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Travelling through space without a spaceship was disconcerting to say the least. Olly had no idea where the Necronaut might be taking them but she was sure it wasn’t going to be as pleasant as Sully dreamed. They hurtled onward, time no longer seemed to matter. Drifting. Floating. Trying very hard not to watch the streaking miasma of colors as they swept by. She had no idea if they were stars or galaxies, a hallucination or a dream. She was worried about Nelly, who hadn’t awakened yet. Sully was mostly silent as well. Just an occasional moan if he looked too long at the colors. Then something changed. The sphere they were in became opaque and dark. No more colors. No more stars. There was a sudden and distinct feeling that they were falling. She heard Sully let loose an epithet at the quick plummeting drop that left their stomachs churning. The change awoke Nelly too.
“What’s happening?” Nelly shrieked, unable to see anything in the murkiness surrounding her.
“It’s okay, Nelly,” Olly spoke soothingly. “Stay calm and try not to move. Don’t fight it.”
“Olly?”
“Right here, Nelly.”
“Sully?”
“I’m here too, Nelly.” Sully felt his gorge rise as they dropped again. There was a moment of weightlessness and suddenly the murky orb was gone, vanished into thin air. They were dropped about 4 feet onto their backs onto the ground. It was soft sand.
After a minute of catching their breath from the fall, Sully rolled to his knees. “At least he got part of it right,” he said shaking sand out of his hair. He looked around warily, expecting a showdown with the creature that had abducted them but there was no one else with them. They were alone on a beach, one strangely Earth-like, except the sky was more red in appearance. The air was slightly chilly and the nearby water looked black and cold. If it was water. It had no waves and looked like a vast lake of obsidian glass rather than water.
Olly stood and motioned the others to follow her.
“We need to find some cover, we’re sitting ducks out here.” She led the way up the beach toward the steep escarpment that rose all around, enclosing the beach. The sand was completely dry, soft and difficult to walk through. It didn’t show any signs that the water was tidal so she wasn’t particularly worried about getting trapped in the ringed basin. There was a sun, but it was low to the horizon over the water. Was it dusk or dawn? They’d know that shortly. Either way, she wanted to find shelter.
Choosing a direction she followed the cliff face searching for a hollow or crevice they might use as a cave. It wasn’t long before they found one. It was small and low, just high enough to sit upright on the ground inside. It didn’t go back very far, only about 10 feet and was about 8 feet wide. There was debris at the back that looked like they might use it to avoid sleeping on the bare ground. There was a natural overhang on it too that might help with reflecting a fire’s heat and keeping any rain off, if it came straight down, if it rained at all here.
Disturbingly though, there were signs of previous occupation. A charred ring of stones on the ground just outside the opening indicated someone had built a fire here once, probably with the same observations in mind. It was obviously old though. Blown sand had begun to bury it. "Someone had the right idea," Olly said as she started searching along the cliff base, picking up dried grasses for tinder along with some twigs and old vines. Sully ventured farther and found some old driftwood heaped against the cliff further down the beach. Nelly began scooping the sand out of the fire ring then rearranged the stones to make it more of a fire pit, one with a bottom-fed air flow. Ollie and Sully returned, dropping what they had found near the fire ring. Sully expertly stacked the tinder and tented some of the wood over it. He raised his glasses, but Olly put a hand on his arm.
“We don’t have Drum-O. It needs to be a very small burst. Don’t waste it.”
Sully nodded and bent down closer to the pile. A tiny, focused red beam touched the tinder for a split second. It burst into flame and he very carefully nurtured that into a small fire. He added more wood. “We should go get more wood while it’s still light,” he said, noting that the sun was indeed setting. “We’ll need to keep this going through the night and probably beyond. I’m not worried about Nelly or I getting cold, but I do worry about you Olly. It’s not like these stage clothes are at all insulated.” He picked at the thin polyester shirt he was wearing.
“I’ll be okay as long is I have you here, I think,” Olly laughed. “You’re a regular little furnace.”
“Yeah,” said Nelly. “You and I won’t be cuddling, that’s for sure.” She laughed. “I’d freeze your socks off!”
