Neo Chronicles: Black Void
Episode 7: Living Under a Rock
Table of Contents
How about that? When everything hits the fan, God finally decides to cut us some slack. We came to this rock lookin' for a guy who might be able to help me get home. How he's supposed to do that is beyond me, but whatever the case, here he is.
Mux Modell doesn't look like much. Scrawny lil' imp like thing. White face, button nose, green eyes, pointy ears, blue feathery fur. At least he walks upright. All 3 feet of him. Ri'lar holds him up by the back of the imp's neck in his gargantuan grip and starts asking him some questions. Lucky for me, his translator's still on, so I can understand him. Not so much the other guy though, so I'm only hearin' a one sided conversation.
“Where have you been?” Ri'lar starts off.
Lil' Mux mumbles some nonsense.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
The Mux guy's a real animated kinda dude. All swingin' his arms as he talks, punchin' the air. He better calm down before Ri'lar tosses him to the wall.
“You've managed to staak up things here, too?” Ri'lar takes that pistol of his an' holds it up to the imp's nose.
Mux cuts the shoutin' bit an' calms down. Looks like he's tryna hustle his way outta whatever this is. Ri'lar sighs as he lowers his gun.
“So what are we supposed to do now, you pnokerat?”
“This better all be worth it.” Ri'lar puts the dude down.
Without a second thought, the imp scurries off as fast as he can. Ri'lar tells me that he's supposed to lead us some place safe. I just stare at him. Then I look at Mux runnin', an' look back at him again. Ri'lar sorta just shrugs his shoulders. At least he knows how crazy this is. I hope he knows.
The three of us, as sneakily as can be, somehow manage to avoid trouble, an' reach some hole in the ground. Yeah, it's literally a hole in the ground. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. I'd imagine this is how all of their houses are on this rock.
The hole goes down about ten feet deep. Inside, its—well—it's exactly what you'd expect the inside of a hole to look like—empty, rocky, dry. There's barely room enough for the three of us to feet, an' Ri'lar—with his big, 7 foot tall overgrown self—takes up most of the space. Mux, crawlin' on all fours, makes his way between our legs to the side of the wall I'm standin' next to, an' puts his palm on it.
The wall shifts an' opens up like an elevator door. Mux runs in, then me an' Ri'lar, an' the door closes behind us. The place looks like a den. Not much different from anywhere else. The walls are still rocky, the light is little to none. It's a wonder these people can see anything in these dark spaces. Must be why their eyes are so big an' creepy. I think this room/house place has furniture. Yeah, the helmet I'm wearin' makes it easier to see, an' I definitely see an armchair.
Mux mumbles somethin' to Ri'lar, and I hear Ri'lar grumble somethin' back. To be honest, I don't even care what they say. I'm so ready to leave it ain't even funny. I sit down in that armchair. To my surprise, it's fluffy. My butt sinks down a bit in it. It's a lil' small for me, but I make do with it. I prop my sword right next to me, an' start to drift in an' out.
“Stay put,” I hear Ri'lar say. “Mux and I have something to take care of. When I get back, we're leaving.”
I give a half nod as I see the two leave out an' before I know it, I'm gone. Off to dreamland. Dreamland... the place where I watch TV in my head. I don't know what's on. I see people from every walk of my life all interacting with each other.
My dude Chris is jumpin' up on Ri'lar tryna fight him in the night sky on Earth. He's really goin' at it too. The dude's always been fast, an' he uses that super speed of his to jump all over Ri'lar like a buzzin' gnat. Ri'lar punches him in the face an' that's the end of that. Poor kid.
Kai is tellin' me somethin' about somethin'. I don't know what it is, but it sounds really important. Somehow we're floating in space without dying. And he tells me to stop calling him Kai, because he doesn't like that middle name of his. Jamal Quinton Hezekiah Michaels. I don't care. I keep callin' him Kai, and then he disappears.
Now I'm on the moon talkin' to Noah. We're both sittin' in one of those holes. It's weird because it's like we're both talking in some alien language that I've never heard of before. Then he points over some place and I see Ryndis Ran, an' she's talkin' in Spanish then English then Spanish then English sayin' the same thing over an' over. What in the world is she sayin'? “Run? “Is she sayin' “run?”
