by Project Kyle
Amelia smiled at Nerd. She clapped her hands in delight.
“Good job, David! Now go, save your friend, and make that mean old man go away!”
Suddenly, reality returned to Nerd. His mind had solved the problem, but he needed to act fast.
Experiment-1 had raised the vaccine needle and was about to drive it into Sophia’s neck. He abruptly stopped when he felt a hand reach into his left coat pocket and whirled around to see Nerd with the music box in hand.
“You!” Experiment-1 yelled. “If you think what I’m doing to her now is torture, your mind can’t possibly comprehend what I’m going to do to her next! Give that back to me now, or I swear your little human friend will know the meaning of true pain!”
“Nope!” Nerd replied. “Not feeling it.”
Experiment-1 drew his sword and slowly made his way towards Nerd.
“You’ll be drowning in a sea of red by the time I am through with you!” He said as the black, soulless eye sockets of his mask lit up with green radiation.
“You will have to catch me first!” Nerd responded in a very goofy voice. He ran out of the room and was thrilled to hear his enemy close behind him. He ran through the rooms and hallways until he found the long hallway that led to the room with the Venton. He could hear Experiment-1 closing in and knew he needed to buy some time, so he grabbed the lever that was used to lock the center level and pulled it downwards. The door quickly began to close, and Nerd was just able to barrel roll his way in before the door completely sealed off the room. He smiled when he heard the sound of Experiment-1 crashing into the large granite door that was separating them. The monster was definitely fixated on him, and this was causing his judgment to fade. David knew this only bought him a few seconds, however, and he ran down the long hallway as fast as he could until he came to the room with the Venton plant. He could hear the granite door opening behind him. Acting quickly, he grabbed the vines and pulled himself over the plant and into the very back of the room.
As soon as he turned to face the entrance, he jumped at the sight of Experiment-1 waiting in the doorway. Green flames danced in his eyes, burning with such power Nerd could feel the heat of them licking his pale skin. The monster was panting in rage, and his grip on his sword was weakening. It was evident that he was trembling, and for the first time since they had become enemies, Experiment-1 truly looked scared, but this did not make him defenseless; if anything, it only fueled his anger, making him more of a threat than ever. This became evident as soon as the silence was broken by his harsh, angry voice.
“I need that, David!” Experiment-1 said. “Do you really think that you’re the only one who lost someone special? The only one who had someone important taken away? That music box is the only glimmer of light I have left, and now I’m going to take it from your disfigured corpse!”
He took his sword and cut through the vines and began inching his way closer to his prey. Nerd looked down and noticed the Venton was only a foot away from him, meaning that Experiment-1 would have to get close if this was to work.
Experiment-1 took another swing, clearing the vines and closing in on Nerd’s position. He was now only a few feet away and was ready to make his finishing move.
“You started your life as an abused child,” he said as he cleared another row of vines. “You had no friends, no loved ones, and you lived most of your life alone.” Experiment-1 took another swing, clearing the final section of vines that separated the two. His eyes grew even brighter. He was ready to end things, and this excited him greatly. “And now, you will die…alone…”
Experiment-1 lifted his sword, moved forward until he was about a foot in front of Nerd, and thrust it at the defenseless human in front of him, but as soon as the blade was about to pierce Nerd’s skin, the leaves of the Venton plant snapped shut and completely engulfed him. Experiment-1 screamed as the plant latched closed. He was devoured and dissolved instantly.
The leaves of the plant relaxed into their former position only seconds later, and Experiment-1 was nowhere to be seen. Nothing had survived; not even a strand of hair made it through the plant’s feast.
Nerd took a moment to process what had happened, while his sight adjusted to the sudden absence of the blinding light of Experiment-1’s glowing eyes. His rival and greatest enemy was now dead. He would never try to hurt anyone he cared about again. But in doing so, he knew he would never solve the greatest mystery in his life, and that was the identity of the man behind the mask of the monster.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. He could feel the adrenaline and dopamine flowing through his brain. No! Not now, I don’t want to deal with this now! He tried to fight it, but it was too late. His mind craved the chemicals that were flowing through it, and he thirsted for more!
