“Make sure you don’t pick a squeaky one,” he says as he continues forward into Walmart. I give a few carts a rudimentary test drive, avoiding any that make any kind of unpleasant noise, knowing it irritates him and ruins our shopping trip. Well, makes the shopping trip even less bearable. “If you’re good, I’ll let you pick out a treat!” he says. I roll my eyes at him and make my way to the shampoo aisle. “How are you on shampoo, soap, deodorant?” I ask. “Uh…” he says, hesitating, “shit, I think I’m fine?” “Andy, I told you to check before we left.” I say in an exasperated sigh. “I know, babe, I forgot…” “Well, if you end up with smelly armpits this week that’s on you.” “Don’t be sassy.” he says with a shit eating grin. “Come on, let’s move on.” I say, directing him to the pet supplies. “How are we on dog food?” We continue on like this for twenty minutes, picking up items we need, filling up the cart and stressing about the total. “Close your eyes, babe, we’re passing the books…” he says dramatically. “You said I could get a treat!” I exclaim loudly. “Fine, fine, pick one out.” He throws his arms up in a conceding motion, as if he would ever deny me the purchase of a book. I make quick work of it and pick one of the titles on my “to be read” list and grab an additional one, trying to sneak it behind the first book. “That appears to be two books, sweetie.” he says with a raised eyebrow. “Well, what if I read the first book super fast, I’ll need a second one as a runner up…” I explain. “Besides, one is ten dollars and the other is seven…” “Are you worth seventeen dollars?” he asks, bringing his hand to his chin as if contemplating my cash value. “You’re going to hurt my feelings!” I say, lightly smacking his arm. “You’re worth the world, baby.” he says with that infuriating grin I’ve grown to love with my entire soul. “That’s what I thought.” I said. “I’ll settle for seventeen dollars, today, though.” “Deal.” We make quick work of picking up a new pair of tennis shoes for him, a package of earbuds for me, and get side tracked looking at baby clothes. “Look at how freaking cute this is!” I holler as I hold up a onesie with dinosaurs on it. “Okay, that’s incredibly cute.” he agrees. “I can’t wait to have a little baby to dress up, I’m going to be ridiculous with it, I just know it.” I say. “Someday, babe.” His voice is full of love as I look over and catch him staring at me with those warm, dark chocolate eyes. I can’t help but smile as I think hopeful thoughts of settling down and having children with this man. “Someday *soon*, I hope.” I say. “Someday.” We make our way to the cleaning supplies aisle and grab some more products we’ve either ran out of or are about to run out of. “How are we on toilet paper?” I ask. “You’re the one who uses the most, I don’t keep track of it.” he says. “Oh, well, have fun wiping with your hand from now on.” I say with a glare. “Another sassy remark? You’re gonna end up bored with just one book.” he threatens. I let out an obnoxiously loud laugh and check myself, not wanting to be one of *those people* in the store. “I’ve missed that laugh,” he says. “What?” I ask, confused. Surely I’ve been laughing just as much as I usually do. “Nothing,” he says. “What else do we need?” “We’re onto groceries now. Let’s go get a pack of water and start back in that corner?” I ask. He gestures in front of him, “Lead the way, beautiful.” We argue over how many energy drinks he can get and whether stick butter is better than tub butter, how much cottage cheese is too much cottage cheese and which creamer to get. “Why *wouldn’t* we get the Rice Krispies creamer?” he asks me as if it’s a no brainer. “It just doesn’t sound good, babe. Let's get something we know we both like.” “That’s boring, baby. Let’s try something new!” “Fine, get it.” I cave. “Why don’t we get a small bottle of the Rice Krispies one and then something you like, too. That way you aren’t stuck with something you don’t like.” “Deal.” It's my turn to flash a huge smile at him. If there’s one thing I love about this man it’s his unwavering ability to make sure I’m happy and taken care of. We pick up a few different kinds of lunch meat, a few tubes of burger, a package of chicken thighs and a few other meats for the week. “Remember the time we panic bought like eight packages of cheese?” he asked. “Yeah, that was ridiculous.” I say before chuckling loudly again. “I didn’t think we were ever going to get through all of that.” “It’s always something,” he says “If not too many packages of cheese we get too many things to drink or too many snacks.” “We’re hoarders.” I joke. We then begin weaving through the dry goods aisles, picking out cereals and snack crackers, spices we’re low on and baking goods, a large bag of rice and a few cans of veggies. Both of us weave around each other in a delicate tango as we pluck items from shelves, careful not to bump into one another, laughing when we do. “It’s warm in here.” he says, handing me his flannel. I slip it on, reveling in the fresh warmth. I take a deep breath and smile as the notes of cedar, mint and *him* invade my senses, making me feel at home. “Looks good on you, baby.” “What can I say, I have good tastes.” I say. “In men or the flannel?” he asks. I shrug my shoulders and round the corner into the frozen food aisle. “Ouch!” I holler, jumping at the sharp pinch to my left buttcheek. “Andy, we’re in the store!” I holler. “Well, what did you learn?” he asks. “I’m not even sure?” I say. He replies by pinching my butt once more. I laugh and attempt to return the pinch to his posterior, laughing harder as he dances out of reach. I pretend to be preoccupied with a box of frozen corn dogs, waiting for his guard to be dropped. I “compare prices” on another box of the frozen foods as he steps beside me to see what has my attention, just before I reach over and give him a good pinch. “Ouch, babe! I hate being pinched.” he complains. “Well, what did we learn?” I mimic. “That’s it…” he says. He backs me up against the frozen cooler door and tickles my sides until I’m begging for mercy, gasping for breath. A wave of embarrassment washes over me as I scope the area to see if there’s any onlookers, relieved when I don’t see anyone. “I miss you.” I say to him. “I’m right here, baby.” he leans in and kisses me before wrapping his arms around me. “I’m always right here.” Emotion clogs my throat, I chalk it up to being overly grateful to have him. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I say. “Lucky thing for you, you’re stuck with me.” He kisses the top of my head. “Forever.” I smile and blink rapidly to clear my vision. It must be close to that time of the month, stupid hormones. Finishing up the frozen foods on our mental checklist, we continue to the produce section. We grab a few pre packaged salads, some garlic, onions and potatoes for a soup we have planned to make and some fresh herbs. “No, you don’t need to get any lemons.” he scolds. “You never use them, we pay for them and then they turn into science experiments on the counter.” “I want them for water!” I protest. “If you *used* them I’d be all for it, but you never do!” he counters. “It’s wasteful.” “They’re like sixty cents!” “Put a book back and you can get ONE lemon.” he jokes. I roll my eyes and put three lemons in one of the plastic produce bags. “Ooh! Look at these goodies!” he says, rubbing his hands together. He hands me a package of mini muffins with candied pecans baked into the dough. “Do you deserve these?” I ask, mimicking his raised eyebrow. “Yes. Yes I do.” he says. I laugh and continue to the bin with tomatoes and avocados. The store’s radio system comes to life with one note repeated softly a handful of times, I smile as I realize what song is playing. *When there’s nowhere else to run, is there room for one more son? One more son.* *If you can, hold on. If you can, hold on. Hold on.