood back up, exercising the previously wounded leg carefully, testing his healed appendage to see if there was any permanent damage. Finding none, he turned, scowling at Tate below him. Scott shook his head and kicked the man hard in the stomach.
“That’s for trying to kill me.”
Scott kicked him again in the gut. “And that’s for stealing the stone.”
Beginning to walk away, towards where Alex lay prostrate on the ground, Scott stopped, turned back to Geoffrey, and kicked him several more times, each kick emphasizing each word.
“That’s. For. Shooting. Carl. I. liked. him.”
“Scott…” Alex cried out weakly, “you think revenge can wait for a few minutes while you come help me out here?”
“Oh, right, yeah, sorry about that, Alex.” Scott hustled over to his friend. “I couldn’t help myself. I owed him one…or six, or nine hundred.”
Groaning, Alex held his head and looked up at his approaching friend, “By the way, what the hell was that?”
Scott grinned like a proud father on his child’s graduation day. Hoisting his prized creation higher for Alex to see, he displayed it proudly. “I call her the MISAMP; she utilizes both microwave and sound energy…”
Alex cut him off. “No, not that, you idiot, I meant that lame-ass line you said before blowing up our ride. That’s all you could come up with? ‘Goodnight, sweet prince?’”
Scott blushed. “Well, if I’m gonna be the sidekick here, I wanna have at least a few cool catchphrases.”
“Well sure, I get that, but I mean why not go with something like, ‘I’m here to turn out the lights on this party,’ or ‘Don’t mind me, just passing wind,’ or hell, might as rip off something cool, like ‘Yippie kay yay, mother…’”
Scott cut him off defensively. “Hey, this geek just saved your ass. How about a little respect?” Scott dropped his voice, mocking his friend. “Ohh, I’m Alex, I get to be all super cool just ‘cause I have a super-duper-secret stone that heals my wounds, oh I’m sooo cool.”
Alex laughed; his friend did have a point. If it weren’t for Scott watching his back, he’d have been toast by now. “Fair enough, but I’m just saying you might wanna look into…oh, I dunno…” Alex waved his hands around the outfit Scott was presently wearing. “De-nerdifying or something.”
Scott looked down at his t-shirt. “This is an original Battlestar Galactica Toaster edition. I dare you to find anything cooler than that.” Scott put his hands on his hips, striking a cocky superhero pose. “Besides, what would you prefer I wear? Tight leather? Spandex?” He raised his eyebrow. “Underwear on the outside of my shorts?”
Alex laughed again. “Fine, I apologize. As my sidekick, you’re allowed to wear whatever you want. And by the way, speaking of my coolio, super-duper-secret stone, where is it?” Alex asked, glancing around the parking lot.
“Took it from your buddy in the desert. You know, after I sent an express package full of whupass his way.” Scott grinned as he jabbed his shoulder into his friend’s ribs. “Signed, sealed, delivered, what up?!” Scott held up his hand for a high five.
“Easy, guy.” Alex winced. “But there you go. Even that’s better tha
n, ‘Goodnight, sweet prince.’” Alex shook his head as he offered his handcuffs up to Scott. “Can you do anything about these?”
Scott ignored him, muttering to himself, “I thought it was a good line…”
Alex sighed, “Handcuffs?”
“Well, if you’re done criticizing how I rescued you…”
“I am…” Alex replied, without a hint of irony.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. I ran the MISAMP at half power to cut down the column. Should be plenty left for ya.”
Scott twisted the dial all the way to the lowest setting, then flipped the switch. The cuffs instantly snapped apart.
“Thanks, pal.”
Alex rose slowly, rubbing his sore wrists. His body was still suffering from Geoffrey’ vicious cattle prod attack. He needed his stone.
Alex walked over to the bald man pinned underneath the marble column. Scott handed him his stone, and Alex put it on around his neck, feeling the cool blue light flow through his body and fix the remaining damage to his body from the fight. Alex smiled and turned to his trapped prey. Now, what to do with him?
Geoffrey watched, his eyes betraying nothing as Alex came closer. He was trapped, and without some majestic feat of strength like his employer was able to perform, Geoffrey was going nowhere.