His surroundings began to darken as they did before. His heart thudded violently, beating at an alarming rate. His emotions powered down, while his brain began to calculate his next move. I need more! he thought to himself. I need— Nerd felt guilt shoot through him as the image of Sophia’s face filled his mind. No…No. I can’t become this. I can’t do this to her. I can’t do this to anyone in my crew. They look up to me, they care about me, they… Nerd’s lust to kill began to ebb. Something was different than last time. He had a tool he didn’t have before. He…actually cared about someone, and somehow, that was allowing his conscience to fight back against his impulses, even at a time when his obsessive mind wanted to take control. He was a doctor, not a soldier, and that was a line he refused to cross.
“Sophia,” he said. “I need to free Sophia!” He placed the music box in one of his lab coat pockets, jumped over the plant that had just consumed his enemy, and made his way back to the room that Sophia was trapped in. He could feel the effects of his lust for taking lives wearing off with every step that echoed through the narrow hallways of the barracks, as if that morbid obsession was being washed away, cleansed from the deepest parts of him.
After a minute of running, Nerd reached the room he was looking for and caught sight of Sophia. He swiftly made his way to her, unhinged her restraints, and this time he remembered to remove the muzzle that was around her mouth. She instantly gave him a hug, and Nerd didn’t fight it, as he had been worried sick over her safety for the last two days.
“I thought you were finished!” She said to Nerd.
“For a second,” he said to Sophia, “I thought you were too. But it’s okay now. He won’t be hurting us ever again. He’s gone…this time for good.”
Sophia was stunned. She could not believe that Nerd had just defeated the number one man on the Deep Cosmos most wanted list. A man that was very close to being invincible. But again, she knew that he never lied. So, it had to be true. Nerd was a true force to be reckoned with.
She gazed deeply into Nerd’s blue eyes, expecting to see the high that he had mentioned in his diary…but it wasn’t there, for the lust had now completely faded. The only thing she could see in his eyes was the concern that he had for her, and the joy of knowing that she was okay and still a part of his life.
She gave him a punch on the shoulder and then hugged him again.
“I’m so proud of you, David,” she said. “I knew you had it in you. Thank you…for everything.”
Sophia didn’t notice that her words had brought Nerd to tears. Bittersweet tears, because they were the same words that Amelia had spoken to him long ago…
Chapter 22 The aftermath
Earth date: February 24th, 2010
Time: 600
Location: The freighter Thug Life
Nerd was rather irritated with his friend Henry Smith, who had not chosen particularly wisely when he called for help. The surviving four members were now on a thug’s freighter, and the conditions were quite intense.
“Really, Henry?” Nerd said to him. “Out of all the people you could’ve called, you picked them?”
“Hey, hey, I’m Henry Smith!” Henry replied. “If you wanted to pick who gave us a ride off Obian,
then you should have made the call yourself! But these are my kind of people. I actually used to be in their gang long ago. But don’t worry, that ship has long sailed.”
Nerd did not feel relieved. The group members were constantly getting into fights. The music was screeching in Nerd’s sensitive ears. The place smelled like a brand of illegal substance that Nerd wanted nothing to do with, and a few of them had already attempted to beat Nerd up, though he was saved by Smith each time.
The smells, textures, sounds, and sights just didn’t sit well with him at all. Still, he had gotten his two closest crew members home safe, and even managed to save one member of the other crew. Right now, that was all that mattered.
Nerd noticed one of the thugs hitting on Sophia. She was clearly very uncomfortable, but he still wouldn’t leave her alone.
“Yo, Henry,” Nerd said in his best attempt at a gangster accent, which he failed at miserably. “I gotta go take care of something.”