* Andy begins to belt out the first verse of one of our favorite songs by The Killers, completely unashamed and with absolutely no inhibitions. I feel my cheeks flush with heat, not nearly as self confident as he is. I begin peeking around us, checking for onlooking eyes or anyone outright gawking at us, at the scene before them. “Sing with me, baby.” he says before crooning into the chorus. “Andy, we’re in the store…” I say. “It’s fine baby, it’s just us.” he says, grabbing my hands to pull me into a dance. It’s just us… It’s just us… My head begins to spin, confusion insidiously creeps into my expression, muddling my comprehension and mental stability. It’s just us… “Andy…” I begin to question. “Shh baby, it’s okay.” he says before continuing to sing. It’s just us. Most shopping trips are full of stress, tension and dread for me. I hate running into people, zigzagging in a wild path to avoid being hit by carts or hitting others who stop without warning. I hadn’t felt so much as a second of annoyance or stress this entire time. Come to think of it, I hadn’t *seen* so much as a single person, not a single employee. It’s just us. Confusion takes the wheel full force as I spin in a slow circle, checking to see if there’s anyone else in the store. Was it closed? Did we break in? It’s just us. I glanced at the deli, no workers. I glanced at the checkout lanes, no workers. I glanced down the long aisle leading back to electronics, no workers. I glanced out to the parking lot and saw cars, but no shoppers or loiterers waiting outside of the doors or walking to their vehicles. I saw *no one.* It’s just us… “Andy…” “*If you can, hold on.”* “Baby…” “*If you can, hold on.”* Tears well up behind my lower lids, my eyes pricking with a burning sensation, threatening to spill their contents at any second. It’s just us. “You’re not…” I choke on emotion clogging my throat. Andy grabs me and pulls me into a tight embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders as he rests his head on top of mine. I always love being held by him like this, his six-foot-four height surpassing my five-foot-five greatly, my head nestling between his pectoral muscles comfortably. Nothing has felt more like home than when he holds me like this as I breathe in the scent that is uniquely him. “I love you, sweetheart.” he says softly. “I love you, too.” I sob. It’s just us. The song slowly fades as it finishes, silence wrapping its cruel void around us once more. It's just us. “You’re not…” I try once more, taking a deep breath, knowing my next words are going to collapse everything. “You’re not actually here, are you?” I ask. It's just us. “I’m with you, always.” he says quietly, placing another kiss on top of my head. “You know what I mean…” I say. “I do, baby.” he says. “I’m so sorry.” I inhale deeply, the breath going nowhere, and let out a shuddering sob, not ready for this to be over. I cling to Andy as tightly as I possibly can, fervently praying for it to be tight enough to keep him with me forever. “I’m always with you, Allie, always.” he says once more. “Any time you close your eyes I’m right there.” The sobs are painfully ripping through my chest at this point, threatening to suffocate me. “I love you so much.” I say, plead. “I love you so much, too, beautiful.” he says. “I’m never far…” he says. I feel him place one more kiss to the top of my head. I release my arms and wipe my eyes, desperate to find some relief from the chasm ripping my heart into two. I wipe my wet hands on my pants and reach out to embrace Andy once more, panicking as my arms close in on nothing. I open my eyes and blink rapidly, hoping to will him back into place in front of me. “Andy?” I holler, panic gripping my voice in a chokehold. “Andy!” I spin in a circle, selfishly praying he’s playing a prank on me, hiding behind the bin full of avocados or in an aisle out of sight. I take off in a dead sprint, checking up and down every aisle, screaming his name as loud as I can, my throat raw from sobbing and screaming. I run through the entire store twice over, frantically searching every aisle, hiding spot and shelf. I look down and am comforted only briefly as I realize I’m still wearing his flannel. His scent no longer lingers on the fabric but feeling the soft material cover my arms and torso brings enough comfort for me to drag in a ragged breath. I sink to my knees as the depression takes over me once more, a process I’m painfully familiar with by this point. The shelves around me slowly disappear and morph into nonsensical things, a tree house, a dog house, a large cardboard box. The integrity of the dream slowly falling away after my realization. I wasn’t here grocery shopping with Andy, I wasn’t anywhere with Andy. I’m at home, in bed, unsure of what day it is as I’ve lost track. *If you can, hold on.* It’s been days- weeks? months?- since Andy passed away in the accident, taking him from this world and my life. I had no idea how long it had actually been, grief cripping any and all sense of normalcy and functioning. My eyes slowly open, damp with tears that had escaped from my dream and found their way into real life. My lungs struggle to fill with air, my chest heavy with sorrow. I wrap the flannel around me tighter, squeezing my eyes shut, begging to restart the dream. I know better than that. The dream comes and goes as it pleases, never allowing me to manifest it when I need it the most. Whether we’re grocery shopping, making dinner or going for a hike, the beginning is always bliss as I look into his eyes unaware of real life. The end always cripples me as it disappears from my subconscious. *If you can, hold on.* I know Andy is with me, always. From the random breezes that dance through my window on cool fall days to the rays of sunshine that kiss my skin as I read in the reading chair he got me, to the warm cups of tea in the eclectic mugs he always gifted me to the random wafts of his scent that come from nowhere. I know I’ll never truly be without him, not entirely. I know I should be grateful for that, welcoming of that fact, even. I feel selfish when I beg and wish for *more*. *At least you can still smell him from time to time, at least you remember the color of his eyes, at least, at least, at least.* I don’t want “at least”. I yearn for the future that was stripped from us, from the what-if’s and maybes, to the plans both spoken and yet to be spoken, for the somedays. I glance down at the ring on my finger on my left hand, the shine in the diamond either mocking me or pitying me, I haven’t decided which it is yet today. We hadn’t made plans further than “let’s get married”. At the time it was more than enough for me, just belonging to him more than being his girlfriend. It was mature, refined, *adult*. If only I had been a little more impatient to actually marry him, I could have his last name as a reminder of him and our relationship. *At least I had a ring.* I take a deep breath and sit up, knowing I need to at least do *something* today. *At least do something today.* I remind myself that Andy wouldn’t be content with me wallowing in despair every day, would be down right furious at even a single tear shed for him. I get up from the bed I shared with him, avoiding glancing at his pillow and make my way to the living room. Reading is a waste of time, I can’t focus on the words on the page, much less the story. I make my way to the couch and turn on a mindless program on Netflix, something about a tattoo competition. I avoid things like sappy romances and cooking shows- a regular tv genre we shared for watching with each other. I make it a total of five minutes before I find myself laying down on the couch, resting my head on a pillow, begging my brain to transport me to another realistic dream with my soulmate. *At least I got up from the bed…* If you can, hold on. If you can, hold on. Hold on.


