Some time ago, when I was not quite finished with my previous story, I asked if anyone had any opinions or requests for my next story. I only received three replies, two of which asked for a mystery. Well, I will try to be obliging, but if you don't like my next story, remember that I gave you all a chance...
Chapter One
I get a new case
Regardless of what contemporary authors may say or write, vampires do not exist. Many other 'monsters,' as we have chosen to call ourselves, such as werewolves, dragons, and fae exist, but not vampires. They never have. Personally, I think the reason for humans thinking them up might have been us gargoyles. After all, we typically sleep during the day, and roam at night. Many of us have fangs. Our strength and speed are by far superior to that of humans (no offense). While we are asleep, our skin turns to stone (and even when we're awake, it's pretty darn tough). But we don't drink blood. And we have wings. Many of us have tails. Our skin is warm, unlike the alleged cold of the undead. And we commonly have a short layer of fur. Other than that, we're almost exactly like vampires.
Sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Tristan Wormwood, and I am a gargoyle. I am also a private investigator. My job is to solve private cases, and also, if the police need my help, to track down any monsters that are making our presence in the world known to the human population, and thus endangering our existence.
You see, for some strange reason, humans tend not to like us. It could be that we don't look like them, most of the time. It could be that most of us could kill them in about 1001 nasty ways. It could even be that they want to experiment on us to find out why we do what we do. But whatever the reason, they've had a history of trying to kill us, or stuff us, or dissect us, etc. So many centuries ago, we set up little pockets in reality-special communities where monsters live, but humans can’t go. And we decided that it's best for all if we keep our existence hidden. So nowadays, if some numbskull werewolf gets drunk one full moon and goes on a rampage, or a mummy begins randomly putting curses on people, the MCPD (Monster Control Police Department) has to find them and clean up the mess.
Being a detective gets me into the craziest scrapes. However, the one I would have to say was one of the wildest occurred in the early months of 2012, and nearly jeopardized all life as we know it! And yes, I am fully aware of how cliche that sounds.
It was a cold morning in March, in the town of Styxburg, Idaho. It's a hideout place for monsters, protected by about 50,000 spells, so only monsters know where it is. It's somewhere north of Boise, and my home. Rains a lot, but I like rain. Anyway, it was 9:30 a.m, the time when most gargoyles are asleep. However, since most of my clients are diurnal, I've had to adjust. I was just thinking of getting myself a toasted bagel and a glass of milk (I hate coffee), when the door to my office crashed open, and before I knew it, I had a case.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Acknowledgments
In the back of most books, you will find a short thing thanking all the people who helped the author with the story. So, I figured I might as well do that here.
Unequivocal appreciation to my magnificent older sister, Amber, for giving me the idea of writing a story on my blog.
Praise to my stupendous older brother, Court, for taking the time to be a ghost writer for some of my chapters.
Many expressions of gratitude to my fantastic mother, for nagging me to complete it.
And thanks to anyone else who might have helped out somehow.
Unequivocal appreciation to my magnificent older sister, Amber, for giving me the idea of writing a story on my blog.
Praise to my stupendous older brother, Court, for taking the time to be a ghost writer for some of my chapters.
Many expressions of gratitude to my fantastic mother, for nagging me to complete it.
And thanks to anyone else who might have helped out somehow.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Freegans Ending
Epilogue
Cara
And that is how we made it home. Everyone, even people who didn't know us particularly well, was overjoyed to see us. The celebrations and joy lasted for days, if not weeks. As Madiza had expected, Mom and Dad were more than willing to take her and Ben in. A couple of years later, they married, and moved into a home next door, so we still got to see them every day.
Ben and Madiza now have twins, a boy and girl, named Samuel and Ivy. For two-year-olds, they are incredibly smart. They learn at twice the speed of other children, and are very good thinkers. Madiza explained that we can thank Project 112 for this, too. Apparently, it was set that the new intelligence would be hereditary, so that there would be no need for school ever again. Speaking of Madiza, she has improved a lot. Granted, she still mutters to herself, and can be found scrawling on scraps of paper at odd hours of the day, and cackles a lot. She will never fully get over the brain damage done by the government. But we can have semi-normal conversations now, and since she goes out in the sun more often, her skin has lost that ghastly whiteness.
Ben is still silent and kind, but that's to be expected. Lucy, soon after we were rescued, finally got over her crush on him. Now that we were heroes, there were plenty of young men around to attract her attention. She has become rather close to Paris too; they like to flirt and gossip together.
