by Jai Yadav
“Jump off the cliff and become this, ok?” Hans said as if explaining to a child how to pour water in a glass.
“You want him to do WHAT?” Vinny said, her voice louder than ever .
“It’s fine,” Hans promised, “He won’t get hurt.”
“The rocks extend a bit, you don’t want to crash in them,” Niko muttered.
“He just has to jump far enough,” Hans had never been so determined, “He can do it.”
“I have something in my head,” Emmanuel said, his voice barely a whisper, “Get aside.”
“What?” Niko asked.
“Move!” He screamed, terror lacing his voice.
Niko and Vinny flew up as Emmanuel transformed into a cheetah. He hadn’t seen a fish but had seen a cheetah . He roared, moving his legs, trying to get a gripin the sand. Hans suddenly understood what was about to come. He flattened himself on the ground right there as Emmanuel roared again and started sprinting. Praying that he wouldn’t kill him, Hans got ready. It was too late to move away. Em could get hurt and fall to his death.
Hans shut his eyes. Fear shredded him as he sensed Emmanuel getting closer. He felt a heavy breath against him. A split-second later he felt immense pain. It felt as if a hundred swords were simultaneously puncturing his skin.
The pain went as quick as it came, the pressure subsided too. He grew up and opened his eyes to see Emmanuel, now a fish, diving into the water. Hans’s skin throbbed as if someone had eaten him and spit him out. Niko and Vinny flew down and looked at Hans as if he was a maniac. He really should’ve jumped aside when those two did. They just looked down at the midnight ocean, waiting as anxiety filled Hans. Did he just kill Emmanuel with his crap idea?
He wanted to go down and check, but there would be so many dead fishes that it would be impossible to find Emmanuel.
Centuries passed, and dread began to settle in everyone. Ever since Emmanuel had jumped, no word had been spoken. Niko’s wings were fluttering and shedding, Vinny’s dreadlocks stood up so high it seemed a spire was coming from her skull. Hans himself was feeling as if bubbles were popping inside him.
A body bobbed up and Hans choked back a sob, knowing that the huge figure could be no one but Emmanuel. After remaining lifeless for a minute it suddenly started thrashing around wildly.
“Get him!” Hans screamed at Niko and Vinny.
Both of them swooped down in the air, the tips of Vinny’s wings glowing red as they dived. Grabbing each of his arms, they slowly heaved him up. Laying him on the ground, they waited for him to speak. He was breathing slowly, but not properly . Exhausted, he got up and said, “I hate that idea, it worked, but I hate it. The pod is floating up, go and grab it.”
“I thought we only told you to search for it,” Niko said.
“Yeah, I used my brains and got it up.” He grinned. “Turned into a damn seal and pushed it up.”
Vinny giggled and swooped down as everyone stared at the horizon. The sun would be up in a few hours, they needed to go as soon as they could. Vinny came up with a pod twice the size of a football. It still hadn’t lost its metallic white shade after all these years. Hans couldn’t believe he even fit in there.
“Let’s go, it is risky staying here for so long,” Vinny said.
***
Getting the pod through airport security was easier than expected. Turns out those guys had an unhealthy obsession with searching for water bottles only. The pod just smuggled perfectly well in Vinny’s wing flaps.
***
They were sitting in their home now, inhaling Pepsi and chips.
“So,” Niko burped, “Do you have all the stuff to go?”
“I think so, I just need to assemble it,” Vinny said.
“We could help you with that.” Emmanuel jumped at the opportunity.
Hans sighed. If he was wearing his disguise he would have facepalmed into oblivion right now. This boy was simping so hard over Vinny . Hans just wanted to relax now.
“You guys have helped more than enough,” Vinny said, “You don’t have to do anything more. It's perfectly fine.”
“It’s fine, I promise,” Em looked at Niko and Hans, pleading with puppy eyes, “You guys are fine with that, right?”
As Hans didn’t yet know the subtle and complex art of saying no, he nodded assent along with Niko.
Doubt
Vinny had done her homework, she had a lot of pieces of tech, mostly stolen. On the table lay trinkets and pieces of various sizes. Niko and Emmanuel looked at it wide-eyed as if they had discovered a sunken ship full of gold or Netherite in Minecraft. The pod was put on the already crowded table.
“That’s a lot of stuff,” Niko said, inspecting everything.
“You guys can take whatever’s left after we’re done,” she said, “Thanks again for the help, a lot.”
“It’s no problem,” Emmanuel said yet again.
“Uh- yeah,” Hans said, “But how much time is this going to take?”
“Less than about three hours, two if we get lucky-” Vinny said.
“Not more than an hour,” Niko interrupted, “I don’t know much about pods but I am good at building stuff.”
“Let’s get done with this,” Hans said.
Niko and Vinny were the ones doing work and telling them what to do, Emmanuel just put some inputs here and there while Hans struggled cluelessly with alien technology. Was it alien technology to him? His main job was really really important, screwing the assembled parts .
An hour passed like a breeze and they had made three large parts, which according to Vinny would fit together.