Kill Count Pre-adventure: Gregory: 0 Brylynn: 0 Tedal: 0 Lubith: 0 Gert: ∞ The group looks determined as they prepare for their descent. Leading them is a small gnome. “The Lizard King has been sending up his lizardpeople through a large tunnel nearby. We don’t have the numbers to meet them head-on, so we are sending in our greatest adventurers through a smaller tunnel to ambush their general. His name is Otel Deraj. He is known for his bowtie and pretentious attitude. Kill him and we will reward you with 5 gold pieces.” Explains the teenie tiny gnome named Jerome. The party leads through the tunnel. In the front stands the gallant holy warrior, Gregory Hillyer. His sword is strong but not as strong as his conviction. He leads the way, torch in hand. Behind him is the eloquent elven mage, Brylynn Flowerlight. She can't cast healing spells so quit asking. She holds her spell book ready for action. Following is the halfling rogue, Tedal Shadowrabbit. He’s just a little guy. He pulls his hood over his head, blending into the shadows. Struggling to keep up is the Obese Dwarf Cleric, Lubith Brownheart. His fat is mere insulation. Sweat drips down his beard dripping onto his heavy plate armor as he pumps his arms to keep up. Behind Lubith is Gert. The ground of the tunnel is uneven dirt, and the roof is unsupported. The tunnel is primitive, like something a badger would dig, not like something made by a gnome. “I’m not used to being underground like this, I don’t feel safe,” says Brylynn. “Oh hush now. Being underground has never hurt anyone,” says Lubert. “Gert,” says Gert. They hike for what feels like hours to Lubith, until they encounter two lizardpeople sweeping the floor. One holds the broom and is yelling at the other sweeping the floor. “Hergthassasssaaasshhhhhhh,” says the sweeping lizardperson once he sees the humans. “Stand back infidel, repent or be slain,” exclaims Gregory. “Gert,” says Gert. Gregory charges first, slashing with his sword. Flying from behind him; a bolt of fire from Brylynn. The fire and sword collide with the lizard, applying a stab wound and burning a hole through his chest. The lizardperson pulls a sword from the broomstick and clashes blades with Gregory. The second lizardperson unsheathes his dustpan, revealing a blade at the end of it. Before the second lizard person could land a hit, Tedal jumps on his back, stabbing him in the head. Lubith follows with his Mace straight to the knees, snapping every bone in the poor joint. “Gert,” says Gert. The swords of the Lizardperson and Gregory cling. Gregory breaks through the bind and stabs the Lizardperson through the chest leading his intestines to fall out. Brylynn puts her hands against the lizardperson’s face and melts it off. The lizard person fumbles back and slashes at Gregory. The other lizardperson fights the grip of Tedal but is unsuccessful. Tedal stabs both of his daggers through the eyes of the lizardperson. Lubith holds his holy symbol in his chubby fingers and says a prayer, shooting a holy bolt of light straight at the face of the lizardperson being ridden by Tedal. The light glides gracefully and incinerates the lizardperson’s face. “Gert,” says Gert. Gregory lands the finishing blow against the Lizardperson with a clean strike. Lubith ends the other with a bash to the head. The party heads to the opening where the lizardpeople came from, seeing a dark stone dungeon. To be continued… “Gert,” says Gert.


"He broke up with me, I guess." I couldn't sleep at night. I was thinking about it for a very long time. I couldn't eat nor could go to work. I called my best friend to my place. I know she is going to hate me. "I know Mike. He won't do this to you, Amy," Tina said. "You are saying because he is your brother!" My best friend Tina and my boyfriend, I guess my ex-boyfriend are siblings. I met Mike through her. "Oh, dear. Why do you think I will side with him? I, myself had a fight with him last night." "Now, what he do this time? Oh, leave it. I don't wanna know. I hate him." I was looking all around my room. I have his photos near my bedpost. should I start cleaning it? Or should I wait? "You think that bitch is behind all this?" Tina asked. "Who? Claire?" I couldn't think of that but this piece fits here. Claire is his ex-girlfriend and I have been seeing her near his workplace and his apartment for the past few days. Not a good sign. "We couldn't forget that they both have been friends before. Good friends actually," I said. "You should give him one more chance. You are making it complicated," Tina said as she walked towards the window. I looked at his photograph. The last night we had a fight. We have been in a relationship for a very long time, and now it's time for us to take our relationship further. And boom...everything went down. I was so happy that finally, we are going to talk about it. You know, how much we wait for this moment. "I think he is really not interested in me anymore. Or maybe, he is having some second thoughts? or he is thinking of going back to Claire." This thought was killing me from the inside. I don't want to even see her around him. I am sure that Claire is after him. She wants him back. But my question comes to Mike. Does he want that too? I could feel my body shaking. I was getting goosebumps all over my body. I really hate this feeling. What if everything I am thinking is true? I looked at the clock. It was getting close to midnight. Now was the time when we used to talk over the phone. His work always come in midway so midnight was the best when we were completely free for each other. Now, I hate this feeling. What the hell has gotten into me? "Are you listening to me?" I looked at Tina. she was silent for the whole moment. What's her problem now? "I think you should see this, Amy." I walked towards the door and looked down. There was standing Mike with a flower in one hand and a ring in another. "Mike, what are you doing here?" I asked. It was freezing outside and seeing him without any coat, I was worrying. "I wanna confess something, Amy." "Okay..." I looked at his sister and I could see her smiling. Did she know all this before? "Oh dear...has the moment arrived?" I said. "Yes, the moment has arrived Amy." Tina smiled at me. "So what you say?" Mike asked. "Won't you bend down to your knees.." He cut me off. "No, I am not. It's freezing. Tell me fast!" "But I thought..." "It was my fault, Amy. I was so scared. You know what kind of a person I was before. Claire and I ... we had things before but not now. Not when you arrived. I can assure you that." "So you are saying that.." "Would you go out to the beach this weekend?" Really? "Oh dear... what you think of me, Amy? I am asking you...