Alex walked up to Geoffrey and looked disdainfully at his fallen foe.
“Scotty, my boy…”
Scott ran over to Alex’s side. “What up, Alex?”
“What do you think we should do with Mr. I-Look-Cool-in-a-Leather-Jacket-Even-Though-That-Look-Went-Out-In-The-Late-Nineties?”
Scott’s eyebrow’s furrowed. “I’m actually not really that up on fashion this year. I had a girlfriend a few years ago that loved that Project Runway stuff, and she’d always make me watch…”
Alex punched Scott, whispering out of the side of his mouth, “Hey, dude, I’m doing an intimidating bit right now; mind playing along for a little bit?”
“Oh, sure,” Scott whispered to back to Alex, his face dawning with comprehension. Scott cleared his throat and continued in a loud and booming voice that made Alex wince. “I don’t know; personally I think we outta kill him where he lays, maybe slap him around a bit, give him what he really deserves, like totally drawing and quartering him, or…”
“Scott!” Alex said. “I’ve got this.”
Scott nodded fiercely, baring his teeth like what he imagined a psychotic meth-head looked like. “Keep me back, Alex!”
“Easy, boy!” Alex said seriously. “Things like this can get out of hand quickly…and then suddenly, you have a body to get rid of.” Alex leaned close, staring in the man’s eyes.
Geoffrey glared back, not flinching, his mouth defiantly screwed shut. Killed by a bunch of Star Trek geeks. A first for this business, Geoffrey thought ruefully to himself.
“Besides…” Alex said, leaning back and looking at Scott, now ignoring Geoffrey, “I think a worse punishment would be to get the police here and have him arrested.” He smiled as he watched Geoffrey’s face fall. “Would you like that? Find yourself having to explain all this? The death of a perfectly innocent man?!” Alex roared, Carl’s scowling face flashing before his eyes as he built up steam.
Alex leaned in close to Geoffrey’s face. His eyes narrowed, anger and hate pouring through every ounce of his being. It took every bit of restraint in Alex to resist killing the smarmy bald man from the desert right then and there.
Without another word, Alex viciously hit Geoffrey in the temple with his fist, knocking him out.
“And this time, stay down!” Alex spat angrily.
Scott swallowed. He’d never seen his friend like this. It wasn’t pretty, he decided. He jumped in, hoping his presence might keep Alex from going too far.
“Yeah!” Scott added. “You, better stay down, or uhhh…else!”
Alex cocked his head towards Scott, his eyebrows raised questioningly.
“Yeah, I got nothing.” Scott continued sadly. A smile returned to his face as he looked over his friend. “Are you OK?”
Alex didn’t answer. He didn’t want to. He stared at the stone wrapped tightly in his fist and looked out at the valley in front of him. He wondered if life would be so bad if he just forgot about his father’s murder. Hide the stone somewhere deep, somewhere safe, where no man could use it. He opened his palm, extending it out so he could clearly see that shiny black stone, the source of so many problems, and considered throwing it away into the night as hard as he could.
Try as he might, the injustice of his father, the deputy at the station, and now Carl’s murder going unanswered was too much to handle. Carl had expected to go home tonight to his wife and kids, and see another sunrise. The men who were trailing Alex had ruined his chances for all that. The least Alex could do was make sure those men got justice.
He turned to his friend, “We need to get to Emily. If they found you, they’ll find her next.”
Scott didn’t respond to this. In fact, he was pretty unnerved at how quickly the men following Alex had tracked him down. He knew how important Emily was to Alex, and after witnessing what the men were capable of, he didn’t wish to stand in his best friend’s way.
Alex breathed deeply as he calmed himself, looking for his center. After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked quizzically at his friend.
“By the way, did I seriously see a grizzly bear attack one of the mercenaries?”
Scott nodded, and was about to wonder about the same strange vision, when a musical voice sweetly interjected.
“You did. I never liked taking that form, but it does come in handy for battles such as this.”
Alex and Scott whirled around, Scott aiming the MISAMP towards the mysterious new voice.