And as for me and Matt? Well, when we were eighteen, we joined up with the Resistance! After all, this war isn't going to win itself, and one liberation of prisoners isn't going to change things any time soon. If you don't mind the fact that you're risking your life virtually every minute of the day, it's quite fun. And we get to visit the hide-out on our days off.
Considering all that we've gone through, I'd say our lives have turned out pretty good. Hopefully it will last.
Cara
And that is how we made it home. Everyone, even people who didn't know us particularly well, was overjoyed to see us. The celebrations and joy lasted for days, if not weeks. As Madiza had expected, Mom and Dad were more than willing to take her and Ben in. A couple of years later, they married, and moved into a home next door, so we still got to see them every day.
Ben and Madiza now have twins, a boy and girl, named Samuel and Ivy. For two-year-olds, they are incredibly smart. They learn at twice the speed of other children, and are very good thinkers. Madiza explained that we can thank Project 112 for this, too. Apparently, it was set that the new intelligence would be hereditary, so that there would be no need for school ever again. Speaking of Madiza, she has improved a lot. Granted, she still mutters to herself, and can be found scrawling on scraps of paper at odd hours of the day, and cackles a lot. She will never fully get over the brain damage done by the government. But we can have semi-normal conversations now, and since she goes out in the sun more often, her skin has lost that ghastly whiteness.
Ben is still silent and kind, but that's to be expected. Lucy, soon after we were rescued, finally got over her crush on him. Now that we were heroes, there were plenty of young men around to attract her attention. She has become rather close to Paris too; they like to flirt and gossip together.
And as for me and Matt? Well, when we were eighteen, we joined up with the Resistance! After all, this war isn't going to win itself, and one liberation of prisoners isn't going to change things any time soon. If you don't mind the fact that you're risking your life virtually every minute of the day, it's quite fun. And we get to visit the hide-out on our days off.
Considering all that we've gone through, I'd say our lives have turned out pretty good. Hopefully it will last.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Freegans part 61
Matt
There was a long, awkward silence. When Cara finally spoke, it was in a strangled tone, as if she had a mouthful of marbles.
"How-how do you know?"
"I remember you!" said Madiza brightly. "I can remember, when I was young, playing with my little cousin Cara. Well, you weren't that little. Just a year younger than me. But to me that was very little. And you look just like her, only older. I even checked your hand, and it has the same scar on it from when you were two and cut it on a sharp rock!"
Cara looked down at her hands, and Madiza pointed to the left one. There was indeed a scar, on the knuckle of her index finger.
"I wondered how it got there," Cara murmured. Suddenly, her head snapped up, and she stared straight at Madiza.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE?!"
"You didn't ask," was the mild reply.
Cara stood up. For a moment, I thought she was about to hit Madiza, and I started to intercede. To everyone's surprise, she hugged her instead! I felt my jaw drop, and saw that Lucy's had too. In all the years we had known her, Cara had never, never hugged anyone. However, I guessed she was willing to make an exception for her own flesh and blood. After stiffening in shock for a moment, Madiza hugged her back.
When she finally pulled away, Cara asked eagerly, "Who were my parents?"
"Logan and Sylvia McTavish."
"McTavish?!" we all gasped at once. I asked, "As in-?"
"That's right, as in Angus McTavish. He had a younger brother, Logan, who was lost during the attack by the consumerists that led McTavish to become the leader of the Freegans and take us to safety."
"So- is Mr. McTavish your father?" Lucy wanted to know.
"No." Madiza shook her head and grinned her pointy-toothed grin. We all looked at each other.
Finally, Ben used his hands to sign something at her. I surmised that it was a question, because she said, "Angus McTavish also had a younger sister, Deirdre McTavish Hatter."
"H- So your last name really is Hatter!" Cara exclaimed.
Madiza cackled with delight. "Yes! Hee hee hee hee!"
We all had a good laugh over that. It wasn't that funny, but it was a good way for us to work off stress. After so much time being under pressure, and facing death, we were (hopefully) safe. We needed an opportunity to laugh. Everyone else was busy treating wounds, steering the sub, etc. They were ignoring us. I saw the Ox at the controls, Deep Thought tapping away at the computer system, Kestrel sitting by Max ( I got the impression there was something between them). And then I realized that not everyone was ignoring us. Sitting a few feet away, giving us one of the most wobegone expressions ever, was Paris.
