by SJ Davis
"Aye, Captain," Lieutenant Holly replied and dashed off the bridge.
Captain Galaxiua, Inspector Moon and I left as well, walking to a holding area where uniformed men, fierce looking warriors, stood at attention already. A warrant officer came up to our group and pinned something to my uniform, I watched as others wore the same device. One by one, a button was pressed and the man vanished. Afraid, but willing, I pressed my button. In the time it took for me to blink, I appeared with the others on the rampart of the castle. The Ice Breaker was hovering in the sky, awaiting our return.
Strange mechanical men, mere skeletons made of the same strange silver-blue reflective metal, marched towards the group raiders. They rattled, clanging heavy footfalls, but something more. Their skull faces had empty hollows where there should have been eyes. The metal men were blind, slashing out and unable to see where we raiders were. Like us, they carried cutlasses, but with blades made of the same blue light that had burned my brown coat. I withdrew mine, and to my surprise, it was a green light blade and not one made of steel. I looked to my companions in astonishment, but they had pulled their cutlasses and charged at the clock-work skeleton army.
I charged after them, encountering my first metal skeleton. It made squeaking strange noises, its cogs and wheels grinding, too cold to work properly. It slashed its blade outward, narrowly missing my arm. I returned a blow, severing the skull from the thin neck. The jaw gapped wide, making a screeching racket, and sparks popped and crackled. Metal limbs, skulls and hands were severed and sent flying in a chaotic moment.
As I caught my breath, I looked down. A debris field lay at my feet—the ancient stone floor covered in blood and oil. The raiding party had cut a path, rendering the shoddily made skeleton army a heap of twisted metal. Perhaps, Professor Frostt had put more work into his wicked weather machine than his castle protectors. Had he been more diligent, they would have been successful against us.
"Split up!" Captain Galaxiua said as we entered a hall that divided.
Something caught my eyes, a shadow that danced just a moment down the hall on the right side. I, and Captain Galaxiua, went this way, while Inspector Moon and the Marines went the other. I was chasing shadows, but I knew what I had seen, and I had a feeling that it was the hem of Becky’s dress. Without question, the Captain followed, until we found a dead end.
"Hell to Jupiter, a dead end? We should have gone the other way!" She frowned.
"Now, you don't know that, Madame Captain! These old homes are funny things, there are passages," I said, searching the wall for the entrance into a subterranean passage.
"Passages?" she questioned. She turned to the wall and took a little prism-like thing from her corset, using it as an electronic eye of some sort to scan the walls. "Your human hands won't be as sensitive as this device," she said and it was true. Faster than I could, the prism discovered the secret lever. She pushed the brick and the door slid aside."Why on Earth would you need such things as this in your homes?"
"Raiders," I answered with a smile.
I could hear we were not alone in the passage, so I hurried. The closer we got to our fleeing prey, the brighter the light became—Rebecca's ring was glowing because her lover was close by. The shine of her ring was the radiance of her love for her true sweetheart, as well as acting as a beacon to guide myself and the captain through the tunnel.
Chasing the light and shadows drew us closer to the Professor and Becky. When another dead end came up on us, I pushed through. Running straight for the wall in front of me, I fell full force through the false door and landed in a glass observation room. We were on a second level balcony. The weather machine was vibrating and whirling beams of light in a swirling pattern, the rays passing through the glass, affecting the air and clouds.
Professor Frostt had no way out, he had nowhere to go. He held Rebecca against him, perched near a railing—to fall would kill them.
"Let the princess go!" Captain Galaxiua shouted pulling out from a gun belt her clockwork pistol and aiming it for the professor.
"This is my kingdom! You have no right to be here!" he screamed with a shriek and anger of a small spoilt child.
"Laurence!" the captive Rebecca called out, as Inspector Moon and the marines entered the Observatory on the ground floor."Oh, Laurence, help me!"
"Shut up, Princess Rebecca Electra! You belong to me!" Professor Frostt yelled at his prisoner.