And then I'm back in my comfy chair—my comfy chair underground on this rock of a planet. It takes me a second, but I realize that I'm awake, and as soon as I do, that dream gets foggier an' foggier. I try to hold on to it. I don't know why, but I try to. Maybe it's because I haven't seen those guys for so long. Never really thought I'd miss them this much. Don't make no sense.
Ri'lar and that Mux dude still aren't back. I wait for—what I guess is—another twenty minutes. Still ain't back, and I'm tired of waiting. I grab my sword and move to the wall, searching for that secret switch or lever or button or whatever it is. My hand feels somethin' happen, the wall opens, and I'm out.
I climb outta the hole an' look around. The coast is clear for now, so I go around explorin'. I'm really lovin' this helmet. Every time it picks up on some heat sources, I duck for cover an' wait for them to pass on by.
Not to toot my own horn, but I'm doin' pretty good with this sneaking bit. Like a ninja my dawgs. They can't touch this. I'm all over the place. I start showin' off for an audience of my own mind. I'm gettin' a lil' more bold, a lil' more brash. I'm havin' a lil' more fun. My hiding places are a lil' more closer to my pursuers—and they still can't see me. I'm ghost. I'm gone.
As I jump from one corner of this cave to another, I think I accidentally slip up an' get seen. It was probably nothin', but as my head comes back down to Earth, I get a lot more cautious. My back to a boulder, hidin' out like I shoulda been from the get go, I stay put. I feel the footsteps of somethin' huge getting bigger an' bigger—hear them getting louder an' louder. Crud, I done messed up. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What do I do?
I hear the whirring of a plasma weapon charging. They gon' shoot me right here? Darn it. Crud, crud, cruddy crud, crud! THOOM is the sound it makes as the bolt is shot my way. I roll to the left, barely avoiding the blast as the debris from the rock falls my way.
Looking up, I can see I've drawn a lot of attention my way. What is this—ten or twelve giant koala bears with guns all aimed an' rarin' to fire at me. I'd love to talk to them—tell them I don't wanna be here, don't wanna stay here, but even if we could understand each other, you an' I both know they ain't gonna listen.
So here it is. Fight or flight. Maybe a lil' bit of both. With the next shot I dodge, I'm thinkin' definitely a bit of both. Oh God, I don't wanna die here. I wanna go home. Don't let me die here.
Without thinking, I rush the first one I set my eyes on an' swing my sword at it. As crazy as this sounds, I'm not really lookin' to hurt anyone. Not tryna cut up anything, so my sword swing is more of a sword...whack. I hit them with the flat side of it, more or less lookin' to knock 'em out. I soon discover that that ain't doin' nothin' to stop 'em from tryin' their darnedest to kill me. So I fight back fo' real.
I swing this huge blade like a mad man fightin' for his life, cuz that's exactly what I am, but that don't matter. More gorilla bear people come in with bigger an' heavier guns, shootin' at me like it's huntin' season. Is that a Gatling gun? They rapid firin' up in here! I jump and try an' use the sword to shield myself from most of the shots. It's big enough to protect most of my body, but I get a sharp burn on my ankle. I barely notice it at first, but when I start runnin' again, I definitely know it's there. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
Still swingin' this sword like no one's business. I manage to knick someone with the edge of it, but in spite of how feathery an' fluffy these things look, their skin is as hard as the rocks they live in. Barely leaves a scratch. So many flashing lights bein' shot my way. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the whole planet was shootin' at me. I tackle as many as I can to the ground, do my best to knock some of 'em out. I even manage to cut through some of their guns. That ended with a bang, which was kinda fun, kinda crazy, kinda cool, but I'm tryin' not to make a habit of it.
I don't even know if I'm goin' closer or further from where I'm tryna get to. In all the ruckus, I think I actually forget where I'm tryna go. I knock a couple down, an' four more take their place. Their screams an' yells just add on to the manic chaos. I got no idea what's up or down, left or right. It's just insanity.
I'm getting lit up like a Christmas tree. I'm tryin'—God, help me—I'm tryin' to get away. I'm runnin' away as best as I can, but there's just no end in sight. These aliens of all shapes an' sizes, some no bigger than my leg, some as big as trees...it's a huge mountain I gotta climb to get outta this mess.