Madiza suddenly noticed her old friend. She stood up, and headed over to her. Paris stood up too. I noticed that they were about the same height, though Madiza's shaggier hair made her look a little taller.
"Ivy-Ivy, I am so, so sorry," Paris whispered. "Can you ever forgive me?"
Madiza didn't say anything. She stood there, practically nose to nose with Paris, staring her intensely in the face. We watched with baited breath, wondering what she would do.
Suddenly, Madiza lifted a finger, and shaking it at the other girl, said five words in a stern voice: "Don't let it happen again!"
Then she smiled, and, taking Paris's hand, pulled her over to join our group.
There was a long, awkward silence. When Cara finally spoke, it was in a strangled tone, as if she had a mouthful of marbles.
"How-how do you know?"
"I remember you!" said Madiza brightly. "I can remember, when I was young, playing with my little cousin Cara. Well, you weren't that little. Just a year younger than me. But to me that was very little. And you look just like her, only older. I even checked your hand, and it has the same scar on it from when you were two and cut it on a sharp rock!"
Cara looked down at her hands, and Madiza pointed to the left one. There was indeed a scar, on the knuckle of her index finger.
"I wondered how it got there," Cara murmured. Suddenly, her head snapped up, and she stared straight at Madiza.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE?!"
"You didn't ask," was the mild reply.
Cara stood up. For a moment, I thought she was about to hit Madiza, and I started to intercede. To everyone's surprise, she hugged her instead! I felt my jaw drop, and saw that Lucy's had too. In all the years we had known her, Cara had never, never hugged anyone. However, I guessed she was willing to make an exception for her own flesh and blood. After stiffening in shock for a moment, Madiza hugged her back.
When she finally pulled away, Cara asked eagerly, "Who were my parents?"
"Logan and Sylvia McTavish."
"McTavish?!" we all gasped at once. I asked, "As in-?"
"That's right, as in Angus McTavish. He had a younger brother, Logan, who was lost during the attack by the consumerists that led McTavish to become the leader of the Freegans and take us to safety."
"So- is Mr. McTavish your father?" Lucy wanted to know.
"No." Madiza shook her head and grinned her pointy-toothed grin. We all looked at each other.
Finally, Ben used his hands to sign something at her. I surmised that it was a question, because she said, "Angus McTavish also had a younger sister, Deirdre McTavish Hatter."
"H- So your last name really is Hatter!" Cara exclaimed.
Madiza cackled with delight. "Yes! Hee hee hee hee!"
We all had a good laugh over that. It wasn't that funny, but it was a good way for us to work off stress. After so much time being under pressure, and facing death, we were (hopefully) safe. We needed an opportunity to laugh. Everyone else was busy treating wounds, steering the sub, etc. They were ignoring us. I saw the Ox at the controls, Deep Thought tapping away at the computer system, Kestrel sitting by Max ( I got the impression there was something between them). And then I realized that not everyone was ignoring us. Sitting a few feet away, giving us one of the most wobegone expressions ever, was Paris.
Madiza suddenly noticed her old friend. She stood up, and headed over to her. Paris stood up too. I noticed that they were about the same height, though Madiza's shaggier hair made her look a little taller.
"Ivy-Ivy, I am so, so sorry," Paris whispered. "Can you ever forgive me?"
Madiza didn't say anything. She stood there, practically nose to nose with Paris, staring her intensely in the face. We watched with baited breath, wondering what she would do.
Suddenly, Madiza lifted a finger, and shaking it at the other girl, said five words in a stern voice: "Don't let it happen again!"
Then she smiled, and, taking Paris's hand, pulled her over to join our group.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Freegans part 60
Ben
"What do we do?" cried out one of the members of the Resistance to the Ox. "There's no way we can outrun them!"
"We won't have to!" he called back. "Deep Thought! Can you plug in sequence 82X into the computer system?" Deep Thought gave us one of his crazy grins, and sprinted to the keyboard, where he began tapping feverishly away.
"Everyone, as soon as it goes dark, you need to be very still and quiet!" the Ox said. "It's a matter of life and death!"
What's sequence 82X? I signed to Madiza.
It activates the cloaking device on the submarine, she replied. It's a special modification the Resistance made for this particular vessel, in case of such an event as this. Once it's turned on, it will make the submarine seem to disappear to the people chasing us. But we need to stay quiet, because any movement or noise will show up on their radar. I wondered how she had learned this. Sensing my confusion, she said aloud, "He told me," and pointed at Deep Thought.