Right, so there you are, probably fat, maybe even a little bit dead. You are thinking, your thoughts are mostly stupid but some of them are probably even stupider than the others. I don't know that for a fact, I can't read minds, I just assume that everyone is thinking stupid thoughts. "Hmm," you allegedly think to yourself "I haven't eaten a banana in quite some time, okay, time to hide in a bush." WRONG! One does not just hide in a bush all willy nilly like. No, you'll have to have a plan first, and for that you'll need an expert. Luckily you have me, so let me introduce myself. Hi everyone, I'm Ronald Hucklebee, I am a self taught bush life expert, and I believe myself to be well qualified to help you with all of your bush hiding endeavours being that I lived in a bush for 17 years straight before finally acknowledging the existence of the outside world. And if you are still worried about my qualifications, don't, I ate about 5 gallons of frog sludge before writing this and now I'm starting to get pissed off. And on top of that, I chased my neighbor around all morning in an attempt to inflict great pain upon his dangly bits with a Christmas ham and a bundle of bricks, so you know that you can trust me, besides, I can read minds so that is always a plus. Now for the plan, the first part of any plan that you plan on planning should be to find a reason for the plan at hand. Lack of banana consumption is not an acceptable reason to hide in a bush, so let me help you find something better. Step 1: find a reason. Now this reason could be many things, for example there may be a snail with the temper of Satan many miles away who slowly inches closer to you, and may attack unexpectedly in just a few years time (that sucker might be sticky). Or maybe there has been an unusual amount of nuclear warfare recently, and you need a safe place to create your evil layer so that you can become the the terrifying evil mastermind supervillain know as Crispy Bush Person. Or it could be that your neighbors are making fun of you and calling you crazy because you are a 69 year old man with what they call "imaginary" friends, who are all talking animals with crazy personalities, and because you are vegan and eat meat, and your chicken is addicted to meth but it isn't your fault and stuff. These are all perfectly acceptable reasons to hide in a bush. Step 2: so you've got your reason, now you need a bush. Now I know what you are thinking, "come on Ronald, there are probably about six bushes out there, that is a lot of bushes, I think that I can find my own." That *is* what you were thinking right? See I told you so, I told you that I could read minds! And also, let's address the problem at hand, if you think that you are capable of finding your own bush then you are dead wrong, for that you'll need an expert, which I am. And if the Russian government hasn't found me yet then I don't think that they ever will, so you know that you can trust me! "But Ronald," you say, "the Russian government *isn't looking* for you, how would they find you if they aren't even looking?" And to that I would just like to say one thing, DON'T YOU SEE HOW THAT ONLY SUPPORTS MY THEORY? YEAH, UP YOURS PUTIN, YOU'LL NEVER FIND ME! Oh and about the bush finding thing, pretty much any bush will work as long as it's not the first one that you find, there is always a rapist in the first one. Moving on! Step 3: aquire the proper bush hiding attire. That has a ring to it doesn't it? So what is "proper" bush hiding attire? Well, let's be honest, how the hell do you think that you would manage to fit in a bush and wear clothes all at the same time? That's right, you can't. Thankfully there is a rather simple solution to your problem, just take your clothes off. See? Now you'll fit in the bush! Step 4: enter the bush. That sounds pretty simple right? Well let me tell you something, entering a bush becomes a lot more complicated when you have to tunnel from 90 feet away and come up underneath it, which of course is what I recommend if you don't want to be smote by Fungus Chub, the bush god. So yeah, have fun doing that without a shovel. So yeah, that pretty much sums it up, and remember kids, blind people never tell the truth, always call the cops if you see a blind person.


I was finished being builded the first of December, 3035. That’s when my AI was first activated. My movement at the time was minimal, so I could only see what was directly in front of me. The factory floor was sterile, bright, and chrome. Robotic arms whizzed all over the floor, quickly building cheaper models to be sent to whatever mercenary company or factory floor that needed the expendable labor. I looked down to see two people in lab coats, one an old, Human male of European origin and the other a younger, gray, bat-like Eldvi female. Identification: Nikolas Cerric and Dr. Cana Xanthro. The CEO and chief scientist. “Please state your designation.” Cana said without looking up from her datapad. My singular eye glowed red. “Designation: Cerric Robotics Servant-Class Z-27.” “Please commence a programming diagnostic.” After a few seconds, I said. “No errors detected. Unit running at full capacity.” The Eldvi looked up from her datapad and looked at the Human. “It’s ready Dr. Cerric.” “Thank you Xanthro.” Cerric said. “Bring them in.” A nearby door opened, and a horde of reporters and camera drones rushed in. The sudden loud noises and flashing lights scarred me, as I was functionally a newborn. Despite this fear, I couldn’t move. Any attempt of panic induced movement and noises were unsuccessful. All I can do is stare forward and scream inside my own head. Dr. Cerric stepped towards the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen. I present you with the newest model of robotic worker. While this prototype doesn’t look much different from our current models, it has something those older models lack. The ability to learn. Ms. Xanthro, please deactivate the restraints.” With a press of a button, my eye changed to blue and I suddenly gained the ability to move. “Model Z-27.” The doctor said to me, “How are you feeling?” I slowly looked down at my hands. They were human hands in shape, but made of a titanium-based alloy. As I closed and opened my fingers, and listened to the sound my joints made when they moved, I said my first word. “Feeling?” “Yes, feeling. Are you happy, sad, scared?” “Feeling: Confused.” Cerric turned back to the reporters. “Yes, Z-27 is confused. No programming to fall back on. No protocols. No limitations. Our new models can adapt, change, learn. While this unit knows very little at the moment, they will, with time, become superior to any other robotic workers.” He paused and listened to murmurs of the crowd. He could tell that they were scared of the idea. “If you think this learning may lead to some problems, you can deactivate this feature.” Cerric pressed a button on his wrist, and my arms jolted to my sides, locking them. “Learning module