“Be my guest, bruh!” Henry responded. “Just watch yo’ back. These guys can get a little carried away at times.”
Nerd made his way over to Sophia and interrupted what was going on.
“Hey, girl!” He said to her. “I need to talk to you. Could we chat for a moment?”
“Yes!” Sophia said gratefully. She grabbed his hand, and the two darted away from the creepy thug and walked over to one of the freighter’s large windows.
“Oh, my goodness!” Sophia said. “Thank you so much! I kept telling him I wasn’t interested, but he wouldn’t stop hitting on me!”
“Welcome to the thug life, I guess,” Nerd joked. “But of course! I may be a bit of a weakling, but I will always look after my friends. Always!”
Sophia smiled. She then looked out the giant window and was mesmerized by the blue energy of hyperspace flowing outside.
“Was it everything you wanted?” Nerd asked.
“And more,” Sophia replied.
“Then you’re still interested in staying with us for a bit longer?”
Sophia punched Nerd in the shoulder at his response.
“Of course I am, you big goober! A little psychotic danger and nearly being murdered by an insane serial killer isn’t going to scare me away. You’re stuck with me!”
“Good! Then I look forward to many more adventures and near-death situations together.”
Sophia chuckled at Nerd’s response. The suspense was high on the last mission, and it would continue to be so as they moved forward, but she was eager to face these challenges and knew that somehow, in the end, they would pull through. She smiled and went back to gazing at the hyperspace energy.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way!” She replied with confidence.
The moment was interrupted by Henry Smith, who had discovered an article on his communicator he needed to share. He ran towards David and Sophia excitedly and stuck the screen of his communicator right in front of David’s face.
“Look, bruh!” he said. “We made the headlines!”
Nerd pushed the communicator screen away to a distance where he could read it. It was the front page of the Galactic Times, and to his surprise, the news was actually good for once.
“‘Deep Cosmos agent Nerd and his band of freedom fighters execute justice on the insane killer known as Experiment-1, creator of the galactic plague virus. Nerd’s reputation continues to grow in a positive light, as he has once again saves the galaxy from a life-threatening epidemic. We at the Galactic Times would like to thank this hero and his team for risking their lives to put an end to this madman’s reign of terror! Our hearts go out to the lives who were lost, who fought bravely to overcome this madness. Their funeral services will be held at the center of station 1529, Earth date March 1st, 2010.
“‘The galaxy can sleep soundly tonight, knowing that Experiment-1 will never be able to harm the innocent again. May Deep Cosmos continue to prosper and give our galaxy the hope that it so desperately needs right now.’”
“How about that, bro!” Henry crowed. “We are heroes now! I think our exposure has gone up since this mission.”
“Indeed, it has,” Nerd agreed. “Still…what’s this about me slaying Experiment-1? That’s not quite how it happened.”
“This is the media, bro. They need to sell their story, and the fact that he was killed by a plant doesn’t quite cut it. Just be thankful they got the other facts right.”
“Yeah, I can’t argue with that. Thanks for sharing. It’s nice that we gave the galaxy hope.” Nerd went back to gazing at the hyperspace energy outside the ship. “I did it, Aiden,” he murmured quietly to himself. “I continued your legacy.”
Both David and Sophia continued to gaze outside. Henry could sense the gears turning in their heads, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“You guys need to stop getting lost in thought,” he said to them. “It’s bad for ya.”
“Honestly, this is the first time I’ve had a chance to process what’s happened,” Nerd admitted. “It’s amazing…but horrible at the same time.”
“True, a lot of good lives were lost. Still, I feel you spend a little too much time in your head.”
Nerd did not answer. He noticed Alcanore sitting in a corner by himself, not engaging in conversation with anyone. Henry noticed as well and decided to change the subject.
“You gonna talk to him, bro?” He asked.
“I need to,” Nerd responded. “Even if he’s not interested, he at least deserves to have that lifeline.”
“There ya go! Give it a shot, man; he needs it right now.”