Without warning, there was a flash of light, and then the cabin went dark. The only lights came from the computer system.
What happened? I signed to Madiza.
Cloaking device activated, she answered, and covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. It was then I noticed that Cara, Matt, and Lucy were huddled next to us. I guess the fact that it was dark made us feel a need to join together. It was odd that after so much time being locked up, I had become used so quickly to having friends again. Granted, we were joined together in an escape from certain death, but still. I hoped fervently that we were not also about to become dead.
The whole submarine had gone silent. We were afraid even of breathing, not sure if the enemy's radar would be able to pick that up. I was sure that every time my heart beat, it was detected. My eyes flicked from face to face of my comrades, and I could see that they felt the same. Only Madiza seemed unperturbed. She was grinning, and her hand was twitching slightly. I gently put my own over it, wanting her to stop. She complied, and suddenly laced her fingers through my own. I let her.
Hours seemed to pass, though it was only a minute or two. I could hear ragged breathing from the rest of the crew, and slight rustlings, and a few shushing noises. Finally, Deep Thought whispered, "They've gone past us. The cloaking was successful." I breathed again. The lights came back on, and we all gave each other looks of pure relief.
"...So, what now?" asked Cara.
"Now," said the Ox, "we take you children home. I think it is far past time."
"Me too!" Lucy agreed.
"Yay!" Madiza cheered. Everyone chuckled at that.
However, I felt troubled. Where was home for me? The government had told my family I was dead when they failed to fix me, and even created a clone corpse of me for them to take home. Where could I go? Madiza, at least, belonged with the Freegans. But I was sort of an intruder. I looked down at my disguise, frowning.
"Don't worry, Ben-ben!" exclaimed Madiza. "I'm sure my cousin will allow us to stay with her!" I looked up, and frowned.
"Your-what?" asked Matt. Everyone else looked as confused as I did.
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" She looked straight at Cara. "You're my cousin!"
"What do we do?" cried out one of the members of the Resistance to the Ox. "There's no way we can outrun them!"
"We won't have to!" he called back. "Deep Thought! Can you plug in sequence 82X into the computer system?" Deep Thought gave us one of his crazy grins, and sprinted to the keyboard, where he began tapping feverishly away.
"Everyone, as soon as it goes dark, you need to be very still and quiet!" the Ox said. "It's a matter of life and death!"
What's sequence 82X? I signed to Madiza.
It activates the cloaking device on the submarine, she replied. It's a special modification the Resistance made for this particular vessel, in case of such an event as this. Once it's turned on, it will make the submarine seem to disappear to the people chasing us. But we need to stay quiet, because any movement or noise will show up on their radar. I wondered how she had learned this. Sensing my confusion, she said aloud, "He told me," and pointed at Deep Thought.
Without warning, there was a flash of light, and then the cabin went dark. The only lights came from the computer system.
What happened? I signed to Madiza.
Cloaking device activated, she answered, and covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. It was then I noticed that Cara, Matt, and Lucy were huddled next to us. I guess the fact that it was dark made us feel a need to join together. It was odd that after so much time being locked up, I had become used so quickly to having friends again. Granted, we were joined together in an escape from certain death, but still. I hoped fervently that we were not also about to become dead.
The whole submarine had gone silent. We were afraid even of breathing, not sure if the enemy's radar would be able to pick that up. I was sure that every time my heart beat, it was detected. My eyes flicked from face to face of my comrades, and I could see that they felt the same. Only Madiza seemed unperturbed. She was grinning, and her hand was twitching slightly. I gently put my own over it, wanting her to stop. She complied, and suddenly laced her fingers through my own. I let her.
Hours seemed to pass, though it was only a minute or two. I could hear ragged breathing from the rest of the crew, and slight rustlings, and a few shushing noises. Finally, Deep Thought whispered, "They've gone past us. The cloaking was successful." I breathed again. The lights came back on, and we all gave each other looks of pure relief.
"...So, what now?" asked Cara.
"Now," said the Ox, "we take you children home. I think it is far past time."
"Me too!" Lucy agreed.
"Yay!" Madiza cheered. Everyone chuckled at that.
However, I felt troubled. Where was home for me? The government had told my family I was dead when they failed to fix me, and even created a clone corpse of me for them to take home. Where could I go? Madiza, at least, belonged with the Freegans. But I was sort of an intruder. I looked down at my disguise, frowning.