In the chaos Captain Galaxiua fired her pistol, a green light struck Frostt, and he let go of the princess. With cruelty and utter callousness, he threw her over the side of the rail. Her cries as she fell joined Inspector Moon's shouts of horror. Together, their voices mingled into a singular sound until silenced.
"If she dies, I'll just revive her with this elixir," Frostt said coldly with a grin from ear to ear and a shrug of his narrow shoulders.
He had a small vial in his hand, which he tossed up and down playfully. He failed to catch the tossed vial in his open palm, and was distracted as he watched it falling from his grasp. I saw my chance to attack. Full of revulsion and rage, I ran for the professor intent on revenge for my friends, family and all of England! Revenge for those killed who would not have the saving grace of that little vial, which fell to the floor and shattered. Light blue life restoring liquid, no more than a thimbleful, pooled among tiny slivers of glass.
"Cry God for Harry, England and Saint George!" I cried out, coming for him.
His little blue ray gun came out, and shone its deadly beam on me. I was blown backwards in a blast, and remained conscious only long enough to see Captain Galaxiua slice her cutlass through Professor Frostt and kick his dying body backwards over the railing to the ground floor of the observatory.
It was over.
I was woken with a splash of water to my face, warm, fresh water.
"Wake up Earthling."
I shook my wet head and sat up. The Weather Machine was off, the sun was out and there was warmth like new born spring all around. I never thought I would want to see the sun so much in my young life. I wiped the water from my eyes. Inspector Moon held the much living Princess Rebecca Electra cuddled up to him, their hands held together as their rings glowed brightly.
"You survived the fall," I said to the blushing princess, whilst getting to my feet and looking over my singed but whole uniform. I was in one piece miraculously. The green fabric of my uniform had protected me from the laser blast, the garment was burnt, but I was not harmed in any way.
"She was an angel who fell into my arms, and I shall never leave her side," Inspector Moon said holding his bride."I do not know what wicked thing revived your life, but I do not care."
"Speaking of surviving, well done Albert!" The Captain praised me, slapping me on the back, forgetting my name. "I never imagined such courage from a savage Earthling, would you like to join my crew? I need the finest, bravest officers in the universe."
I smiled, but realistically, I knew I could not. "I have had enough adventuring to last my lifetime. I have seen great marvels today, and I thank you. I will stay here on my savage little planet and teach them of the wonders of our allies in space, and of course, of the noble planet Neptune." I shook hands with the captain, and then with Inspector Moon.
"Mister Becket, you are an honorary officer of her Majesty's Navy." The Captain pinned a little star insignia to my jacket beside the teleporter device.
"Her Majesty, Queen of Neptune, I presume," I said, reminding myself they were not speaking of Queen Victoria.
"Of course," she said with a smile. "The uniform, sword and all are yours to keep, but keep them close, for you never know when I may call on you."
"Yes, of course Madame Captain." I bowed in honour.
She reached out, I thought in my childish mind to kiss me. Shyly, I turned my face to kiss her in return, then soon realised she had deliberately struck the button on my teleporter, and in a blink, I was standing at the London Bridge overlooking a free flowing Thames river. A crowd of onlookers sto
pped and stared. They laughed merrily at my frozen kissing face and odd green naval uniform. I smiled, amused, as joy had returned to my heart. Enjoying the cool spring-like air, I whistled on my way home.
Second Chances
Samantha Ketteman
I had made the decision years ago to take the small moments of happiness in my otherwise dull and unhappy life and hold tightly to them. Those moments, fleeting as they were, kept up my illusion of being satisfied with my choices in life. They gave me glimpses of true happiness. They let me pretend my regrets weren’t drowning me, that sorrow wasn’t seeping into my soul for the choices I had made. Then, one day, it all came crashing down. One day, the past caught up with me. Regret became my constant companion; pushing me to run, to change, and to become the woman I had always seen myself being. I wanted to have a life that was truly happy, not just in the scarce moments.