I swing my sword one more time, and it sends out a blue pulse wave in front of me. Knocks these posers over like bowling pins. I had forgot about that aura thing Ri'lar was tellin' me about. Yeah, this might help out a lot. Still a lil' iffy on how it works, but it's workin'. I'm swingin' it with all my might and it's firing off energy blasts like nobody's business. It gets the locals to calm down some. A few of 'em even back off. Peace through superior firepower. Gotta love it.
I'm gettin' pretty tired, though—like really tired. I keep swingin' the sword to fend off the few stragglers that still wanna jump me, but—dang—it's draining. Like I feel it makin' me tired every time I send off another shot. I think they sense it. They're just waitin' now—waitin' fo' me t'drop out. I can't let 'em see me like this. Gotta front like the best of 'em. I stand up straight, shoulders broad, both hands on my weapon, an' I ease my way back, not takin' my eyes off them for a second.
I think they buyin' it. The shooting's died down a bunch. They tryna be more careful not to agitate me. Looks like I got myself in a ceasefire—a stalemate, deadlock, we're locked at odds against each other. I'm so clever. They don't even know. If they can see behind this visor of mine, they'd see me smirkin' with my devilish smile. Everything's goin' well. It's all good. Just don't let 'em see you sweat, an' we can get outta this alive.
Dang, I gotta take a breather. Jus' gimme five, I'll be alright. I know I shouldn't, but I just can't help it. I lower my sword just for a second, an' take a step back, leanin' on the wall behind me. These freaks definitely take that as me lettin' up—a sign of weakness. I hear one of 'em out in front shout some alien shout, an' the rest of 'em—with all their guns an' cannons—open fire on me again.
Too tired to run an' too tired to fight, so I cross my arms, roll up in a ball, an' sit here an' take it. The bolts sting. If I were anyone else, I'da been knocked out a long time ago, but I'm still here, still alive, still awake, takin' everything they dish out like a bawse—cuz that's exactly what I am—a bawse! Nah, I'm more than that. I'm a legend. Legendary! These posers don't even know. None of this hurts. None of this hurts.
Things start getting a lil' darker. Don't know why, but it does. Feel a tingling sensation rush to my head. Then I see Ran on that moon again. I don't know how I got back here, but I'm here, an' there she is. I look around for Noah an' Kai, but they're not here. Just me an' her an' this moon. She's still tellin' me to run. I don't know the why or where to, but she keeps sayin' it over an' over.
Then I realize that I'm dreaming. I musta blacked out somewhere down the line. It's weird when you're in a dream an' you know it's a dream. It's like you got full control over the TV. No, it's not like you're watchin' TV, it's more like a video game an' you're the main character in it. I'm sittin' here wondering about whether or not I wanna wake up. I don't remember how or when I fell asleep.
Ran disappears, and so does the moon. I'm floating alone in the black. I see some stars in the distance. They're all around, like little white dots every which way. Then they disappear. I'm left with nothing but me, myself, and I. There's nothing left for me here, and if there's nothing left, what am I still doin' here?
I wake up to find myself in surrounded by a crowd of these alien locals. I'm chained up, out on display for all the world to see. The aliens shout an' holler like savages. All out of their holes in the ground, all mobbed up around me. From where I'm standin' this looks like a public execution in the making.
It really looks like this is the end. I mumble some words. Another prayer. Don't judge me, you know you'd be prayin' too. I'm askin' for mercy, askin' for forgiveness, an' above all else, askin' for a miracle. It doesn't have to be a big miracle like all of these freaks gettin' tired an' takin' a nap, or this rock suddenly gettin' caught in the pull of some star an' blowin' up with me somehow bein' able to survive it—just a small one'll do. Just one good enough for me to get by to see another day.
Then I hear a loud thud in the distance. The crowd heard it too because they start to quiet down a bit. I see some rat things talkin' with each other. A couple of 'em leave to go investigate. The thud happens again. Whatever it is, it makes the ground quake. Then all of a sudden, I see a huge rock being hurtled from the background. It crashes like two feet in front of me. I'm so shocked, I just about wet my pants.
I hear the people start shouting again. It's such a horrible sound, like wild, rabid, bestial savagery given form. And out of the crowd, I see a large figure running right towards me. My first thought is to try an' break outta these chains. Trust me, I would if I could, but I'm still too tired from usin' that sword the way I did. Doesn't stop me from tryin' anyway, though, but as the figure gets closer, I try a lil' less. That thing's gonna kill me just because—oh wait a minute.
