The Healer

by Kevin Hensley

Another little pig leaned over the edge to point at them with a chubby arm. “Don’t go anywhere—and definitely don’t come any closer, or there will be nothing left of you but a crater. We’re letting the warden know you’re turning yourselves in.”

  “That’s not…” Healer began, but the pink faces vanished. For a while, there was only silence. Healer and Mauler exchanged an impatient look. Across the bridge, the crowd watching them stirred uncomfortably.

  Everyone’s attention returned to the gate when a motorized grind sounded off from inside. The giant double doors began to part.

  Chapter 95

  Healer fought the urge to take a step back as a throng of cloned ospreys and red hounds came through. Beyond them, he could see a group of uneasy Megatropolis citizens watching the scene.

  The red dogs moved aside so one pig could come through—an incredibly fat, white hog with a black spot over one eye, teetering on small legs.

  “I know him,” Healer whispered to Mauler. “He’s the warden of the pig jail I was in.”

  The old hog sauntered through the gate and stopped about twenty feet in front of the two of them. “Little Snapper,” he said in his pebbly voice. “I knew we’d meet again soon. I keep telling the higher-ups, we can’t be giving you sheep second chances. You waste them every time.”

  “We’re not here to be arrested,” Healer answered. “We’re here to negotiate the release of Professor Caper and First Officer Boxer. I don’t want to talk to you. Let us speak to someone in charge.”

  “You’re criminals. That means I am in charge,” said the hog. “I don’t believe we were introduced properly last time. I’m Warden Guz.” His smile disappeared. “We won’t be negotiating anything.”

  Healer sighed. “We’re leaving with Caper and Boxer one way or another. You should know we’re more powerful than we look. Especially this fellow next to me. But we don’t want anyone to get hurt. We only want our friends. Can you work with me, Guz?”

  The hog rolled his watery eyes. “Boys, set for capture and fire on my mark.” On the wall up above, some of the pink pigs scurried to the pair of cannons. Each gun made a whirring sound as mechanical arms appeared to eject the live ammunition rounds and replace them with some sort of coiled mesh.

  A few of the pigs produced shiny metal tubes and pointed them at Healer and Mauler. Healer had to grin.

  Guz snickered. “I’m looking forward to seeing that sass wiped off your face. I guarantee what we’ve prepared for you will take the fight out of anybody, including your brawny friend there.”

  “This is it, Mauler,” Healer growled. He took a low stance, ready to charge at Guz. Mauler did not move, making Healer pause. “Hey. Mauler. What’s the problem?”

  The big beast finally looked at him. “I’m sorry, Healer.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Take aim,” Guz snarled. One of the cannons zeroed in on Healer, the other on Mauler.

  “We will go quietly!”

  Chapter 96

  Everyone except Mauler turned to look. Even Guz and the dogs behind him dropped their guard in surprise. Ponder had come up behind Healer.

  The sheep glared at her and Mauler. “What is wrong with you two?”

  Ponder ignored him. “Mauler and I will surrender without a fight. But there are terms.”

  Guz cocked an eyebrow. “Terms? I just said we won’t be—”

  “Terms which are well above your station,” Ponder said over him, her eyes turning violet. “I am going to strongly suggest you honor Healer’s request. Let us speak with someone with influence.”

  “Fire the nets.”

  The percussive CRACK of the twin cannons was enough to cause pain in the ears of everyone around. The projectiles crossed half the distance and then exploded into webs of copper wire. The Flaxers got clear, but Ponder was caught. Healer had no chance. He was hit by the same net as Ponder. Mauler did not even try to get away from the other net.

  Healer fell over as his entire body went rigid, his muscles racked with agonizing spasms. He could not see anything. He could only hear the rhythmic hum as the electrodes in the net sent pulses of voltage through the metal mesh.

  The net shut off after five seconds, probably programmed to avoid killing its captives. Healer lay in a heap, feeling like he’d been clubbed all over. He forced his eyes open. He’d been injured, but he was conscious, and that was enough.

  Ponder lay next to him, her eyes still glowing. “My power had no effect on him,” she mumbled weakly. “I am sorry, my friend.”

