by Al Shield
‘No not a foreigner.’ He smiled, not realising he was further antagonising the man by doing so. ‘I’m from down the road!’
The two men behind the first chuckled at that and the leader of the pack completely ignored the pleaful look from the barmaid to leave the stranger alone. He learned in with an even more intense stare.
‘Step outside you little fuck. I’m going to show you what real country hospitality is all about.’
‘What does this one mean by that?’ he asked his companion.
‘Don’t go!’ She pleaded. ‘He wants to fight you! They’re drunk and looking for a fight.’
Suddenly it dawned on him. These were the local boys the woman serving had warned him about. Somehow they had taken exception to something he had done and felt slighted in the process. After ingesting much of the liquid drawn from the lower parts of the building, they felt the only way to right the wrong he had somehow caused was to go to battle. He knew the concept well, thanks to the stories his father had shared of his warrior days.
He fished out his card and handed it to the girl.
‘Could you order two more beers. I will finish this fight and be back shortly.’
And with that he strolled past the stunned trio, who were completely surprised at the immediate acceptance of the challenge and into the cold night outside.
The whole thing lasted less than a minute. As soon as he had stepped into the place where the creatures had parked their vehicles the attack came. The instigator jumped forward and swung clumsily which K’Dian easily ducked before lashing out with a mighty blow and snapping two of his ribs. The second one had grabbed one of the game sticks from the rectangle table and came at him with an overhead swing. He caught the stick as it descended towards him and with a flick of his wrist, snapped it in the middle. The creature just looked stupidly at the broken end for a moment before K’Dian struck out with a vicious stomp and shattered the creatures knee which caused him to go down screaming horrifically.
The third had stayed back to watch the first and after seeing them both fall, hissed and pulled out a sharp looking blade. His swings and thrusts were a little less wild than the attacks of the other two but were still easily avoided. K’Dian maneuver and waited for an opening before an open palm strike crunched up into the man’s jaw, causing teeth to collide and come flying out both sides of his mouth.
He thought of finishing them all off while they lay on the ground writhing in agony but thought better of it. Death seemed to generate a lot of attention for this creatures and undue attention was the last thing he needed.
What he did feel like at that very moment was more of that delicious beer and perhaps another steak as he strolled back inside, past a small crowd by curious by the screaming outside and disappointed by missing what had obviously been an incredible fight.
For the exact amount of time as the car park fight, Unit M stirred. His arms moved slightly, his muscles squeezed and relaxed and his skull emitted a series of screeching beeps while a faint green light pulsed in his optical unit. Even his mouth opened and closed as if he was trying to speak but no words came out. For those on guard his sudden movements after such a long period of inactivity were quite a shock and they hurriedly grabbed their weapons and pointed them at his body.
For the medical staff in the room, they could only stand back and take notes – one documenting the entire process on camera.
Then as quick as the movement came, it left and Unit M went prone again. The light faded to black and his contracted muscles relaxed again as his arms and mouth returned to its original position, like nothing had ever happened.
One of the soldiers turned to a medical officer.
‘What the fuck do you think caused that?’
‘I don’t know, but you can bet the fat man will want to hear about it straight away...’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
They had all reviewed the short tape – The Director, Omega, The Nameless One and his bodyguard. However all were equally confused as to what it could possibly mean.
‘While this was going on, what were the other two doing?’
The technician in charge of the tape pressed a couple of keys on the board and popped up an additional pair of video feeds on the screen. He then keyed in the same time stamps from the video of Unit M and played them back.
Dar'kannag seemed to be napping after his last feeding. During the entire time of the event he barely registered any movement. Not even a eyelid flicker or a facial tic of any kind that could correspond to something that set Unit M off. The technician rolled forward on the footage – another five hours of Dar'kannag slumbering.
The footage of Nex showed exactly the same thing. In fast motion playback they all watched Patchwork and the other nurses come and go during the night as well as the shuffling of guards as they started and ended their shifts but the one thing that didn’t move save for the occasional inhale of air through the breathing tube was Nex.
‘If one of them sent a signal to it, then they’re very good at hiding it’ The bodyguard rasped at the end of the tape.
‘But apart from some noises and the flashing light, nothing really happened.’ Omega argued. ‘Was someone testing some kind of remote control here or did something else we’re not aware of cause him to glitch.’
‘Whatever it was, I don’t want to take any more chances of it popping back into action.’ The Nameless One spoke.
‘My men and I can stop it if it does.’ Omega replied. The bodyguard just snickered and copped an angry look.
‘Highly doubtful. This thing is a hand crafted machine of war and hitting it with a missile only seemed to knock it out. You think gunfire is going to slow it down? No, I want it moved. Your containment cells are currently empty?’
‘Yes they are.’
‘Good. I want the entire setup moved into one and I want this to happen yesterday. I want the strongest cage we have around this thing if it ever wakes up.’
The Director piped up with the obvious question.
‘And what pray tell what happens to anyone monitoring in the cell if it does?’