The first was something of a stand, a small blue plate under which many inch-long rods were fit which helped it stand upright aboveground. The next part was the main pod, it was half the size of Vinny which confused Hans as she was supposed to sit in that. It was made from most of Hans’s pod, white in colour and pear-shaped, it had a grey cap on its top. The third attachment was a slim and tall spire, made out of a few rods bundled together, it didn’t seem to fit anywhere but Vinny said that’s how she made it every time.
“Never seen this kind of pod.” Niko said after it was done, “You sure we made it right?”
“Yes, for the hundredth time. It's correct,” Vinny sighed.
“How will you fit in there?” Hans asked.
“I’m very bendy. I’ll show you it when I go, you haven’t seen all my abilities,” Her eyes twinkled.
Emmanuel choked on his water and asked, “Bendy?”
“Yes, I can kind of fold. That’s what I’ll do in the pod.” After pausing for some time she continued, “I might be going tomorrow. Staying more each day is giving me more anxiety.”
“Oh. Could you stay for some more? Like a week or something,” Emmanuel said.
“It’s alright. She needs to go, don’t you?” Niko said looking at Vinny as she nodded.
“I’ll be in my room. Got some uh- some work to do,” Emmanuel said as he walked out to his room.
Silence overtook the room as they all slowly walked out till Vinny was left seeing her almost finished product.
***
Hans was sleeping in his room when he heard a knock on the door. He looked at his watch, it was two in the night. Grunting, he got up to his door.
Swinging the door open, he said, “What now, Niko? It’s in the middle of the night.”
Without saying a word, Niko grabbed Hans and dragged him out of the room to the empty living room. Empty, he realized. The couches were empty, so was the table. All their work had vanished in the night.
“How-?” Hans stammered.
“I was suspicious of the thing we made. It didn’t look like a pod from any angle. I came out about half an hour ago to check a bit, hoping I would be wrong.”
“Where’s Vinny?”
“That’s the other thing. Her room’s door was ajar, totally empty, and clean. There isn’t a trace that someone lived there. Ever.”
“Does Emmanuel know?”
“Wake at five. We break the news together to him as soon as he wakes. Let’s get it over with quickly. Go to your room. Rest.” Hans said as he went back to his room.
“Hey Niko,” Hans stopped in his tracks, “You said it didn’t look like a pod… What did it look like really?”
Niko breathed deeply. “A beacon, at least to the best of my knowledge.”
He walked away.
Search
Sometimes, after a person is given an overload of information, their mind goes blank, their neurons get overloaded. Hans was suffering from this infobesity, he slept early as if nothing happened.
It was quarter to five when he got out of his bed as his head hammered. Sweat covered him though he wasn’t using a blanket. Shivering in the summer, he put on his disguise, hoping it would help him.
Tears brimmed his eyes. How could Vinny do this? That was the only thought going through his head. They had shared months of friendship, how could she abandon everyone like this?
He heard a knock on his door. “Come in, Niko,” he said with a hoarse voice.
Niko was wearing his disguise too. His nose sounded like a defective vacuum when he asked, “You ready?” His eyes looked sickeningly baggy.
Hans nodded and they didn’t say a word to each other. They trotted towards Emmanuel’s door and knocked on it softly, then they realized he was probably sleeping. Hans banged harder on the door until Emmanuel finally came to.
“Lemme sleep,” he muttered through half-open eyes.
“Wake up, get freshened up. We need to talk. It's important,” Niko took charge.
“What is it?”
“Just- Please Emmanuel, do what I said,”
“Give me ten minutes, I’ll be out in the hall.”
“Not the hall—” Hans said, “We’re waiting here. Be quick,”
As Em went back inside, Niko asked, “Why not the living room or hallway?”
“You think he wants to see it empty? You’d prefer that he see what happened as I did, instead of breaking it to him slowly?” Only then did Hans realize Niko had told him everything the worst way possible.
Niko barely could mutter an apology and Hans just waved it off, waiting for Emmanuel.
The door swung open and Emmanuel took notice, “Why are you guys dressed up? Disguised, I mean.”
“Can we come in your room?” Niko asked, and without waiting for permission, he sat on his bed.
“Did you guys not sleep yesterday?” he pointed at the red eyes.
“Yeah. You might wanna sit down,” Hans said.
Hans had never broken any type of news to anyone, what was he supposed to do now? Break it to him suddenly by saying what happened? Or just slowly spin a tale in circles until it made sense?
Niko was just as speechless, his head hung down.
“Is your grand plan to leave me in suspense?” Emmanuel asked.
“So— I don’t know how to tell you this, but… you remember that pod we were making for Vinny yesterday?” Hans started.
“Duh!” He shook his head in exasperation.
“So… Vinny’s gone.”
“College?”
“She’s gone, all that machinery, gone too,” Niko said.
“Oh, she went home—” Emmanuel’s voice cracked. “It's fine, right? She needed to.”
Hans and Niko looked at one another, it was a possibility that she needed to make a quick get-away and they just assumed the worst, after all.
“Yeah, that’s what we wanted to tell you.” Niko got up and grabbed Hans. “Come on Hans, let’s give Emmanuel some privacy.” He dragged Hans out and shut the door behind him.
“He may be right. She could have just left,” Niko whispered.