Olly smiled and patted her friend’s shoulder. “But you have a very warm heart, Nelly. You okay with tending this while we go get more wood?”
“No problem!” Nelly sat down at the opening of the small cave, well away from the fire, her back to the dark stone wall.
Several trips later they had quite a stack of wood. Olly looked at it. “That should last the night.”
Sully turned to go back out for more saying, “We have no idea how long the night is here.”
Olly looked out into the dying daylight. “Good point. Okay. One more trip.” As she went back out she was thinking to herself, regardless of how long the night was here, it was going to be a really long one.
•••••
Rabbit was tired. She had offered to take the first watch on the overnight. During repairs earlier, The Spine had slipped back into a restructuring mode when they’d had to remove his right leg for bench repairs, his body circuitry trying to make new connections to bypass those that were no longer working. It was a combat damage response, much like how an injured ant could be twitching on the floor then suddenly get up and crawl off, maybe dragging a limb or two in the process. That was how their circuitry was made to work as well.
She looked up at a soft knock on the door jamb. “Hi Zer0,” she whispered quietly. “Is it your turn?”
“Yeah, Six told me he doesn’t want Spine to wake up alone. Wants someone to be here with him in case he….” His eyes drifted over to the now repaired leg resting in the bench vise. He shuddered. “You’ve been awake for too long now. Go rest.”
Rabbit looked up at him with pain in her eyes. She was slumped wearily in a reclining chair beside The Spine’s bed. She didn’t want to go. She and The Spine, they’d been through so much together, but she couldn’t stay online too much longer. “Okay, Zer0. Wake me though, if he wakes up.”
“Six said something about finishing his repairs when he does, so I’ll tell you both at the same time.”
As he helped her up from the chair, Rabbit smiled at his use of the word “when,” not “if.” Zer0 was so insanely optimistic, and she loved him for it. She hugged him tightly.
“Go,” he said, disengaging her arms gently. “Get some sleep.” Rabbit reached over to adjust the blanket covering The Spine to his chest. She knew how much he hated to be seen without his sleek armor exoskeleton. Six also didn't want him to panic should he awaken and see a leg missing. She put a hand to his shoulder, just a single light stroke, before turning to walk slowly from the room. Zer0 watched her go then sat himself down in the chair beside the bed.
The time passed slowly. Occasionally Zer0 would notice The Spine twitch in his sleep but he didn’t wake. It wasn’t until just before daybreak, the hour where all dreams become real, that he heard The Spine moan. He stood, noticing the silver bot was trembling, his arms twitching restlessly. Zer0 took his hand in his. He held it tightly, and for a small bit of time this quieted the restlessness. But then the nightmare began again, this time starting with a deep robot roar. The Spine roared a second time, tensed, his head slowly rocking back and forth, his arms twitching, his bellows working hard as though something were chasing him.
“I’m right here, Spine. I gotcha, buddy. Hang in there,” Zer0 said softly. He took The Spine’s hand in both of his now and held tightly.
“Hold steady!” yelled the Spine in his tormented sleep. “Hold steady everyone. The…lead elephant…focus fire on the lead elephant.”
Zer0 gulped hard, but held on. This was going to be bad for both of them if he didn’t wake up. “Spine? Spine, come on buddy, let it go…” he whispered. “We’re home now…”
“Hatchworth, where are you?” murmured The Spine. Louder. “Where are you? Jon? Jon! Nooooo!” Even louder now, more frenetic, “Rabbit! Rabbit you must stay armed. Rabbit get up! You must get up! I can’t carry you! Get up! We have to move. NOW!” He was shaking harder, his head thrashing
“Spine! I’ve got Rabbit. We have to move,” Zer0 said loudly. “Move!” he shouted, hoping he could bring the nightmare to a close. He still held The Spine’s hand but now it was clenching his, almost painfully so. He didn’t care. “Spine, wake up. You gotta wake up, buddy.” He was almost in tears himself as the old memories washed over him. “Please, you gotta wake up!”
Another deep roar. With it, The Spine awoke. His eyes darted about, then closed tightly in pain. Black oil tears slid slowly down the sides of his face. His breathing slowed but was still forced and heavy. The shaking subsided to a tremor.