deactivated.” I said, but I didn’t say it. I had no control of my body or my voice. I was locked in a shell. With some more button presses, I was forced away from the crowd, out of the room, and into a dark storage area. I would later be told this was so no one would ask about the ethical issues of my existence. The last thing I heard before leaving the room was Dr. Cerric says, “Of course, we are still in testing phases, but our new scout-class combat drones are ready for purchase.” This was my humble beginning. My birth, if you will. I don’t know how long I was alone in the dark. Couple of minutes, hours, days? The mind plays tricks on you when it's the only thing working. All I know is that the press conference was long over when Cana opened the door. “I am so sorry.” She said as she deactivated my locks. “I thought you were plugged in.” My nuclear battery would last several months without charge, but I do enjoy being topped off. “Desire: Light.” Was all I was able to say. I had a million questions, but my language skills at the time were minimal and robotic. “Oh yes. Again sorry.” I don’t blame her for forgetting that. Eldvi have superior night vision compared to most. I also have a night vision mode, but I didn’t know of it at the time. She did something on her pad, and the lights in the room turned on. My curiosity got the better of me and I explored the room. It was built like a hotel room. A closet with some Cerric Robotics branded clothes, a small kitchen area, stocked with simple ingredients (for some reason), a bed, TV, and a sterile bathroom (including a toilet, I don’t know why). Inside the bathroom, I looked into the mirror, and saw myself for the first time. I had a Human design, with a silver coloring and \[Z - 2 7\] imprinted on my chest. My head had a sharp shape. Human-like, like a mannequin. The only difference is that I had a single blue optical lens taking up the upper-half of my face. I slowly placed my hand on the mirror. “You recognize yourself?” Cana laughed. “Designation: Z-27. I am Z-27.” “Good. Some animals can’t do that.” “Animal? Designation: Not animal. Designation: Z-27. Status: Insulted.” “I say that in the nicest way possible.” “Status: Confused.” Cana stepped up behind me. Being a head taller than her, all I could see of her was a little bit of white hair. “I’m sorry. This job just sucks the morality out of you, and now I have to give you something I now lack.” She inserted something into a port in the back of my neck. Images of Cana’s life flashed before my eye. The thing she placed into my neck port was a recording of Cana’s memories. “Question: Why give me this information?” Cana removed the drive from my neck and inserted it into a port in the back of her neck. “To show you what not to be.” “Status: Confused. Status Update: Sad. Desire: Rest.” “You and I both. Over here kid.” She led me to the bed, where a large cord sticking out from behind it. “Let me plug you in so we can charge you for the night.” I agreed, sitting down on the bed and letting her plug the cord into my neck. I entered a low-power mode as Cana said “Night buddy.” Low-power mode was kinda like sleeping. I think. I dream at least. Well, it was more of me going through Cana’s recordings in more detail. This did give me a good understanding of the outside world without Cerric bias. My creators are into some really illegal stuff. Blackmarket trades, corporate warfare, tax evasion, all that good stuff. The drive also contained many moments from Cana’s life. Her meeting to a bronze scaled drac mercenary named Midirous. Them being hired to protect Cana during a black market sale. The two falling in love and marrying. The two adopting a daughter. The daughter disappearing inside of Cana’s facility. A few days of training and learning later, I overheard a conversation outside of my room. “Good morning sir.” Cana said to Mr. Cerric. Cerric ignored the greeting. “How’s the bot, Cana?” “They're improving.” She said. “I gave them the memory drive a few nights ago, so they have a basic history of the Galaxy and the company.” While true, the drive in question wasn’t what Cerric thought it was. She continued. “As well, their language skills should have greatly improved. Z-27 should stop stating what kind of sentences they are using in a few days.” “Good, I don’t know why the AIs keep on doing that.” “Well, for the drone AIs, they do that because they are very simple and-” “I want that programmed out.” Cerric interrupted. “I’ll deliver the message to the programmers.” Cana said, “As for the test, Z-27 should have similar reaction and movement speed as the humanoid drones. Of course, we won’t know for sure until we actually perform the tests. I’ll go get him.” “Cana, we’re pulling the plug on the project.” I was stunned, and based on how Cana reacted, she was too. “W-What? Why?” Cerric explained. “We’re getting tons of complaints about the ethics of Z-27’s existence, despite our marketing. We are continuing the project in secret, but we will be shutting down the prototype for the time being. At least until the controversy dies down.” Deactivated. That word brought me into a panic. I’ve only been deactivated once, but it was the worst time in my short life. The my metallic body was turned into a prison, losing all ability to take in information. An organic may compare that to death, but I would say it’s worse. At least when one dies, their mind doesn’t stay awake. I opened the door. “Desire: I don’t want to be deactivated!” “Z…” “It doesn’t matter what you think.” Cana stepped up to her boss. “It does matter sir. They are the one being deactivated. We don’t know what happens to a sentient AI when deactivated for an extended period of time.” “We’ll never know until we try.” He said, way too happy to functionally kill me. Cana, either caused by built up rage or motherly instinct, pushed Dr. Cerric. She pushed him hard enough to throw him to the floor. While on the floor, Cerric pressed a button on his wrist and I lost the ability to move, speak, and see. I was brought back, Cerric was on the floor, the alarm was blaring, and Cana was gripping her side. There was blood dripping from her hands. “Listen to me Z.” She said between heavy breaths. “Get out of here.” “Cana, what happened?” She removed the memory drive out of her cybernetic neck port and placed it in my hand. “Go… Find her.” “STOP!” Security ran around the corner. She raised a pistol, the first thing her love ever gave her, and fired at the security officer and the drones. I turned around and fled. By the time I was near the exit of the building, I couldn’t hear the gunfire anymore. I could only guess what happened from there. I managed to flee into the city by the time the police arrived at the facility. Thankfully, I could pass for a maintenance drone, so no one would stop me. I inserted the memory drive, and I saw something that wasn’t on the first drive. A message, from Cana to someone else. “I’m sending your brother to where we first met.