“Let’s check her room out,” Hans said. “She may have left something, or there may be a clue.”
“I’ve told you, I checked it. But I guess we’ve got no option.”
They opened her room. The bed was stripped clean, the floor spotless. The wall had no spots or signs, it was as if this part of the house had been built in the night. Niko opened the closet and emptiness stared back at him. He searched the closet, blindly hoping for some sign Vinny had left. His lip was bleeding now from all the biting, the metallic taste giving him more adrenaline.
“It's clean,” Niko’s voice quivered again.
“I don’t know what to make of anything,” Hans said. “Was she in too much of a hurry? Or did she abandon us?”
The unspoken question lingered in the air— Was it a pod or a beacon?
“We need to find out. Somehow.”
“We don’t know anything that happened since yesterday night Niko, how are we supposed to do that?”
“I was awake the whole night, if she had rushed I would’ve heard.” Niko said. “She sneaked off somewhere. Trust me”
“Why would she?” Hans said, denying everything.
“Why would she say that she’s making a pod and then make a beacon? Has she said anything that’s the truth? Is she even from Krizman?”
“WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?!” Hans lost his footing and screamed. “I HAVE NO IDEA, YOU KNEW HER BEFORE ME. STOP ASKING— JUST STOP!”
“You guys should’ve told me,” a voice said behind them. Hans turned around to see Emmanuel in tears, walking back to his room...
Hans cursed and rushed to Emmanuel’s room, it was locked. Banging the door, he shouted, “We don’t have time for this. Come on, we weren’t sure ourselves!”
He banged on the door until Emmanuel swung it open, “What is it?” He could barely speak, eyes red.
“Look, I’m sorry. Okay? We should have been honest with you.” Hans apologized, “I’m seriously sorry, we both are. But we need to figure this problem out before causing more. Come on, man.”
“I will help you,” Emmanuel decided. “Only for Vin, not for you both”
Hans nodded as Niko came up behind him, apologising again.
“How do you reckon we search for her?” Niko asked, the silence bugging him out.
“You said it was a beacon,” Emmanuel said. “Not a pod, she couldn’t have got far if it’s true.”
“I’ll try her phone,” Hans said, going to his room.
“We need to get her back. At any cost, alright?”
Hans nodded, not saying anything.
“Contact number doesn’t exist.” Hans came out, mobile in his hand.
“She probably broke her mobile,” Niko speculated.
“Do we have another way? Any way?” Emmanuel asked.
Niko thought for a few minutes and muttered, “I have one way, it may take some time. But it should work.”
“What is it?” Hans questioned.
“Too complex to tell,” Niko said. “Just give me, like, two hours.”
Niko rushed to his room before anyone could say anything. He came out a minute later, a new watch on his wrist.
“Bye guys, don’t do anything stupid.” He ran out faster than Usain Bolt.
“I can’t sit doing nothing,” Emmanuel muttered. “I have to do something.”
“Okay, how about we watch a show? Or cook?” Hans tried to distract him.
“We could just follow him.”
“For all, doughnuts we could know, he’s still running. You know how fast he goes when he wants to.”
“I don’t wanna do anything.” Emmanuel started picking his nails.
“You just said you had to— Never mind. How about this, you just go lie down for some time?”
“Yeah, fine. Tell me when he comes.” He went back into his room.
“Sure,” Hans said.
He went to his room too, laid down, trying not to let his thoughts overtake him. For once in his life, it worked, he fell asleep out of frustration.
***
Niko shook him awake, standing beside him w
as Emmanuel.
“You found her?” Hans asked.
“Not yet,” Emmanuel said. “But we’re gonna go find her now.”
“How?” Hans said as he got up.
“Well,” Niko started, “I asked our embassy for some help. They of course said they can’t interfere directly. But, listen to this, when I told them that she was like a half robot. One of my friends, Kamilla, gave me a device from under the table. It can track Vinny, her machinery is different from Earth’s, so it can track her.”
Only then did Hans notice, Niko’s pocket had a large circular bulge. He took out something shaped like a frisbee, it was made of small, black blocks. On the inner side, it had a screen.
Hans got up to see it, two blips were blinking on it. One was green, and the other was purple.
Niko put a finger on the purple blip, “This is Vinny. The green one is us.”
“So, let’s go right now,” Emmanuel said.
“Yeah, let’s get some food in though. It may take a lotta time,” Hans said, walking out of his room.
“Fine,” Emmanuel grumbled, rushing to the kitchen.
Hans and Niko followed and saw him pouring milk in a glass.
“What'cha gonna make, Em?” Niko asked.
He showed off his glass of milk, “Lunch.”
“No,” Hans sighed. “You’re gonna have proper food.
“We don’t have time.”
“Shut up,” Niko said. “You’re gonna help us make something, or use some of that sweet cash to get us a proper huge meal.”
“I’m gonna get as much stuff as I can from the cafe.”
“Proper breakfast, okay?”
“Fine.” He let out a defeated sigh as he walked out.
“You wanna make something?” Niko asked Hans.
“Heck yeah,” Hans said. “Who knows how much Emmanuel will bring.”
“Omelette? Or scrambled eggs?”