"Don't worry, Ben-ben!" exclaimed Madiza. "I'm sure my cousin will allow us to stay with her!" I looked up, and frowned.
"Your-what?" asked Matt. Everyone else looked as confused as I did.
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" She looked straight at Cara. "You're my cousin!"
Monday, March 26, 2012
Freegans part 59
Lucy
All hell had broken loose. Blasts of plasma whizzed over and around us, dead men and pieces of robot (apparently, even the Drones could only take so much) lay on the ground, and screams permeated the air. I was running after Cara and Matt, with Ben and Madiza behind us. We were headed for the submarine, which seemed our only option for survival. I tripped several times over corpses, which made me shriek each time. I wasn't used to there being so much death.
Suddenly, I found my path blocked by one of the soldiers, his rifle aimed at my heart. I skidded to a halt, and felt the horror of knowing that I was about to die. He was about to pull the trigger- when he disintegrated into a blob of mush. I saw Paris standing there, holding a smoking plasma rifle! All I could think to say was, "Th-thank you."
"No problem. Come on!" She grabbed my arm, and pulled me after the others.
In record time, we managed to get inside the sub. Kestrel was lying in a corner, clutching a shoulder, which was dripping blood; he must have been grazed by a ball of plasma. Max, Tower, and Deep Thought were administering to him. The Ox burst in, hair and glasses disheveled. He was followed by a crowd of Resistance members and ex-prisoners. I couldn't tell how many had been lost, but I did know that there was a lot more room inside the sub than there had been. I felt a pang in my heart for all those who had been lost.
Once the door was shut, Ox staggered to the controls, and with a few parting blasts, began steering us out into open water. Through the viewing screen, I could see that the consumerists were getting into their subs too; they meant to follow us.
"Yip-yip!" exclaimed Madiza.
We all turned to her in surprise. It was the first time she'd spoken in hours.
"Huh?" asked Cara.
"It's the phrase Aang uses whenever he wants his bison to fly!" she explained in a cheerful tone.
"His...bison?" Matt raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yes, it's a flying bison! His name is Appa!"
We all looked at each other. It seemed that Madiza was back to normal.
All hell had broken loose. Blasts of plasma whizzed over and around us, dead men and pieces of robot (apparently, even the Drones could only take so much) lay on the ground, and screams permeated the air. I was running after Cara and Matt, with Ben and Madiza behind us. We were headed for the submarine, which seemed our only option for survival. I tripped several times over corpses, which made me shriek each time. I wasn't used to there being so much death.
Suddenly, I found my path blocked by one of the soldiers, his rifle aimed at my heart. I skidded to a halt, and felt the horror of knowing that I was about to die. He was about to pull the trigger- when he disintegrated into a blob of mush. I saw Paris standing there, holding a smoking plasma rifle! All I could think to say was, "Th-thank you."
"No problem. Come on!" She grabbed my arm, and pulled me after the others.
In record time, we managed to get inside the sub. Kestrel was lying in a corner, clutching a shoulder, which was dripping blood; he must have been grazed by a ball of plasma. Max, Tower, and Deep Thought were administering to him. The Ox burst in, hair and glasses disheveled. He was followed by a crowd of Resistance members and ex-prisoners. I couldn't tell how many had been lost, but I did know that there was a lot more room inside the sub than there had been. I felt a pang in my heart for all those who had been lost.
Once the door was shut, Ox staggered to the controls, and with a few parting blasts, began steering us out into open water. Through the viewing screen, I could see that the consumerists were getting into their subs too; they meant to follow us.
"Yip-yip!" exclaimed Madiza.
We all turned to her in surprise. It was the first time she'd spoken in hours.
"Huh?" asked Cara.
"It's the phrase Aang uses whenever he wants his bison to fly!" she explained in a cheerful tone.
"His...bison?" Matt raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yes, it's a flying bison! His name is Appa!"
We all looked at each other. It seemed that Madiza was back to normal.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Freegans part 58
Cara
My life, what I could remember of it, flashed before my eyes. I know, that's an extremely cliche phrase, but that's what I experienced. I had memories from when I was seven, doing the project with Matt and Lucy...that time when I was twelve, and Matt accidentally hit me in the head with an old croquet mallet, giving me a concussion...the time when I paid him back (accidentally, I assure you) by breaking his nose with a badly aimed hockey stick...the first time I saw Madiza... There was other stuff too, lots of it, but I don't feel like revealing it all right now. I need to keep some things secret, you know.