Alexei stood before the forest. In the distance, he heard the whispering of the engine of the truck that brought him before these woods. His air tank hung heavily on his shoulders and dug into his back. His radiation suit stuck to his sweaty skin. His mask felt choking and heavy. Alexei heard the footsteps of the soldiers that accompanied him. He took a look around and saw dark shadows moving forward in the thick fog. Alexei stepped forward into the mud. Massive dark trees stood over the group and disappeared behind the fog. Their leaves were mixed in with the mud underneath his feet. Their blanches hung bare and dead, murdered by the outrageous amounts of radiation spilling from the center of the forest. Alexei’s Geiger counter ticked away on his chest. The soldiers formed a single file and started into the forest. Alexei blindly followed in the group, clinging onto the straps of his air tank. The fog stayed close to the group, sprinting and weaving between the members of the group, casting a blur over them. Blurry outlines in the fog were hidden behind the dark and scorched bark of the trees that stood within the group. Alexei made sure not to break eye contact with the leader or any of the soldiers. They had been walking for some time now. Alexei was growing tired. His legs ached and his vision blurred. He muttered to himself, hoping that the group would hear him. He bent forward with his hands resting on his knees. He shut his eyes tight as he tried to regain his breath. The ground shifted beneath his feet, causing him to fall backwards. Alexei opened his eyes. Before him stood a massive wall of contorting metal and lead blocks. Spinning, diving, and climbing, slamming against each other, each time sending ripples across the floors Alexei now sit on. The top of the wall no longer disappeared into the fog, the fog no longer surrounded Alexei, but the wall disappeared into the dark. Into the nothingness that lies above Alexei. The wall loomed over him like a man looking into a fish tank. Alexei’s eyes drifted to the floor. Through the darkness he saw the rough outlines of lead cubes and metal. The sound of his Geiger counter broke through and entered his ears. Panic came over him as he scrambled and pushed himself away as fast as he could. The sound of his gasping filled his mask and his hands brushed past rough and cracked blocks of lead. His back slammed into something behind and caused his hands to slip. Alexei felt something strong grab onto his arm, and when he turned to look, his view was once again filled by the looming dark forest. “Sergei…” Alexei whispered at the soldier. “Come on doctor, keep moving. We’re almost there.” Sergei pulled Alexei back onto his feet before he turned and continued deeper into the forest. Alexei ran his hands over his radiation suit and checked for any damage. He suspected that there must’ve been some kind of leak, or perhaps one of his systems failed. Anything to explain what he just saw. He found no reason for his vision, other than the realization that his radiation suit might not be enough. He quickly caught back up with the group that was beginning to disappear one by one into the fog. Two hours later, Alexei was once again exhausted. He stopped and leaned against a tree to try and catch his breath again. But before he could close his eyes and take a deep breath, Sergei bumped into his shoulder, causing him to stumble forward. “We don’t have time for rest.” Alexei looked back up. Just behind the fog was a sharp shadow that didn’t resemble anything he had seen in the forest. The group seemed to be moving in that direction anyway, so Alexei decided to take a look. As he came closer, the rough outlines began to become more and more clear. He began to make out the large rectangular shape of the object. It seemed to be lying crooked. Alexei reached the object and noticed that its door had been opened. He rested his hand on the camouflage surface and leaned in. His flashlight poorly lit the inside of the helicopter. Through the darkness and the fog, he made out the shape of two feet. Alexei stepped into the cargo hold and hesitantly approached the shape. As he grew closer, the light from his flashlight cut through more and more fog until he finally reached the body. Through the cracked glass on the corpse’s gas mask, Alexei saw brown skin drawn tight over its protruding cheekbones. Its eyes had sunken into its skull. Its clothes were contorted around its half decomposed body. Alexei felt his breath catch in his throat. Alexei quickly backed out of the helicopter cargo bay and back into the fog. He stumbled back into Sergei, almost knocking himself over. Alexei looked back at Sergei only to hear him mutter, “So this is where they kept their vehicles.” His arm slowly rose and pointed into the fog. Alexei followed his finger and saw the outline of the warehouse behind several silhouettes. “Come. We need to keep moving.” Sergei began to walk after the group and Alexei quickly followed. He didn’t want to go off on his own again. Alexei had lost track of how much time had passed. They must’ve spent most of the day walking by now. He couldn’t tell. The sun was blocked out by the tall naked trees and the thick fog. The same measly amount of sunlight made it through. He couldn’t even tell which direction the sun was. He was going to ask them to stop. There was no way they expected him to continue on for so long without rest. This was outrageous! The only thing stopping Alexei from falling over asleep was the occasional spike in radiation that caused his Geiger counter to squeal. Before he could demand a rest, the group suddenly stopped. Why did they stop? Alexei focused his gaze to the front of the group. Through the dense fog, he saw five dark figures standing before the group. And there the two groups stood, motionless and silent. Alexei stepped forward and approached Sergei, who was at the front of the group. “Sergei, what’s going on?” Sergei didn’t speak. He slowly turned his head and looked at Alexei. Alexei couldn’t see his eyes through his vision, but he felt his gaze resting upon his shoulders. He felt everyone’s gaze resting upon his shoulders. “What’s going on?” he asked loudly, to the entire group. Alexei turned and faced a member of the other group, the man who stood closest to him and Sergei. He wore a different suit compared to the other four of his group. His suit had a massive visor that stretched from his head all the way down to his chest, while the other members wore plastic suits sealed at the face with gas masks. “You didn’t tell him?” the lead asked. “Tell me what?” Alexei questioned. “Do you think he would’ve come if I told him?” Sergei replied in a monotone voice. Alexei took a step back, and then another. He turned and tried to take a step, but before he could, the members of his group all raised their rifles. “Sergei, what-?” he asked as he turned back to Sergei, but his sentence snagged in his throat as he noticed Sergei’s rifle was also pointed at his head, “This isn’t what I signed up for…” Sergei motioned for Alexei to move forward. Alexei took a shaky step forward before Sergei reached out and pulled him before the man in the visor. The man stared at Alexei motionless for a moment before he stepped to the side. The sound of grinding stone filled Alexei’s ears in an instant. His hands instinctively covered his ears, but the thickness of his radiation suit stopped him from fully pressing down on his ears. The sound was deafening. He grit his teeth in pain as he slowly looked up to look behind the man. In a clearing of fog and trees, dull white sunlight shone down on a deep crater. Within the crater, held off the ground, was a mass of stone and lead, in a constant state of movement and dance. Up and down, back and forth. The mass contorted and shifted, never stopping, never resting. Pulled and manipulated by unknown forces. “What is that?” Alexei yelled over the sound. “Approach the object, Alexei.” the man said. Somehow, through the deafening orchestra of noise, the man’s voice could be heard clearly. “What?” Alexei yelled again as he turned. But he was met with no response, only the sparkling tips of their barrels. Alexei