  Mauler thrashed his way out of the other net, staggering on shaking limbs before hitting the ground. Smoke billowed from his singed hair.

  Healer invoked his power, covering the immediate area in a blast of curative energy that brought both him and Mauler back to their feet.

  “You had a shot at negotiating, Guz,” Healer laughed. “Now you’re finished!”

  “Fire tranquilizer!” Guz called out. “Put the sheep down first!”

  The metal tubes in the hands of the pigs on the wall let out smaller but still powerful bursts of noise and smoke. Healer felt sharp thumps all over as if he was being pelted with rocks. Then he grew aware of a deep piercing feeling with a spreading numbness.

  He looked down at a clear tube stuck to his chest. He pulled on it, drawing a thick needle out of his muscle. He saw another in his shoulder. One in his hip.

  “What…” he mumbled.

  Mauler dashed over to him and took the tube from his hoof. Bringing it to his nose, Mauler took a long whiff.

  “Pure, concentrated, liquid Vexylam,” Guz laughed. “A special present just for you, courtesy of Chugg Pharmaceuticals. Your little power can’t reverse its effects, can it?”

  “Damn…” Healer snarled as the numbness made its way to his legs and face. He collapsed to his knees. He tried to use his power on himself again, even though he knew it would not help.

  Mauler’s eyes widened and his face began to contort into an expression Healer had seen before. The beast’s lips curled back, revealing his dog-like teeth. His brow knotted together, his ears lay back against his head.

  “Pig-drugs,” he rumbled.

  “Mauler…” Ponder cautioned.

  Her words went unheeded. With a horrifying shriek, Mauler whirled around and started bounding towards Guz and the clone army.

  “Bring him down!” Guz ordered. The pigs on the wall turned their dart guns on Mauler and fired. The needles plinked off the running creature’s flesh, tumbling harmlessly to the ground.

  Guz’s mouth fell open. “But…” he whimpered. “That worked before… I saw the footage from Durdge…”

  Despite lying on his belly, Healer smirked. “Things have changed.”

  The first dogs reached Mauler and laid hold of his arms and legs with their teeth. Thanks to Karkus, their fangs failed to pierce his hide just as the darts had. The ospreys formed a perimeter but did not dare get close to Mauler. He swung his arms, sending yelping dogs flying in all directions, then went for Guz.

  “Get another net ready!” the hog blubbered, scrambling to get away. But the crew on the wall was too slow, and so was he. Mauler caught him by the throat with one hand, lifted him off the ground, and pinned him against the concrete wall. He drew back his other hand and extended his claws to their full length.

  “Mauler, NO!” Ponder screamed, invoking her own enhanced power to amplify her voice into a thrumming echo that seared Mauler’s ears and brought him to a halt. The dogs surrounded him. Above, the little pigs on the wall were crawling over each other to reload the twin cannons.

  “Stop! Don’t move!” Guz yelled at the cloned dogs. The pigs at the guns also dropped what they were doing to stare at the scene below.

  The Flaxers drifted back over to the scene and set Ponder upright. Dreamer and Ledger ran to either side of Healer and started pulling darts out of his skin. The clones around Mauler growled and bared their teeth but did nothing.

  Ponder spoke with strengt
h, but the pain in her voice was audible. “Now, pig, you have had a demonstration of what we can do. I ask you one more time, let us speak to someone who has authority in the Megatropolis so my terms can be properly discussed.”

  Guz’s eyes narrowed, as did Mauler’s.

  “I promise you,” said Ponder, “my friend will kill you and climb up that wall before your men will have a chance to load something more potent into those guns. True, with our Healer incapacitated, your city’s defenses will eventually overwhelm us. But the casualties on your side will be devastating and your pretense of invulnerability will be permanently lost. I am offering an easier way.”

  One of the cloned ospreys fluttered away from the group and landed near Healer and Ponder. It hopped across the ground until it was a foot from Healer’s face. This close, he could see its body was threaded with wires and exposed metal parts. A short antenna stuck straight up from between its shoulders. Both of its eyes shone red, like Durdge’s camera eye.