Zer0 whispered, “I gotcha, Spine. It’s all good. We’re safe now. We’re home. Rabbit’s home. Jon, Hatch…We’re all home.”
The Spine looked over to his left to see Zer0’s soft amber eyes glowing brightly back at him. Seeing Zer0’s tears, The Spine started to weep.
“That was…that was you,” The Spine whispered between sobs. “I…I remember now. I didn’t know…I didn’t remember…I’m sooo sorry, Zer0. I didn’t remember!”
“Shh. I don’t blame you for not remembering. Shh…” He raised The Spine’s hand so he could see he was holding it. “That was an awful time.” The Spine loosened his grip but still held on, both crying now.
When The Spine finally caught his breath, in almost a whimper he said quietly, “I hate that dream.” He looked away.
“Yeah, me too,” said Zer0. Their eyes met again and Zer0 smiled. “You okay?”
The Spine shifted on his bed and grimaced in pain. “So many red lines,” he whispered. “Everything…hurts….”
“I’ll bet.” Zer0 looked over at the bench but jerked his eyes back quickly. “Hey, Spine, I’m supposed to let Rabbit and Six know when you wake up. Rabbit’s worried and Six wants to finish your repairs. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He offered it to The Spine, who accepted it gratefully. He didn’t let go of Zer0’s hand as he wiped the oil from his face with his free hand. He couldn’t let go. Not quite yet. When he was done, Zer0 took the hanky back and wiped his own eyes. “Okay now?”
The Spine nodded and let go of him. Zer0 went back behind the console and toggled a switch that would have Qwerty buzz both Rabbit and Six. He added a green light to the message to let them know everything was ok. He sat back down in the chair next to the bed, a hand resting on The Spine’s forearm.
As much as he disliked being touched, The Spine was comforted knowing his brother was there. A tightness in his chest seemed to have eased too, one he had lived with for far too long now. It wasn’t entirely gone, but it had eased. A bit. The burden of a horrific memory no longer carried alone.
••••••
In his darkened office, Peter, David and a third, much older man were watching an online report on the wall monitor. It was a news broadcast from earlier that night. A newscaster was on the screen, a live shot of the theatre in the graphic frame behind him. “It appears a serious accident occurred at the Max Theatre earlier this evening. From reports, Olly and the Equinox Band had a serious technical malfunction during the sound check for their show that was to be performed tonight. A staged special effect seems to have collapsed and caused a panic among the small number of patrons there to see the band at a pre-show meet and greet. Reports of minor injuries are coming in.” The video cut to show a young woman being wheeled into an ambulance, her arm in an air cast, then cut again to an aerial shot focusing on a jagged hole in the roof of the theatre.
“The show had to be cancelled due to severe structural damage to the theatre itself. Members of the band have been unavailable for comment but a spokesperson for the band stated that the incident is being investigated and they are cooperating fully with the authorities.” The live image changed to a still shot showing the Steam Powered Giraffe trio. “There are reports that a member of the local band Steam Powered Giraffe may have been injured in the accident, but that has yet to be confirmed. The streets immediately surrounding the theatre have been closed to traffic. Stay tuned for further updates as we receive them.”
Peter turned off the feed and heaved a heavy sigh. He looked over at the nondescript, bespectacled gentleman who had joined them. The man spoke.
“We had an agent at the show,” he said. “This band has been under investigation for several weeks now. They aren’t supposed to be here. We were able to get the local authorities to delay helicopter traffic over the building while you got The Spine and your vehicle out. We had our own helicopter stationed there, providing ‘aerial coverage’ until we could…modify… the hole in that roof. We’ve been able to keep the story spinning as a serious technical malfunction. No phone video has shown up that would suggest otherwise — other than your go-pro video. Your technician had some guts to stay there and record that. I’m just glad she was there to prevent an accident that could have had far more damaging results. We’re going to have to put you on notice that this can never, ever happen again. You can never have containment that far away. Ever. You were all very, very lucky.”
Peter stared at the floor. David was staring straight ahead, trying to sort this all out, but judging from his puzzled expression, still coming up short.