‘Casualties of war.’ He said dismissively. ‘Happens all the time.’
‘I won’t risk my team on something like this!’ Omega said angrily.
‘You don’t have a choice son! If you care that much either you stay in there with them or pray that thing has a very very long sleep. Now time is pressing and I have a lot more questions for our big friend down there. I wonder what marvellous thing we’re going to learn today?’
A ray of sunlight was streaming through a slit between the curtains when K’Dian awoke. After the fight he had returned to his female companion and found that his actions had earned him the respect of many others in the building who rewarded him with more beer and happily answered all of his strange questions. Eventually as the night wore on he noticed that those around him had slowed down in their speech and comprehension dramatically – he put this down to something in the beverages they had all consumed. The more they drank, the more incoherent they seemed. He on the other hand seemed to be having no problems at all with any effects the drinks provided and continually ordered more for himself and everyone else until someone announced that it was closing time.
‘You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.’ A creature wielding a cloth that he used to wipe the bar down with explained.
His female companion who now seemed to be having incredible trouble with her balance invited him back to her room behind the building where once inside she had undressed before falling onto the bed and passed out.
Having no idea of the strange ritual and if he was even supposed to play a part in it, he waited around for something to happen for a few minutes and when nothing did, he decided that sleep seemed to be a far better idea.
He felt incredibly refreshed and recharged the next morning, unlike the girl who he found expelling the contents of her stomach into a low mounted vessel containing what seemed to be water.
>
She had covered her nakedness in his jacket and was suffering from “a hangover” she called it, in between heaves and moans explaining it was purely temporary. Again not knowing the proper etiquette in something like this he excused himself and walked outside. She just nodded and continued to be sick.
He strolled around to the front of the bar and waited. There were no vehicles parked there so far but surely one would come shortly. Then he could try out a method of transportation he’d heard about last night called ‘Hitchhiking.’ Apparently offering to supply the driver with various foods and drinks would be more than enough to continue his journey into this strange but utterly fascinating world.
‘Has he said much more about the object I provided.’ A deep rumbling voice asked on the phone.
The Nameless One had announced he was going outside for some fresh air, even with the short cigar clamped firmly in one corner of his mouth.
Once outside his bodyguard had made sure nobody was within listening distance before deploying a white noise generator. It was a small box that created background interference noise, effectively cancelling out any planted listening devices. He armed the device and gave the thumbs up before the call was made.
‘No sir, he has not. I think he’s been a bit rocked by it as you predicted he would. I can see him thinking hard during down time.
‘Excellent. This will go so much better when I announce my presence.’
‘We are more than ready for your glorious arrival sir.’
‘Of course you will be.’ The deep voice replied. ‘However I will be delayed for a few days.’
‘Sir?’
‘An anomaly that bares further investigation. It is nothing you should be concerned with. I will announce my arrival in due time.’ He hung up before the man could reply.
‘He’s not coming tomorrow, possibly in a few days time.’ He explained to his bodyguard as they walked back into the building.
‘So what do we do in the meantime?’
‘Keep up the appearance that we’re keen for answers. Once he gets here in a few days it won’t matter to anyone anymore.’
They closed the door behind them and a few moments later, Omega stepped out from behind a nearby cooling structure. Evading the bodyguards search had been child’s play and even though he had only managed to hear one half of the conversation, it was more than enough to set off alarm bells in his mind. It seemed that this situation went far deeper than anyone could have predicted.
‘They tell me your robot friend moved today. Spooked the hell out of the folks all around it I can tell you.’ Patchwork was doing her rounds and checking in on Nex’s condition again but things were still the same. No movement, no change in vitals. The lines on all the monitors were barely recording anything.
‘They don’t know what caused him to do it either. At first they thought you may have had something to do with it but I vouched for you. I told them “That tall girl, she’s in no condition to be causing any of the craziness you’re talking about. You point your accusing fingers elsewhere you hear me?”
She put her hand on her hip and exaggerated her reacting to their orders. One of the nearby soldiers was again having trouble hiding his smirk.
‘Like you’re going to be causing any trouble strapped to this bed and all!’ She leaned over Nex to dab at her skin with a sponge. As she got close, she dropped her voice to a whisper.
‘I saw your boy today. They had his body on a cart and they were taking him away somewhere. Hopefully that’s the end of them poking and prodding him. I am truly sorry. That’s not news that any mother should hear let alone wake up to but I figured you had a right to know.’
She returned to standing and fluffed up the pillow behind Nex’s head, pretending nothing had happened.
‘Now you behave yourself young lady and I’ll see if I can rustle up some ice cream. I’ll bring in two but if you don’t feel up to it, you just tell me. Old Patches is more than happy to eat yours if you can’t!’
She laughed and winked at the soldier closest to her.
As she turned around to update the wall chart, she completely missed the ever so slight movement of one of Nex’s fingers. By the time she looked around again, it was still again.