  The robot peered for a minute at Healer before fixing its gaze on Ponder. Its shiny metallic beak dropped open and a tinny but mellifluous voice came forth from the little speaker in its mouth.

  “State your terms,” the osprey said. “I’m listening.”

  Guz’s eyes went wide. “It’s… him.”

  Chapter 97

  Ponder took a few seconds to study the partially mechanized bird in front of her. “Do these pigs and dogs answer to you?”

  “They do.”

  “And, in the event you agree to my conditions, do you have the authority to ensure they are enforced?”

  “Unquestionably.”

  “Good. Thank you.” Ponder paused. “Mauler, let him go.”

  Guz dropped to the ground with an unceremonious thud and scurried as far from Mauler as he could.

  “I assume,” Ponder continued, “after the Reverend Specter was thrown from the mountain, he came to you. So you already have some idea of what has transpired in the last few days.”

  “I promise, darling, there is nothing in this world you know that I don’t.”

  “Alright. I wish to negotiate the surrender of Mauler and myself without any further violence. In exchange, I have a few terms.”

  “Let’s hear them.”

  “First, the immediate and unconditional release of Professor Caper and First Officer Boxer, with the dismissal of any and all charges against them. Second, the reinstatement of their positions at University and the Tooth & Claw facility, with a printed retraction of any negative words about them.”

  “That’s all?”

  Ponder scoffed. “Hardly. Third, the warrants for Healer and Dreamer’s arrest are to be erased. Fourth, I ask for the scrubbing of the assault on Durdge off the record of Healer, formerly Snapper. Your dispute is with Mauler and me alone. These sheep were never involved.”

  “You’re bold, but sensible. Anything else?”

  “Fifth. The people of the quarry deserve consideration. Release Shiver the ram and all the child victims of Scurvert immediately. In fact, anyone who has been punished or labeled a traitor for assisting us since our escape, leave them all alone. Free and clear. This includes these students of Boxer. And the Flaxer family. Once Mauler and I are in the custody of the Megatropolis, you will have what you wanted. No further persecution of these people will be necessary.”

  “You put a lot of trust in my word, Ponder.”

  “Ah, you read my mind. Sixth, I must be allowed an open and undisturbed line of communication with the outside world. In addition, I will receive a daily copy of The Chugg Report, so I will know if anything changes. And if you have heard anything about what the Mauler has done, you will understand my confidence that no prison cell will hold him if he learns something that upsets him. But as long as our conditions are met, the peace will be kept.”

  “I see you have put a lot of thought into this.”

  “Seventh, the blood sacrifices end.”

  The pigs all went extraordinarily quiet. Even Guz stared at the metallic bird, his face awash in fear and surprise. For a good minute or two, there was no sound from the osprey.

  Finally, the tiny speaker crackled with what sounded like a snorting laugh. “Agreed.”

  There was a stir of whispers from the pigs up on the wall and the ones watching from inside the gate. The osprey went silent for a few minutes and no one dared speak up in the meantime.

  “I just got off the phone with my man in the quarry,” said the voice from the osprey. “The captives there have all been released.” The bird’s head turned at an unnatural angle on its neck with a grinding click. “Guz. Go to the jail and retrieve the old dog and the owl. We’ll do a proper prisoner exchange.”

  The white pig looked more than happy to put some distance between himself and Mauler.

  Chapter 98

  Healer wanted to smash that osprey to pieces and take on all these dogs himself, but his body would not cooperate with anything he told it to do.

  When Guz returned, he was surrounded by a group of tough-looking bulldogs just like the ones who had handled Healer at the jail. Two of them had chains attached to their iron collars. At the opposite ends of the chains were Caper and Boxer, looking haggard and exhausted but unharmed. They were each manacled around the neck and ankles.

  Guz exited the gate, stepping sideways to allow the dogs to pass by him with their charges. The mechanical osprey left the ground and flew up onto Guz’s back.

  “Ponder and Mauler, stand here,” the osprey commanded. The nervous Flaxers brought Ponder into position. Mauler followed.