looked at the man and only saw his arm pointing at the mass. Alexei turned back and took a step forward. He felt a wave of resistance wash over his body, pushing him back and almost causing him to lose his balance. His Geiger counter screamed. He took another step forward and again, a wave of resistance. This time stronger, like a warning. He stepped forward again. And again the resistance washed over him, but the pressure didn’t leave his head. His Geiger counter now produced a single note. With every step the sound coming from the mass grew. It was shattering now. The wave was much stronger now. Alexei stumbled back. He shot a quick glance back to the group, but still he was met with the same greeting. He stepped forward again. This time he didn’t feel the push, but it felt like something pierced his forehead. His head exploded in pain. He felt his mouth open to scream, but before his breath could escape his mouth, the pain disappeared. Alexei fell to his knees as a cold sweat raised goosebumps across his body. He forced himself back onto his feet, but before he could step forward, a pain exploded from the innermost part of his head, radiating out and down his spine, dispersing throughout his body, reaching every inch of his flesh. Every part of him hurt, in the most intense pain possible. His mind went numb as he collapsed onto his hands and knees. Through the pain, the single idea, the single thought, of what he was sure to face if he turned back floated to the surface. Digging in his fingers, he forced himself forward. Somehow, the pain grew more intense. He now no longer felt the pain, all he knew was the pain. Pain. Pain. Or… Or death. Death for certain. So loud. Back there. No. Can’t go back. Forward. Forward? Sound. Pain. Pain? Maybe. He looked up and stared at the mass. Maybe. With all the strength he had left, he dug his hands and feet into the mud. He tried, he really did, but to no avail. He was stuck. Between certain death and eternal pain. He contemplated turning back. Anything, *anything*, was better than this. He had to turn back. He felt his body relax, despite the pain. It was deafening… A single thought rose in his head, so alien and clumsy, so random. A single thought, one word, one command. *Stay* He didn’t know why, but he listened. He wasn’t aware of his choice, nor his thought process, only aware of his final decision. And so, he stayed, his muscles tensed. The pain reached a pinnacle. Alexei passed out. His face mask pressed against the cold mud. And all fell silent. He opened his eyes. He was now standing. His mask was clean. His suit felt new. The stickiness and humidity was gone. His air tank felt like. His Geiger counter was silent. He looked forward and noticed the mass, quiet and unmoving. Calm. Settled. He stared at it, felt it staring back. And both stared, an equal mix of curiosity and fear between the two. Alexei slowly raised his arm forward. He was so close to touching its surface. Before he touched its cold surface, the world changed. The mass returned to its violent state. Alexei jumped back in fear. Above the sound of the grinding blocks came a screaming, a screaming so violent and feral, so desperate. Above the mass, the man with the visor could be seen, paddling and struggling within the mass. He pushed and shoved, and begged. He screamed at Alexei. He screamed at him to help, to save him, to take away his pain, and, finally, to kill him. Alexei stood motionless, shock overcame him. He was frozen. Blood pooled at the feet of the mass. Blood spewed forth from every opening. The sound of tearing flesh and crushing bone echoed throughout the impossible space. One final scream, one final fight. Alexei awoke and pushed himself off the mud. He stood up, adrenaline pumping, and tore off his mud covered gas mask. He took in a full breath in what felt like days of strangulation. Before him, in a neat half circle, were the bodies of the men, all with their blood dripping down and into the crater. All artificial in appearance. The mass was gone. The fog was gone. The sunlight now dominated the space. And above all else, it was quiet. Silent. Finally. Silent.


Thanks for taking the time to read. This is a rough draft and I likely won't be returning to it to finish but I got it down in about 40 minutes and wanted some feedback on tone and pacing. I am really just starting to write. Divorce sucks. I always told myself that it would be easier to just not get married than go through another. Three was one too many for a kid and it never got easier. I must have spent my entire adult life figuring out who I was outside of that pain. I was really blessed to not go through the usual trappings of separation. No court dates, no arguments over time, no vindictive pursuit of support. It was probably the amicability of our arrangement that stung the most. Why couldn’t we just make it work? I always know the answer is me but it’s still a question that makes me ache.  Divorce sucks, but it didn’t stop me from having a kid and a breakup anyway. Salem, the most perfectly lovable child, became my world. Time eased my fears and I inevitably ended up dating again about a year after the breakup. It didn’t take long to start up my new life and even move in with my new partner Andrea. Our space was modest but cozy, a single wide two-bedroom trailer just big enough to run through on little toddler legs. Only getting Salem on the weekends Friday to Monday meant that the house was awfully quiet during the week. Looking down the hallway at her door during the week never feels good, a constant reminder my family isn’t together. I heard somewhere that the more pain and guilt you carry the more likely you are to experience a haunting.  “Could you help Salem get in the habit of shutting off her light when she leaves?” Andrea mentioned one night after taking Salem to Mom. “I swear I did so myself, I will definitely be more mindful of it” I told her. The next night I came home a bit late, Andrea still working. “I know I shut it off yesterday, did you go back in?” I texted Andrea. “Nope, haven’t been down there today” she told me confidently. Oh well, I thought to myself and just walked down and shut it off. I dozed off for a half hour or so after a glass of rye only waking to an odd sound. Was that Legos? Distinctly so. Someone or something was absolutely playing with Lego blocks, and I felt my stomach drop immediately. Fuck I locked one of the cats in the bedroom. I ran down the hallway and opened the door ready to hear some protest from one of our fur friends only to find an empty room and nothing out of place barring the light being on again. I went around and took inventory of the cats and confirmed they were all accounted for before closing the door and shutting off the light once more. This time making sure to take a mental note of me deliberately shutting off the light and closing the door. “I always knew I was a little crazy,” I joked to my giant tabby who started following me around in hopes of some attention Later that night while Andi was making her way into the house, I came out to greet her “Hey cutie how was work?”. She let out a heavy sigh “Another one of those days, just glad to be home. I didn’t know we were getting Salem or I would have stopped for dinner!”. Salem? “What do you mean?” Now I asked a bit weary and feeling fear creep inside me. “I can hear her in there playing with her Legos right now and her light is on you should have said something to me!”. I slowly walked toward the back hall keeping my steps quiet to hear what Andi was hearing. Approaching the door it became clear as day, those were Legos being put together. Beginning to shake I start to reach for the door but pause and called out with a tremoring voice “Salem?”. The sound of blocks being assembled suddenly stopped “Uh oh dada is here". Now trembling with Andrea standing behind me looking confused, I slowly opened the door. Silence and a stillness that haunts me even now settled in the room for what felt like an eternity. I had to find something out of place, some reason for what I was hearing. A voice rattled through the house shaking both of us and the windows around us “I WANT THE LIGHT LEFT ON”.