********
The rain poured down, soaking my scarlet petticoat and skirts, and the mud stuck to my heels as I ran down the cobblestone street. Horses and buggies bumped by me, splashing dirty water, but I didn’t care. I needed to run, to get away, and to feel something.
The warm tears streaming from my eyes mixed with the cold rain pelting my face, chilling me. Thoughts of my latest fight with my husband ran through my head. I didn’t deserve his cruelty after eight years together. I had given him my best years, and regret drowned me on a daily basis. I needed a change, I needed to feel love again. I found myself running down the darkened streets, running from my problems, with nowhere to go. In that moment a carriage stopped next to me, and a voice from my past brought hope roaring like a tidal wave into my heart.
“Rosalyn, is that you?” the deep baritone ran over me, as smooth as buttery silk. I knew his voice, knew him without looking, but I couldn’t deny myself the pleasure of seeing his beautiful face once more. Swiping my wet bangs from my eyes, I peered up into the face of my childhood love.
Almost a decade before I met my husband, I had never loved anyone with the ferocity that I had for Jackson. He was my soul mate, and my soul still screamed in recognition as I peered into his blue eyes, concern overflowing in their depths.
Embarrassment colored my cheeks in crimson, flushing down my neck under the bodice of my dress. Of course, he looks magnificent, and I look like a drowned rat. Why didn’t I just meet him that night? I could be next to him in the fancy carriage and be the wife of a powerful senator. Pulling back my shoulders, I was determined to show strength in the face of my weakness.
“Come in here, you’re getting soaked. Come in here and talk to me,” Jackson urged, but I had to take a step backwards. I knew the gossip that would spread if I were seen with the very married senator in his carriage on a dark night in the rain. The man never suffered the sidelong glances and whispers behind his back. Even knowing the risk, it took every bit of the strength left in my cold and shivering body to put any more distance between us. Glancing at his outstretched hand with longing, I forced myself to take the hardest two steps I had ever taken, away from the man who still held the keys to my soul.
“I think it would be better if you just went home to your wife, Jackson,” I bit out, unintentionally sounding crueler that I had meant to. Without waiting for his answer, or for what little resolve I had to crumble, I turned away and ran down the alley where the carriage couldn’t follow. I knew I couldn’t stay out all night, it was dangerous, but I wasn’t yet ready to face my husband’s cruelty.
I shivered against the filthy brick wall. As time passed, so slowly that I couldn’t be sure if ten minutes or an hour had gone by, I hoped Bradley would be passed out. I couldn’t feel my fingers or my toes, and my breath was the only thing warming me in the desolate and barren alley. My bones creaked from the cold as I stood from my crouch. My dress had frozen in an awkward position, and I had to steady myself against the wall before taking my first steps back to a home that no longer felt like the place I belonged.
********
I woke up to the whistle blaring through town, Bradley already gone with the morning light to work in the factories. I rolled over, my whole body aching and my tears streaming unbidden down my cheeks as the memory of Jackson with his hand extended to me came rushing back.
You could have just taken his hand, come what may, and taken what scrap of affection he would give you, you stupid woman. It would be better than this life. To be the Senator’s whore? Yeah, I’d take that over this, I thought as I looked around my disheveled room, the list of the day’s chores already forming in my mind.
I laid in bed for a while longer, giving into the bleak feelings, letting them have their moment to take over and break my heart. After allowing myself time to grieve, I shoved them back into their boxes and stood to begin the day’s chores.
After the mundane task of washing Bradley’s clothes by hand, cleaning the dishes, and stopping to take a small break for lunch, the thought hit me with a force that caused me to suck in my breath. I am so stupid. All these years, wasted. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?
I knew of a way to be with the man I had known was my soul mate, a way to go back in time and change one fateful decision that had led my life down a different path. All I had to do was manage to find the strength and bravery to infiltrate the heart of the main factory, deceive my husband, and irrevocably alter my life forever.