  The osprey continued. “Now the prisoners will be unchained.”

  Producing keys from inside their collars, the two bulldogs reached over and unclasped the cuffs binding Caper and Boxer.

  “Now the new prisoners will be shackled in their place.”

  Mauler growled and withdrew from the dog approaching him with the chains.

  “Let him do it,” Ponder urged. “It is not forever.”

  Reluctantly, Mauler relaxed his posture and allowed the bulldog to chain him. The other dog had trouble finding a place to attach his chain to Ponder. He contented himself with picking her up.

  “No! Mauler!” Healer tried to drag himself forward. “Don’t let them do this to you!”

  Dreamer laid a hoof on his shoulder, a gentle but firm command to stay put and be quiet. He could not argue in his current state.

  “It is alright, Healer,” Ponder soothed him. “Mauler and I made up our minds about this. The gods will guide us to the next step. They support this decision. You have done your part. Live your life.” The bulldog carried her away.

  Healer redoubled his efforts to move as Mauler and Ponder were taken through the gate to the Megatropolis. Guz and the clones followed. The little pigs at the top of the wall went on their way.

  “Alright,” said the osprey. “The new prisoners will be remanded. Everyone else, get back to your day.” It hopped across the ground again until it was right in front of Healer, leaning its cadaverous face next to his.

  “I’m impressed, kid, but you blew it big time,” the voice whispered to him. “Don’t think you’re ever going to get the drop on me. I have eyes and ears everywhere.” The osprey straightened up and raised its voice to address both Healer and Dreamer. “Pleasure doing business with you. Do me a personal favor and make sure you tell everyone you know about this positive interaction with the Chugg Corporation.”

  Dreamer scowled at the strange metal creature. “Who are you?”

  The bird’s head twitched. “Bye, now.” It left the ground and fluttered to the top of the wall.

  Healer gritted his teeth and powered his way to his feet. “No!” he screamed. His head pounded in the strange way it had when he had attacked Durdge. The blood vessels at his temples felt like they would explode, but he did not care. “Mauler! Don’t let them take you!”

  He took a step and fell flat on his face. Dreamer rushed to his side, calling his name. But she sounde
d far away. So did everything else.

  The fight left him. A second later, so did his consciousness.

  ✽✽✽

  The Chugg Report

  Saturday, September 8

  Wanted Criminals Turn Themselves In

  MEGATROPOLIS—Two fugitives from the law voluntarily surrendered themselves to authorities early yesterday morning at the gates of the Megatropolis, ending a months-long search.

  As reported yesterday, the dog and bird communities have been in quite a stir after the reappearance of Ponder, hailed by some as the prophet of birds, and Mauler, reputed to be the fighting champion of dogs. After an ambush resulting in several casualties and the severe injury of Durdge on Tuesday afternoon, Ponder and Mauler had escaped into the plains.

  The next two days saw several reports of the two clashing with various authorities in the dog’s oak forest, as well as Ptera Peak. Witnesses stated that both Ponder and Mauler made delusional statements about speaking personally with gods.

  Early yesterday morning, Ponder and Mauler appeared at the gates of the Megatropolis and turned themselves in with no further incident, ending this three-day rampage and the nearly four-month search for them that preceded it.

  [Our front-page articles on September 5, 6, and 7 mistakenly reported that two sheep by the names of Snapper and Dreamer were accomplices to these crimes. This was incorrect and we regret the error.]

  Ponder and Mauler have been taken into custody and will stand trial for their crimes against the Megatropolis at a date that will be announced later.

  Durdge remains in critical condition and expert teams continue to work to save his life. Donations can be made in his name to the Chugg Cybernetics division.

  [Our front-page article on September 5 mistakenly reported that University Dean Caper and First Officer Boxer were arrested in connection to this case. This was incorrect and we regret the error.]

  Said a spokesman for the Megatropolis yesterday evening, “We are pleased to announce that these dangerous criminals have been apprehended and are being held under the highest level of security and scrutiny. Our foremost concern is the safety of the public. I am pleased to say that order has been restored. These two will face justice for what was done to Durdge and the rest of our society.”