That's Ri'lar! Oh my God, I'm saved! I'm saved! Thank you Jesus! I'm saved! The big oaf leaps on the platform and tears off the shackles like nothin'. Amidst all the ruckus, I can barely make out what he's sayin', but I really don't care.
“I told you to stay put!” is all I can make out.
From the crowd, I see Mux carryin' a gun about twice his size an' not givin' any care about who gets shot by it. I stand to my feet, now free, an' grab my sword, ready to fight just as hard. Ri'lar grabs me by the arm an' drags me off before I do anything stupid though. Looks like Mux is givin' 'em enough heat to cover our escape.
Me an' Ri'lar dive in some underground tunnel an' run as fast as we can without even thinkin' about lookin' back. Before we know it, we're outta the cave an' headin' straight for our ship. The hatch opens for us, an' we jump aboard. I pause for a moment to look back. That imp guy really came through in the end. I have to say, I'm surprised. And for us to just leave him like that feels—it feels wrong.
“Shouldn't we wait up for him?” I ask Ri'lar.
“For Mux Modell?” The hatch starts to close as the ship lifts off the ground. “Trust me, that plox is just fine. He's always been fine, and he'll always be fine. He has more ways to save his hide than a inch'molin has legs. Don't waste your worries on him.”
“If you say so.”
Before you know it, we're warping outta here. I toss the sword an' helmet to the side an' take a seat next to the big guy. At the risk of sounding like an annoying kid on a road trip I want to ask him again if I'll ever get home. This rippin' an' runnin' is not my style. Facing danger after danger day in an' day out with no hope of anything in sight. It's not a good look.
I keep quiet though. Just stare at the fancy lights on the ceiling an' keep quiet. Ri'lar's probably had a rough day too, no need to add to it, especially since I already know the answer.
I don't notice it right off the bat, but I think Ri'lar actually looks concerned for me. He rummages around in some package of his an' takes out somethin'.
“I managed to pick up some food while we were down there.”
I don't know what it is. It kinda reminds me of a burger, but I don't see any buns or meat. Just a solid, round green shape. God, what did I do to deserve this? What was the last bad thing I did that made the universe so upset that it had to punish me like this? I just don't know.
I just don't know.
Episode 7: Living Under a Rock
Table of Contents
How about that? When everything hits the fan, God finally decides to cut us some slack. We came to this rock lookin' for a guy who might be able to help me get home. How he's supposed to do that is beyond me, but whatever the case, here he is.
Mux Modell doesn't look like much. Scrawny lil' imp like thing. White face, button nose, green eyes, pointy ears, blue feathery fur. At least he walks upright. All 3 feet of him. Ri'lar holds him up by the back of the imp's neck in his gargantuan grip and starts asking him some questions. Lucky for me, his translator's still on, so I can understand him. Not so much the other guy though, so I'm only hearin' a one sided conversation.
“Where have you been?” Ri'lar starts off.
Lil' Mux mumbles some nonsense.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
The Mux guy's a real animated kinda dude. All swingin' his arms as he talks, punchin' the air. He better calm down before Ri'lar tosses him to the wall.
“You've managed to staak up things here, too?” Ri'lar takes that pistol of his an' holds it up to the imp's nose.
Mux cuts the shoutin' bit an' calms down. Looks like he's tryna hustle his way outta whatever this is. Ri'lar sighs as he lowers his gun.
“So what are we supposed to do now, you pnokerat?”
“This better all be worth it.” Ri'lar puts the dude down.
Without a second thought, the imp scurries off as fast as he can. Ri'lar tells me that he's supposed to lead us some place safe. I just stare at him. Then I look at Mux runnin', an' look back at him again. Ri'lar sorta just shrugs his shoulders. At least he knows how crazy this is. I hope he knows.
The three of us, as sneakily as can be, somehow manage to avoid trouble, an' reach some hole in the ground. Yeah, it's literally a hole in the ground. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. I'd imagine this is how all of their houses are on this rock.
The hole goes down about ten feet deep. Inside, its—well—it's exactly what you'd expect the inside of a hole to look like—empty, rocky, dry. There's barely room enough for the three of us to feet, an' Ri'lar—with his big, 7 foot tall overgrown self—takes up most of the space. Mux, crawlin' on all fours, makes his way between our legs to the side of the wall I'm standin' next to, an' puts his palm on it.