Anyway, things looked bad. We were trapped like rats. There was nowhere to go, as we could see the leader of these soldiers (the guy in the red cap again-how I utterly detested him at this moment!) talking into a walkie-talkie, calling the Drones. The Drones! Suddenly, my heart gave a leap of hope. I remembered how Deep Thought kept tinkering around with them. But how many had he got? What if they got overwhelmed? My heart gave a sink of despair.
"Well, well, looks like the Resistance has been run to earth at last," Red Cap was saying. Great. Not only had he captured us, but now he wanted to gloat about it! I gave a small sigh. Why couldn't he just get it over with?!
"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment. Frankly, I'm surprised there are so few of you." The dude strode forward, surveying us. The soldiers pointed the business ends of their plasma rifles at us, as a deterrent against any funny business.
"There are far more of us than you know," said the Ox coldly. He refused to show any signs of fear, for which I felt a wave of respect.
"Oh, I know that. But the way I see it, if you strike a major blow at the heart of an animal, the rest of it slowly dies."
Oh, now he was making irritating metaphors. I could feel my irritation rising. This was odd. I didn't feel afraid at all. Instead, I was just plain mad. We had not come all this way, and gone through so much, just to be stopped by some idiot who thought he was the next Benjamin Franklin!
Matt looked at me, and I knew that he could see I was planning on doing something stupid, because he gave an anxious shake of his head no.
I gave him a look that dared him to try and stop me. He gave me one in reply that said he would, if he had to pinion me to the floor. I shot back a look saying that we were probably going to die anyway, so what was the harm? Our facial argument was interrupted, when from behind us there was a loud blasting sound!
One of the soldiers fell to the ground, a gaping wound in his chest. We turned, and gasped as around thirty Drones came floating out the doorway, and began firing on the consumerists. I shot a glance at Deep Thought. He had a humongous smirk, like the cat that swallowed the canary. However, I had more important things to think about, like running like heck for the submarine, so I didn't spend much time looking.
My life, what I could remember of it, flashed before my eyes. I know, that's an extremely cliche phrase, but that's what I experienced. I had memories from when I was seven, doing the project with Matt and Lucy...that time when I was twelve, and Matt accidentally hit me in the head with an old croquet mallet, giving me a concussion...the time when I paid him back (accidentally, I assure you) by breaking his nose with a badly aimed hockey stick...the first time I saw Madiza... There was other stuff too, lots of it, but I don't feel like revealing it all right now. I need to keep some things secret, you know.
Anyway, things looked bad. We were trapped like rats. There was nowhere to go, as we could see the leader of these soldiers (the guy in the red cap again-how I utterly detested him at this moment!) talking into a walkie-talkie, calling the Drones. The Drones! Suddenly, my heart gave a leap of hope. I remembered how Deep Thought kept tinkering around with them. But how many had he got? What if they got overwhelmed? My heart gave a sink of despair.
"Well, well, looks like the Resistance has been run to earth at last," Red Cap was saying. Great. Not only had he captured us, but now he wanted to gloat about it! I gave a small sigh. Why couldn't he just get it over with?!
"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment. Frankly, I'm surprised there are so few of you." The dude strode forward, surveying us. The soldiers pointed the business ends of their plasma rifles at us, as a deterrent against any funny business.
"There are far more of us than you know," said the Ox coldly. He refused to show any signs of fear, for which I felt a wave of respect.
"Oh, I know that. But the way I see it, if you strike a major blow at the heart of an animal, the rest of it slowly dies."
Oh, now he was making irritating metaphors. I could feel my irritation rising. This was odd. I didn't feel afraid at all. Instead, I was just plain mad. We had not come all this way, and gone through so much, just to be stopped by some idiot who thought he was the next Benjamin Franklin!
Matt looked at me, and I knew that he could see I was planning on doing something stupid, because he gave an anxious shake of his head no.
I gave him a look that dared him to try and stop me. He gave me one in reply that said he would, if he had to pinion me to the floor. I shot back a look saying that we were probably going to die anyway, so what was the harm? Our facial argument was interrupted, when from behind us there was a loud blasting sound!
One of the soldiers fell to the ground, a gaping wound in his chest. We turned, and gasped as around thirty Drones came floating out the doorway, and began firing on the consumerists. I shot a glance at Deep Thought. He had a humongous smirk, like the cat that swallowed the canary. However, I had more important things to think about, like running like heck for the submarine, so I didn't spend much time looking.
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