You can do this.
After gnawing on my reddened and puffy lips for a half of an hour, I decided to take the path that would change four lives. I didn’t know what would happen to Bradley or to anyone else that I had a hand in influencing in my life, but the misery of my daily existence was too much to continue to bear. I deserved to be happy and loved. I deserved to have the life I always saw myself having, and I was going to chase it until there was nothing left to chase.
After two hours of planning while I finished my chores, Bradley walked through the door and hung his belt on the rack along with his filthy work jacket. Toeing off his boots at the door, which and flung haphazardly, he headed to his chair in front of the record player.
“What’s for dinner, Ros?”
. “Meatloaf,” I announced as I opened the oven and pulled the aromatic meal out. He couldn’t see the look I aimed in his direction before responding. He knew I hated it when he called me by the nickname he had given me years ago, but insisted upon using it
I went through the usual motions, fixing his plate before my own, and sitting at the small table in our four room home. We made small talk, mostly about his day, all the while thoughts of my journey into the night occupied my mind.
The night dragged on, time mocking me with each small tick of the clock, while I waited for him to finally give in to sleep. When his snoring became almost unbearable, I knew that my time had arrived. I gathered my boots and laced them over my stockings, shrugged on my jacket, and swiftly slipped from the house and quietly into the night.
********
I felt guilty and exhilarated at the same time, creeping down the streets and cutting through alleys. I headed downtown, which wasn’t the safest decision, to the main factory which sat still and quiet like a sleeping giant.
I knew the town’s cogs were located somewhere in the factory, but had never been inside. The purpose of the trip was to search and find the location of our town’s mainline, where all of the citizens’ cogs worked in tandem to create the world where we lived. People moved away, but their cog forever and always turned to power the town where they were born. I had grown up in the smoky, cold, and barren town, and still I stayed. I had once dreamed of travelling, but my life had swerved left when I had planned to go right.
Reaching the outer fence, I slid through the gap between the padlocked gates, scraping my arm on one piece of fencing. Pausing, I made sure there were no guards, but after what felt like a lifetime of hearing my heart beating in my ears and drowning out all other sound, I forced my feet forward. Pulse racing, sweat dripping down my bodice, and heartbeat making me all but deaf, I made it to th
e set of windows on the far east side of the building. They looked to be the most dilapidated, and my chances of being seen on that side of the building were far lower.
I wrapped my dress around my hand and punched through the glass, terror filling me in the moments before I discovered the absence of an alarm, my body urging me to run. Unlocking the window, I slid it open and jumped into the darkness.
The dank building smelled of oil and mildew, with the unmistakable stench of sweat. My nose scrunched and rebelled against the offending smells. I made my way through most of the first floor rather quickly, surprised there were no guards in the facility. After searching all of the first floor, I took the stairs to do much the same with the second and third floors. After an exhaustive investigation of the fourth level, I stood flummoxed, with I still hadn’t found the mainline.
I can’t have been mistaken. I know the mainline is in the main facility, it’s common knowledge. Think. Where would the Governor put the heartbeat of the town? I stood, staring out of the windows into the night, when the answer came to me. Of course.
I made the trip back to the first floor in record time and looked for an entrance to a basement. There’s no way the mainline would be so easily accessible and unguarded, I admonished myself. After making two laps around the large floor, I gave up and climbed back out of the window, careful to shut it behind me in the hopes that no one would notice the jagged hole.
Walking back through the quiet town, the infrequent sound of carriage wheels echoed through the otherwise silent night. I had almost made it to my street when I heard my name and looked up, shocked.
Twice in as many days? This can’t be happening, I thought as I realized Jackson had spoken. I hadn’t heard a word he had said, because I was so lost in my thoughts.
“I’m sorry. I missed that,” I heard my own voice waiver with my words. Great. You’re a mess yet again, and now you can barely speak. What is wrong with you?