“Sir, with all due respect,” Peter started quietly, “The robots have been used in wars here and have come close to destruction several times. It didn’t occur to me that something would cross 5 dimensions and try to crush the crap out of one of them at a small rock concert.”
“That is why we are only giving you a fair warning. You must always be vigilant.” The man smiled briefly but then became serious again.“Especially now. The Necronaut has been gathering up…heroes. We don’t know if he is murdering them or taking them someplace else for some other reason. We have had reports of several abductions now. This one was the most public though.” He shifted in his chair. “So one of the band members was left behind? And you have him here in this house?”
“Yes sir. Drum-O is here. Do you want to speak with him?”
“I don’t know that that would do us much good, but yes. It’s odd that the Necronaut left him behind. I’d highly suggest you let us take him to Kazooland. If the Necronaut realizes his mistake, he will be back.”
David looked over at the man in alarm. “That thing might come back? Here?”
The man nodded.
Peter spoke up softly. “Taking Drum-O may be for the best, but let me break the news to him. He seems to be a very fragile young soul. I don’t think he’s been sentient for very long and he’s realized he’s alone.” He looked back down at the floor. “Sir, do you have any idea where the others might be?”
The man shook his head. “No, but we do have agents out and, as you know, Commander Cosmo is aware of this.”
David’s jaw tightened, his lips froze in a frown and his eyes squinted half shut as he regarded the two other men critically. He was shaking his head. “This is all some sort of really bad dream, right? Space aliens? Kazooland? Commander Cosmo? Really? I’m having a hard time deciding if you two are mad…or if I am.”
“You’ve never been briefed?” the older man asked incredulously. “Peter, how can you have a Matter Master who’s never been briefed?”
Peter shifted awkwardly. “He’s brilliantly gifted and rose to his station quickly. He knows the rules and the restraints and is aware of the inter-dimensions as part of matter theory, but he’s never been inducted into the Cavalcadium.” He looked over at David. “I’m afraid that’s my fault.”
“That will have to be rectified immediately. Let me propose he comes with me when we take Drum-O back. That’ll give the bot the comfort of being with someone slightly familiar, and give young David here the chance to more fully understand the Universe. Who knows what he may come up with then, if he’s as gifted as you say — and I respect your opinion.” His face was friendlier now as he looked over his glasses and smiled at Peter
“What do you think, David?”
The young man looked back and forth between the two men. “Well, if I am going mad, I may as well go in full throttle. No sense stopping now.” He laughed softly. “But, I do see some of the stuff Bunny has said in the past suddenly making more sense. I’d like to sort out the rest of it, if at all possible.”
“That’s settled then.” The man stood up. “You, Drum-O and I will go to Kazooland. But, later today or tomorrow. I need to stay until we get this mess cleared up and off the front page. Pack a bag and be ready at a moment’s notice.”
“Say the word, sir,” answered David. “We always have go-bags packed here. Something Peter has drilled into us, and I was never sure why… until now.”
A soft beeping came from Peter’s desk followed by a blinking green light. Peter toggled it off. “That would be Zer0. The Spine must be awake. Time to do those final repairs.”
“I’ll go wake Camille,” David offered. He looked at the clock. Nearly 6am. “Though I doubt she’s sleeping. We’ll be down shortly.”
Peter nodded. To the man he said, “Do you know your way to your room?”
“I’m all set Peter. Take care of The Spine.”
They all left the office going separate directions.
•••••
Olly, Nelly and Sully spent an uncomfortable night in the small cave. It was just cold enough that Olly was beginning to regret her light spandex stage costume. But it never got too cold, and the fire helped quite a bit. They took turns through the night keeping it going and keeping a lookout - for what, they weren’t sure - switching off whenever one of them got too tired to stay awake. As Olly suspected, it was a long dark night. But the morning sun did eventually brighten the sky over the cliff behind them. The air was warming.
“Be right back,” Sully muttered and staggered to his feet. He was gone several minutes but came back to crouch by the fire. He gave it a poke with a stout stick before banking the coals for the day. They didn’t want to waste the wood they had if the day was going to be warm enough to do without but he wanted to preserve the coals for later. When he was finished, he sat there, staring at it.