Nerd nodded his head in agreement and then made his way up to Alcanore. His heart was pounding in his chest, as he didn’t really know what to say, but he walked over to him anyway, hoping his social awkwardness would not get the better of him.
“Hey, dude,” Nerd said nervously. “Mind if I take a seat?”
Alcanore did not answer but signaled Nerd to sit next to him. Nerd did so, his right leg moving up and down as it always did when he felt nervous.
“I just wanted to check up on you,” Nerd started. “How is Alcanore?”
Alcanore let out a sigh.
“It’s rough,” he said. “I lost everyone back there, including my best friend…”
“I know. It’s terrible. I’m sorry about Grunt. He died most bravely…but it still hurts.”
“My people will sing songs about him. This I swear. Still, it could’ve been avoided. Experiment-1 didn’t need to take it as far as he did.”
“None of it had to happen. It just sickens me. It sickens me that someone would take such an innocent life. But that’s the thing about Experiment-1. I may have defeated him, but even dead, he’s always going to drive me out of my mind. I still don’t know who the man was behind that mask. I still don’t know why he killed so many people. He claimed he did it for a reason, but what reason could he have to commit genocide on such an unprecedented scale? I just don’t know. I guess I’ll never know. He’s right—he is the one mystery in this universe that I was never able to solve. I defeated him, but I could never solve him, and I never will.”
Alcanore turned his head and looked Nerd dead in the eye. “Tell me how he died!”
“I have to be honest, it was quick and painless. He was eaten by a Venton plant. It was the only thing I could think of. I know you wanted to go after him yourself, but he was going to hurt Sophia, and I reacted in a way that I usually don’t.”
“You survived. You were put in an unwinnable situation, yet you still found a way to get you and your friend home safe. I don’t hold that against you. You did what you had to do…and what a glorious victory it was! The galaxy will fear you now.”
“Honestly, I hope I never have to do anything like that again. I’m not a killer. I’m a doctor. I will always be a doctor, because I have to be…because after Experiment-1 was dead, I felt something that still upsets me when I think of it, and I don’t want to ever feel that way again!”
“Remorse?”
“Pleasure, at a level that’s inhuman. If I feed it, I know I’m going to end up just like him, and that is something I cannot afford to do. Besides, as soon as the rush died, I only felt emptier than before. I’ve spent my life trying to save people, and yesterday I was forced to kill one, a living human being…and as wicked as he was, no rush is ever going to cover up the mental damage I have suffered from it. I don’t want this! It’s not who I want to be.”
Alcanore was stunned at Nerd’s response. It was evident that he wasn’t kidding. He was speaking in a way that revealed what was in his heart. It was not the Renex way to feel compassion for the enemy, but it seemed like Nerd did. Even when it was pleasurable, he couldn’t bear the thought that he had hurt one of the worst men in the galaxy. Although his people may have been misguided to consider that a weakness, it proved his innocence. He could not have committed the crime he was accused of. He just didn’t have it in him. Which made his next decision a lot easier.
“Nerd,” he said hesitantly, “I would like to join your—
“Yes!” Nerd interrupted.
“What?”
“You may join my crew! You’ll get paid the standard salary, but I’ll make sure your first check includes a bonus, given the fact that we’ve got a HUGE paycheck coming in from Deep Cosmos! Taking down their most wanted man really pays well.”
Alcanore laughed at Nerd’s response. He was definitely an odd person, even by his race’s standards, but he could tell Nerd wanted to be his friend in the worst way, which meant a lot right now, considering he no longer had any.
Nerd stood up and asked Alcanore to join them. Alcanore did so, and the four friends stood together side by side. The ship exited hyperspace, and the stars came into view.
Henry gave a smirk and pushed himself to make a sentimental statement.
“They are beautiful,” Henry said, regarding the stars. “I can’t argue with that.”
“And as soon as my ship is repaired,” Nerd added, “we’re going to explore them! One by one.”