The wall shifts an' opens up like an elevator door. Mux runs in, then me an' Ri'lar, an' the door closes behind us. The place looks like a den. Not much different from anywhere else. The walls are still rocky, the light is little to none. It's a wonder these people can see anything in these dark spaces. Must be why their eyes are so big an' creepy. I think this room/house place has furniture. Yeah, the helmet I'm wearin' makes it easier to see, an' I definitely see an armchair.
Mux mumbles somethin' to Ri'lar, and I hear Ri'lar grumble somethin' back. To be honest, I don't even care what they say. I'm so ready to leave it ain't even funny. I sit down in that armchair. To my surprise, it's fluffy. My butt sinks down a bit in it. It's a lil' small for me, but I make do with it. I prop my sword right next to me, an' start to drift in an' out.
“Stay put,” I hear Ri'lar say. “Mux and I have something to take care of. When I get back, we're leaving.”
I give a half nod as I see the two leave out an' before I know it, I'm gone. Off to dreamland. Dreamland... the place where I watch TV in my head. I don't know what's on. I see people from every walk of my life all interacting with each other.
My dude Chris is jumpin' up on Ri'lar tryna fight him in the night sky on Earth. He's really goin' at it too. The dude's always been fast, an' he uses that super speed of his to jump all over Ri'lar like a buzzin' gnat. Ri'lar punches him in the face an' that's the end of that. Poor kid.
Kai is tellin' me somethin' about somethin'. I don't know what it is, but it sounds really important. Somehow we're floating in space without dying. And he tells me to stop calling him Kai, because he doesn't like that middle name of his. Jamal Quinton Hezekiah Michaels. I don't care. I keep callin' him Kai, and then he disappears.
Now I'm on the moon talkin' to Noah. We're both sittin' in one of those holes. It's weird because it's like we're both talking in some alien language that I've never heard of before. Then he points over some place and I see Ryndis Ran, an' she's talkin' in Spanish then English then Spanish then English sayin' the same thing over an' over. What in the world is she sayin'? “Run? “Is she sayin' “run?”
And then I'm back in my comfy chair—my comfy chair underground on this rock of a planet. It takes me a second, but I realize that I'm awake, and as soon as I do, that dream gets foggier an' foggier. I try to hold on to it. I don't know why, but I try to. Maybe it's because I haven't seen those guys for so long. Never really thought I'd miss them this much. Don't make no sense.
Ri'lar and that Mux dude still aren't back. I wait for—what I guess is—another twenty minutes. Still ain't back, and I'm tired of waiting. I grab my sword and move to the wall, searching for that secret switch or lever or button or whatever it is. My hand feels somethin' happen, the wall opens, and I'm out.
I climb outta the hole an' look around. The coast is clear for now, so I go around explorin'. I'm really lovin' this helmet. Every time it picks up on some heat sources, I duck for cover an' wait for them to pass on by.
Not to toot my own horn, but I'm doin' pretty good with this sneaking bit. Like a ninja my dawgs. They can't touch this. I'm all over the place. I start showin' off for an audience of my own mind. I'm gettin' a lil' more bold, a lil' more brash. I'm havin' a lil' more fun. My hiding places are a lil' more closer to my pursuers—and they still can't see me. I'm ghost. I'm gone.
As I jump from one corner of this cave to another, I think I accidentally slip up an' get seen. It was probably nothin', but as my head comes back down to Earth, I get a lot more cautious. My back to a boulder, hidin' out like I shoulda been from the get go, I stay put. I feel the footsteps of somethin' huge getting bigger an' bigger—hear them getting louder an' louder. Crud, I done messed up. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What do I do?
I hear the whirring of a plasma weapon charging. They gon' shoot me right here? Darn it. Crud, crud, cruddy crud, crud! THOOM is the sound it makes as the bolt is shot my way. I roll to the left, barely avoiding the blast as the debris from the rock falls my way.
Looking up, I can see I've drawn a lot of attention my way. What is this—ten or twelve giant koala bears with guns all aimed an' rarin' to fire at me. I'd love to talk to them—tell them I don't wanna be here, don't wanna stay here, but even if we could understand each other, you an' I both know they ain't gonna listen.
So here it is. Fight or flight. Maybe a lil' bit of both. With the next shot I dodge, I'm thinkin' definitely a bit of both. Oh God, I don't wanna die here. I wanna go home. Don't let me die here.
