Chapter 117 - The Crater
It was a week later before Medoferro and Simon got ready to go home. They were both tired but mostly recovered from the events of the previous month. The town was beginning to show their first signs of life as they walked through it. Medoferro had decided to walk around a little to see the difference they’d made before they went home.
"I can’t believe the difference here," Medoferro said as they walked through, "It’s like the people have hope again."
"Nice to know we made a difference," Simon said, "There is one thing I’m wondering though."
"What’s that?" Medo asked him.
"Where did that fireball hit?" Simon asked him, "I haven’t seen signs of it yet."
"You’re the Mullinix, ain’t ya?" an old man said, walking out of his house, "The one that saved us all last week?"
"My name is Medoferro," he said, offering his hand, "I’m sorry we didn’t come in sooner."
"Nothing you could do," the old man said, "My name is Patrick Fisher. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Thank you," Medoferro said, "This is my representative, Simon Sutcliffe."
"Afternoon," Mr. Fisher said to him, nodding, "You two look like you’re looking for something."
"We’re trying to figure out where the fireball hit," Medoferro said, "Did you happen to see it?"
"I didn’t," the old man shrugged, "But you won’t have a hard time finding it. It’s down the road about three hundred yards. Look for the new pond with red water. That’ll be it."
"Thank you," Medoferro said, shaking hands again, "Good luck down here."
"Thank you, sir," Patrick Fisher said, "Good luck with ruling and stuff."
Medo and Simon nodded and walked in the direction that the old man indicated. Simon looked at Medo and couldn’t believe what he had just been told.
"A pond with red water?" Simon said, "Just what the hell did we do?"
"Let’s find out," Medoferro said, "Come on."
The two of them walked ahead and found what they had been looking for. The old man hadn’t been kidding. There was a brand new pond in front of them. You could tell it was new from the shape, a perfect sphere just like the fireball that they’d thrown a few days before. You could see the remains of Mavelan uniforms and weapons shining up from the water as well.
"Man," Medoferro said, looking out at it, "What did we do?"
"What we had to," Simon said, "They would have done that to us you know."
"I know," Medoferro said and then looked up towards the Mavelan side, "Damn you for making me do this! Damn you!"
Simon went over and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, waiting for Medoferro to calm down a little. Medoferro clamped his own hand over Simon’s and grimaced at what he saw. It was a sight he’d carry for the rest of his life and a moment that he thought he’d just been sharing with Simon. He didn’t see the flash of a pair of spyglasses up in the trees on the mountain, however.
"That’s their new leader all right," the tall, dark haired man said in flawless, if slightly archaic, Mullinix, "Medoferro is his name."
"What is the word on him?" the blonde standing next to him asked, taking the glasses for a look, "Anything good?"
"He’s the one who created the crater," the smaller gangly one said in oddly accented Mullinix, "You can see the connection between the two boys and the crater."
"I’d guessed that," the tall one said, "It’s obvious he regrets it."
"I don’t know that he so much regrets it," the girl said, "But that he regrets being forced to it."
"Even better," the gangly one said, "I think he’ll do."
"They’ll have to," the girl said, "They are all we have."
"They’ll both do," the tall man said, "They’ll both do just fine."
The End
Other Titles by Rodney Mountain
Immortal Universe Novels
The Healy Murders
Durell’s Insurrection
The Accidental Immortal
Undercover
The Killer Strikes
Anoki's Revenge
The Immortal Progression
Corporate Immortality
Not With a Whisper
The Mullinix: Redemption
The Mullinix: Resolution
Other Works
Night Strike (Short Story Anthology)
The Black Fossil
The Mullinix Book 1: Ascension Page 121