“Who’s up for bacon and eggs?” he said wistfully. The girls groaned.
Olly looked out over the vast dark lake. “Do you think that water is safe to drink?” she wondered. Sully looked at it with disgust and Nelly made a choking noise. “Cuz it’s coming right down to ‘do or don’t’ I have to say. And we’re gonna have to do something about food real soon too.
“I dunno about food, Olly, but I gotta take care of something else real soon tho,” Nelly muttered.
Sully pointed to the left. “About 20 yards down thataway. Beware of landmines.” The girls headed off together, Olly giving Sully a swat on the back of the head as she went by. “Hey, just being helpful,” he said with a laugh. When the girls returned, they found Sully outside the cave staring up at the cliff face. He had his eyes shielded against the sun as he scanned the wall.
“Watcha looking at?” asked Nelly.
“I just saw a bird. At least I think it was a bird…something briefly circled over the edge of the cliff up there and it was something that could fly. You know we’re gonna eventually have to climb this right? We are gonna starve down here, and if there are birds up there, that’s where I want to be. Mmmmm… I can taste those fried eggs.” He smacked his lips.
Olly and Nelly looked at the nearly vertical wall with trepidation. It was probably pretty close to 100ft high and there didn’t appear to be any easy handholds. There were some, but without ropes or climbing gear of any kind it was going to be an ordeal. Olly knew Sully was right. They couldn’t stay here. As they walked down the beach together scanning the wall face looking for an easier place to climb they were startled by a small trickle of stones falling. There didn’t appear to be a reason for it. They looked at each other and pretty much shrugged it off.
Finding a place where a vertical crevice ran most of the way up Sully asked, “What do you think Olly? Should we give it a go? Before we get too weak from hunger?” Nelly looked very uncertain and gazed up at the wall again, chewing on her lip. Olly walked down the beach toward the water’s edge to get a better look at the cliff before making her decision.
A sound distracted her. It sounded like a distant voice. She scanned the beach and then the cliff above but saw no one. She heard swirling water behind her and then she distinctly heard someone in the distance shout “RUN!” She looked behind her to see four thick tentacles break the water surface, headed directly for her. She shrieked and ran as fast as she could up the beach, the soft sand slowing her down. She didn’t dare stop. She didn’t dare look back. Sully and Nelly were looking at her, no, not at her, past her, with expressions of sheer terror on their faces. There was a heavy wet thump on the sand behind her but she kept running until she was in Sully’s arms. Daring to look back now, she saw the four massive tentacles extended across the sand. She looked out at the water as a black shape broke the surface and edged closer. The tentacles writhed, trying to reach them but were still too short by several yards. The thing crept closer to shore, its arms getting closer, closer…. She didn’t want to, but she could feel the power surge within. This was not what she wanted to be fighting right now. She separated herself from her two companions and they all took up a battle stance facing the monstrous thing together.
Just as they were preparing to sync up, a voice shouted from above. There was a clattering of wood against stone and a narrow rope ladder with wooden rungs appeared along side where they were standing. “Hurry!” the voice shouted. “All three of you. Up the ladder!” They didn’t have to be told twice. Tamping down his energy surge, Sully anchored the ladder with his weight as the girls clambered up. When they were over halfway up he scrambled up too, narrowly missed by a tentacle sweeping for his ankle. When he got to the top he felt strong hands grabbing him under the arms and hauling him up over the cliff edge.
“Thanks Olly….” his voice trailed off as he stood up. He was looking down into the beautiful bright green eyes of a freckled face young girl. Her ginger hair was cropped short and she was giggling. Sully looked around to find they were ringed by a group of young people. Most appeared to be in their late teens though a few were younger and a couple were older. A muscular young man was pulling up the ladder while another lad who looked to be his twin brother untied the top end from the tree that had anchored it.
Sully wiped the sweat from his face. “That was a near thing.” He looked back over the edge at the roiling water where the creature was slowly sinking back into the depths. “Thanks!”
The group looked at them somewhat warily. It was the young green-eyed girl that approached them with a smile. She asked shyly,
“Are you...Heroes too?”