Without thinking, I rush the first one I set my eyes on an' swing my sword at it. As crazy as this sounds, I'm not really lookin' to hurt anyone. Not tryna cut up anything, so my sword swing is more of a sword...whack. I hit them with the flat side of it, more or less lookin' to knock 'em out. I soon discover that that ain't doin' nothin' to stop 'em from tryin' their darnedest to kill me. So I fight back fo' real.
I swing this huge blade like a mad man fightin' for his life, cuz that's exactly what I am, but that don't matter. More gorilla bear people come in with bigger an' heavier guns, shootin' at me like it's huntin' season. Is that a Gatling gun? They rapid firin' up in here! I jump and try an' use the sword to shield myself from most of the shots. It's big enough to protect most of my body, but I get a sharp burn on my ankle. I barely notice it at first, but when I start runnin' again, I definitely know it's there. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
Still swingin' this sword like no one's business. I manage to knick someone with the edge of it, but in spite of how feathery an' fluffy these things look, their skin is as hard as the rocks they live in. Barely leaves a scratch. So many flashing lights bein' shot my way. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the whole planet was shootin' at me. I tackle as many as I can to the ground, do my best to knock some of 'em out. I even manage to cut through some of their guns. That ended with a bang, which was kinda fun, kinda crazy, kinda cool, but I'm tryin' not to make a habit of it.
I don't even know if I'm goin' closer or further from where I'm tryna get to. In all the ruckus, I think I actually forget where I'm tryna go. I knock a couple down, an' four more take their place. Their screams an' yells just add on to the manic chaos. I got no idea what's up or down, left or right. It's just insanity.
I'm getting lit up like a Christmas tree. I'm tryin'—God, help me—I'm tryin' to get away. I'm runnin' away as best as I can, but there's just no end in sight. These aliens of all shapes an' sizes, some no bigger than my leg, some as big as trees...it's a huge mountain I gotta climb to get outta this mess.
I swing my sword one more time, and it sends out a blue pulse wave in front of me. Knocks these posers over like bowling pins. I had forgot about that aura thing Ri'lar was tellin' me about. Yeah, this might help out a lot. Still a lil' iffy on how it works, but it's workin'. I'm swingin' it with all my might and it's firing off energy blasts like nobody's business. It gets the locals to calm down some. A few of 'em even back off. Peace through superior firepower. Gotta love it.
I'm gettin' pretty tired, though—like really tired. I keep swingin' the sword to fend off the few stragglers that still wanna jump me, but—dang—it's draining. Like I feel it makin' me tired every time I send off another shot. I think they sense it. They're just waitin' now—waitin' fo' me t'drop out. I can't let 'em see me like this. Gotta front like the best of 'em. I stand up straight, shoulders broad, both hands on my weapon, an' I ease my way back, not takin' my eyes off them for a second.
I think they buyin' it. The shooting's died down a bunch. They tryna be more careful not to agitate me. Looks like I got myself in a ceasefire—a stalemate, deadlock, we're locked at odds against each other. I'm so clever. They don't even know. If they can see behind this visor of mine, they'd see me smirkin' with my devilish smile. Everything's goin' well. It's all good. Just don't let 'em see you sweat, an' we can get outta this alive.
Dang, I gotta take a breather. Jus' gimme five, I'll be alright. I know I shouldn't, but I just can't help it. I lower my sword just for a second, an' take a step back, leanin' on the wall behind me. These freaks definitely take that as me lettin' up—a sign of weakness. I hear one of 'em out in front shout some alien shout, an' the rest of 'em—with all their guns an' cannons—open fire on me again.
Too tired to run an' too tired to fight, so I cross my arms, roll up in a ball, an' sit here an' take it. The bolts sting. If I were anyone else, I'da been knocked out a long time ago, but I'm still here, still alive, still awake, takin' everything they dish out like a bawse—cuz that's exactly what I am—a bawse! Nah, I'm more than that. I'm a legend. Legendary! These posers don't even know. None of this hurts. None of this hurts.
Things start getting a lil' darker. Don't know why, but it does. Feel a tingling sensation rush to my head. Then I see Ran on that moon again. I don't know how I got back here, but I'm here, an' there she is. I look around for Noah an' Kai, but they're not here. Just me an' her an' this moon. She's still tellin' me to run. I don't know the why or where to, but she keeps sayin' it over an' over.