The woman who stood before them was incredibly beautiful. Her hair was a golden fire of curly blond locks, cascading down and around her face, shoulders, and breasts. Her face was hidden in the shadows for the moment, but Alex did not sense a threat from her. He motioned for Scott to lower his weapon. Scott glanced up worriedly, but complied. Blood was falling from all over her body, where Tate’s nine-millimeter rounds had punched through her. Weak, she fell to the ground.
Alex and Scott rushed over, Alex raising her head into his lap. The stone began glowing, and the bullet wounds on her body began healing, leaving no marks behind.
“Who are you?” Alex asked softly, after her eyes had reopened.
“My name is Siobhan O’Neill, and I’m here to help you save the world.”
It was then that she turned her head, and her golden hair fell away from her ears. A dark purple claw-like stone dangled from her right ear.
“Who are you?” Alex asked again slowly.
Siobhan chuckled, sat up, and began rearranging her hair. “My dear, you’ve no idea the trouble you’ve managed to get yourself involved in.”
Scott spoke up quickly, “No, I’m pretty sure we’ve got an idea.”
Siobhan’s eyes flashed, and she shook her head again, sadly this time. “I’m afraid you don’t.”
“Why don’t you enlighten us to it, then?” Alex replied harshly. He didn’t like games. This woman could help him or not. The alarms that had gone off had probably rung a few bells at the local police station too. That meant reinforcements would be arriving shortly at the complex. They needed to get moving.
Siobhan shook her head. “Now’s not the time. We have to move, as you well know…” Siobhan raised her hands above her head. “Whatever you may think of me, trust me…” A bright purple flash, and suddenly, the great grizzly bear was in front of them again, standing high on its hindquarters roaring loudly. Scott clutched Alex’s arm and let out a shrill, girlish shriek. Alex, annoyed with his friend, brushed him off and stood unflinching in front of the terrifying beast. Calmly, Alex brushed off the dirt and debris from his shirt and stared down the grizzly.
“We’ll listen to what you have to say, but you come with us. Agreed?”
The bright purple light fl
ashed, and once again, Alex and Scott were staring at the beautiful blonde woman. She shook her hair, tossing it back over her shoulder casually.
“Agreed,” she purred.
Alex turned to Scott. “Since you blew up the first vehicle I stole, you think you might have anything else around here for us to drive?”
Scott’s smile broadened across his face. “I think I might have something…”
Alex looked quizzically at his friend.
Scott led Alex and Siobhan around the corner of the building and down into a hidden driveway, where several vehicles unlike anything Alex had seen before were displayed before him.
Alex gaped at the monstrosity in front of him. It was a truck. Sort of, anyway.
The body was designed in a way that would make most Formula One drivers covetous. The low-profile truck was long, the body extending a good twelve feet. The truck was a monster, wide and beefy, with a sloping front hood that sat only six inches off the ground. The huge rear tires made the truck appear even stranger, as they raised the slanted rear profile of the vehicle a full five feet higher than the front.
“Beautiful isn’t she?” Scott asked, “The boys down here named ‘em Hypertrucks, but me…” Scott blushed, “I call her Molly.”
Alex stood speechless in front of the behemoth in front of him. “I’m supposed to drive this thing?” he asked incredulously, looking at the truck in front of him, “I mean, how do you even get in?”
Scott sighed, his face sagging at the lackluster reception. “What?” He asked sullenly. “They’re the latest in totally green technology.”
Alex snorted, “Look, Scott, I appreciate saving the earth and hugging trees and whatnot else, but we need a vehicle that can take a beating and go fast when we need it to go fast.”
Scott set his jaw in defiance, “You know,” Scott started, “That argument used to make sense in 2006, but now,” he said tapping the exterior, “This is the future, baby…”
Scott’s face lit up as he began to run through the specs. “Molly has a top speed of 180 miles per hour, she runs on a hydrogen fuel cell, oh and yeah, that’s right - ONE nano-hydrogen tank the size of a camp stove propane tank can help her run four thousand miles without needing a refill. An on-board computer located in a secure mount on the undercarriage controls everything. All the latest and greatest in satellite hookup, GPS, internet access, multimedia possibilities…you can do it all with Molly…so go ahead and try to pimp this ride!” Scott finished his presentation with a flourish of his arms like a showroom model.