‘I’ll be back soon hon, you take care now!’
Over in the engineering department the team had made an incredible breakthrough, albeit by accident. They had found one of the younger investigators slumped unconscious in the driver's seat and after they pulled her out and roused her awake again, she explained that she had just pressed against the black square and that was all she remembered.
So with some trepidation the next volunteer stepped into the vehicle and carefully repeated the process. This time the engine made what sounded like a muted coughing sound before it stopped suddenly and the volunteer’s eyes rolled back and he fell back, caught at the last moment by another member of staff watching on.
‘Some kind of energy draining ignition sequence?’ He pondered out loud. ‘Why in gods name would it be set up that way?’
Before continuing the investigation Patchwork was called in to check over the volunteers. Apart from feeling a little drained, she announced them fit for duty shortly after a cup of tea and a snack and the experiments with the ignition continued.
Five more volunteers went through the process with varying success. Some caused the engine to make some noise before passing out, some just fell flat as soon as they touched the button. It was after one of the senior staff gave it a try that Sally realised the connection.
‘It’s not energy levels, it’s age. The fitter younger members of staff could barely get it to make a peep but the older one’s could!’
‘Are you saying the older you are, the more likely you are to get this thing started?’ Murphy asked.
‘Well maybe not age..maybe it’s wisdom? The more you know, the more chance you have of getting it turning over?’
He turned to the see most of the juniors staring right at him.
‘Wait, you don’t th-’
‘You taught us all didn’t you? You’re the wisest in the room whether you care to admit it or not.’ One piped up.
‘You can do it grandad!’ Another joked.
He sighed, resigned himself to the fact that they were technically correct and stepped into the Warwagon.
‘For the record’ He spoke aloud ‘If this thing gives me a splitting headache, then I’m halving all your overtime!’
With that he rolled up his sleeve, reached out and placed his palm against the black square. Instantly the engine made a mighty roaring sound and sprung to life.
‘Oh my g-’ his shocked whisper fell short as he eyes rolled back and he too passed out from the strain, saved from falling by the team member behind him. But the engine continued to turn and rumble loudly in the garage even as his hand broke contact. After days and nights of endless questions, they finally had made significant progress.
‘Well we know how to get it started now!’ Murphy grinned as he sat with his cup of tea while Patchwork checked his blood pressure.
‘And stopping it is just a matter of placing your palm back against the square although it doesn’t take any energy to do that.’ Sally confirmed.
Omega had been paged as soon as Murphy awoke. The engineer wanted him to know first before he filed an official report for his superiors. The fat man could wait.
‘And no signs of any lasting damage?’ Omega asked.
‘Nothing that can’t be fixed with a hot meal and a good night’s sleep.’ She removed the pressure cuff from Murphys arm. ‘This one’s still as fit as a fiddle.’
‘Just a wee belt of scotch each night to keep the blood flowing, that’s my secret’ he smiled.
Omega took a slow walk around the vehicle, marvelling at the sheer scale of the thing. He’d seen the footage through a screen as they dragged it in but this was the first time he came to appreciate it up close. It was crude, ugly and scarred from section to section but it gave
off an incredible aura of strength. He could quite easily picture it on display proudly next to other weapons of war in a museum such as tanks and other armoured vehicles. As he opened one of the doors and peered inside, a thought occurred.
‘Patch, what do you think would happen if I touched the plate?’
She shook her head.
‘You really think that’s wise? We have no idea what that might do to your bits and pieces. I’m going to say that would be a dumb idea. Not the stupidest thing you’ve managed to do but..’
Omega wisely withdrew his hand. A junior was about to ask what she meant when a look from Murphy stopped his question in its tracks.
‘So driving it would still be a challenge then..’ Omega spoke out aloud.
‘Not unless you fill the back with a few elderly to get it started and then find someone the size of that mountain you’ve got chained over there, no.’ Murphy explained. ‘But we’ve solved one piece of this jigsaw so far and that’s a cracking start..’
‘Where you headed pal?’ The truck driver asked.
‘As far as you can take me.’ K’Dian handed over a bag to the man. He looked confused and then delighted as he opened it to reveal many bottles of bourbon, beer and packets of cigarettes within. The truck driver whistled at the sight.
‘You ain’t in any trouble with the law is you?’
‘No I am not.’ He had no idea what the question meant but his answer seemed to satisfy the creature.
‘You just need to get outta town? Well fair enough then, hop on board.’
And with that K’Dian entered the large truck cabin and began the next step of his incredible adventure.
TWELVE HOURS LATER across town, Marcus Young was resting in his hospital bed when a young woman walked into his room, closing the door quietly behind her.
‘Ahh Mr Young, feeling better are we?’
‘Do I know you?’ he wheezed.
With her dark clothes, olive complexion and long braided hair, she didn’t look like any of the staff he had met in his short stay here. But then he was screaming in pain on account of his broken ribs when they wheeled him in so he might have been completely oblivious to their first meeting.