Then I realize that I'm dreaming. I musta blacked out somewhere down the line. It's weird when you're in a dream an' you know it's a dream. It's like you got full control over the TV. No, it's not like you're watchin' TV, it's more like a video game an' you're the main character in it. I'm sittin' here wondering about whether or not I wanna wake up. I don't remember how or when I fell asleep.
Ran disappears, and so does the moon. I'm floating alone in the black. I see some stars in the distance. They're all around, like little white dots every which way. Then they disappear. I'm left with nothing but me, myself, and I. There's nothing left for me here, and if there's nothing left, what am I still doin' here?
I wake up to find myself in surrounded by a crowd of these alien locals. I'm chained up, out on display for all the world to see. The aliens shout an' holler like savages. All out of their holes in the ground, all mobbed up around me. From where I'm standin' this looks like a public execution in the making.
It really looks like this is the end. I mumble some words. Another prayer. Don't judge me, you know you'd be prayin' too. I'm askin' for mercy, askin' for forgiveness, an' above all else, askin' for a miracle. It doesn't have to be a big miracle like all of these freaks gettin' tired an' takin' a nap, or this rock suddenly gettin' caught in the pull of some star an' blowin' up with me somehow bein' able to survive it—just a small one'll do. Just one good enough for me to get by to see another day.
Then I hear a loud thud in the distance. The crowd heard it too because they start to quiet down a bit. I see some rat things talkin' with each other. A couple of 'em leave to go investigate. The thud happens again. Whatever it is, it makes the ground quake. Then all of a sudden, I see a huge rock being hurtled from the background. It crashes like two feet in front of me. I'm so shocked, I just about wet my pants.
I hear the people start shouting again. It's such a horrible sound, like wild, rabid, bestial savagery given form. And out of the crowd, I see a large figure running right towards me. My first thought is to try an' break outta these chains. Trust me, I would if I could, but I'm still too tired from usin' that sword the way I did. Doesn't stop me from tryin' anyway, though, but as the figure gets closer, I try a lil' less. That thing's gonna kill me just because—oh wait a minute.
That's Ri'lar! Oh my God, I'm saved! I'm saved! Thank you Jesus! I'm saved! The big oaf leaps on the platform and tears off the shackles like nothin'. Amidst all the ruckus, I can barely make out what he's sayin', but I really don't care.
“I told you to stay put!” is all I can make out.
From the crowd, I see Mux carryin' a gun about twice his size an' not givin' any care about who gets shot by it. I stand to my feet, now free, an' grab my sword, ready to fight just as hard. Ri'lar grabs me by the arm an' drags me off before I do anything stupid though. Looks like Mux is givin' 'em enough heat to cover our escape.
Me an' Ri'lar dive in some underground tunnel an' run as fast as we can without even thinkin' about lookin' back. Before we know it, we're outta the cave an' headin' straight for our ship. The hatch opens for us, an' we jump aboard. I pause for a moment to look back. That imp guy really came through in the end. I have to say, I'm surprised. And for us to just leave him like that feels—it feels wrong.
“Shouldn't we wait up for him?” I ask Ri'lar.
“For Mux Modell?” The hatch starts to close as the ship lifts off the ground. “Trust me, that plox is just fine. He's always been fine, and he'll always be fine. He has more ways to save his hide than a inch'molin has legs. Don't waste your worries on him.”
“If you say so.”
Before you know it, we're warping outta here. I toss the sword an' helmet to the side an' take a seat next to the big guy. At the risk of sounding like an annoying kid on a road trip I want to ask him again if I'll ever get home. This rippin' an' runnin' is not my style. Facing danger after danger day in an' day out with no hope of anything in sight. It's not a good look.
I keep quiet though. Just stare at the fancy lights on the ceiling an' keep quiet. Ri'lar's probably had a rough day too, no need to add to it, especially since I already know the answer.
I don't notice it right off the bat, but I think Ri'lar actually looks concerned for me. He rummages around in some package of his an' takes out somethin'.
“I managed to pick up some food while we were down there.”
I don't know what it is. It kinda reminds me of a burger, but I don't see any buns or meat. Just a solid, round green shape. God, what did I do to deserve this? What was the last bad thing I did that made the universe so upset that it had to punish me like this? I just don't know.
I just don't know.