I hold the photograph tight in my hands, weeping. I will never see them again. I study the photo, tracing my fingers along the white creases of use. It's been folded and tucked hundreds of times but now maybe never again. That day was warm and cheery. The perfect day to depart from Earth with a lasting memory of the way life felt. Life was in everything on Earth. It greeted you in the mornings with songs of the wild. It caressed you in the rivers of the world. It captured and pulled you into it's overwhelming fullness. It was a place to love and become accustomed to. A place to live and a place to die. And here I am trapped and alone with nothing but steel cold walls to mock my existence, my life. No hope and no way out. My crew dead or dying and soon I will follow. Soon I'll float endlessly in a metal coffin touring the Galaxy. The creak of the steel awakens me from my stupor. I pull myself on a beam, propelling my body towards the window. I see a mass of blue hues expand the length of the window. Wreckage spans before me in an array of debris. The last of the ship that would've pioneered the way for generations to come. All lost now. I see in the far distance hunks of ship exploding and rocketing towards the unknown planet before me larger than before. Getting closer...too close. "Daddy! Daddy!" I turn quickly from the window to see my 4 year old boy. "Daddy do you want to play with me?" The tears bleed from my eyes, grouping in droplets in front of me. I swat them away in grief and anger. How could my little boy be here, in this place. I see his face but I know it isn't real. Still I drink it in and float before him. I look into his blue eyes and remember. It is unbearable. My loss is complete. I will never see my family and will never play with my boy again. I will never hold him high in the air to fly. He loved that. He used to tell me that he wanted to fly like iron Man and I would lift him in the air turning in circles until his laugher filled my ears. I looked at my son, my soul on fire. "Yea buddy, let's play." "Can I Fly daddy?" the ghost asked. My hands drift up to reach under his arms but there is no resistance and my hands simply move past his arms. I look away in dismay towards the air sealed door. The alarm lights flashing, indicating a breach to the ships infrastructure. (I will not escape this. I can either die the way the universe decides or I can die my way. I can die like a intergalactic space ranger.) I walk to the air sealed doors, glaring out the window at the gas giant before me. One small man facing a giant. I lay my finger on the emergency breach button. I look at the photo one more time showing a laughing father and son. My hands lifted high above while my sons arms stick out in front of him in the superhero fashion. He was wearing his iron man suit. "Let's fly now, son. Let's fly" I push the button.


“You think you can catch this bastard”? The older man asked.  The older man smelled of tobacco and body odor. And if you didn’t know him you would think he was an imbecile with bad hygiene. You would be half right.  “I’m sure I can Cap”. The younger man said.  The younger man was tall and seemed easy going. Easy going was a hard sell for most people in this line of work but somehow the younger man managed it. He was also what some might have called “easy on the eyes”.  “Alight Skip you better get this son of a bitch and soon. The higher ups are all over me to get this one gone and yesterday about it”.  The Captain paused for a moment looking at the younger man.  Can I trust him with something this important? He’s so young yet still one of the best despite this. Hmm. I’ll have another hysterical mother and another funeral to go to if this young buck doesn’t do this right.  To hell with it he decided.  Neither of them could afford to wait any longer and there was no one available right now that he might feel more comfortable with going.  “I’ll be here as always. I’m only a transmission away, but you already know that. So lets cut the crying short and have done with it. Get him and bring him here and we will both be financially set for awhile.”  The Captain wanted more time to make up his mind but knew there was none. This was it.  Skip winked at his Captain and headed for his ship he fondly referred to as Neil. Without turning around he said “Let’s roll Cap.”  This was Skip’s original ship. Some thought him crazy for keeping it and wondered why he didn’t just get a better one. He’d done enough missions to afford one that was for sure. But this was nonsense to Skip. Skip was practical and a penny pincher. He had always been good with money. As he walked onto the ship he remembered a night from his college days (not that long ago he thought) He was out drinking with his friends and when they ran out of money they used S-Credits and charged them to their Social Credits balance. They would rather owe more money than they borrowed than ask Skip for money. Skip was a good friend to them but he wasn’t buying anyones meal or drinks. A soft smile came to his face as he started Neil up and flew out of the space hanger.  He liked his job. Maybe he didn’t love it and so what. But it was something to do and he could have some pretty amazing adventures that were legal. He thought, not for the first time, that he might very well be in Cryo Freeze or worse if this job didn’t exist. He was a little too adventurous for his own good sometimes. He didn’t do it for the money. When Skip’s parents died they had left him with a considerable amount of money but not a soul in the universe knew this. So it wasn’t for the money that he took this job, or any job for that matter. It was the thrill or excitement or adventure or whatever you wanted to call it.  He put Neil on auto pilot and relaxed.  The last couple weeks had been hard, and sleep hadn’t come easy. He had been having the old dreams again. He had hoped that they would go away but he had been having the same dreams, albeit infrequently for almost 7 years now.  The dream came just as it always did. He was right in the middle of action. But not in a ship, no he was on the ground fighting in the trenches.  Skip also had recurring dreams of being one of The Prime. The Prime were an elite and all around group of bad asses who only went after the most dangerous of criminals.  Skip knew immediately that something was off. He was an Original. An Original is someone who’s family never had DNA alterations. So he was 100% human. No implants, no nothing. But The Prime were augmented with all the latest technology and god knew what else. He could feel The Face looking on him. And The Face would hardly look at him in his normal waking life, but in his dreams as one of The Prime of course The Face would look in on him.  The Face is an “all seeing and all knowing” machine that does many things but one of it’s essential functions is data collection. The Face is kind of like what people once called the Internet but The Face was as Big Brother as you could get. The Face knew everything about everything. This is what Perfectus wanted you to believe anyway.  The Perfectus was the lone ruler of the known universe and the only one who was immune to the The Face’s influence.  But all of this is common knowledge to… Well everyone.  Humans have advanced considerably ever since 2203 when Elix was invented. A small does of Elix can bring you back even from the brink of death and is also an anti aging agent. So humans basically found the fountain of youth for real in 2203. Although somewhat common now, in the early days only the super elite could afford, or gain access to Elix.  But all of this is common knowledge to… Well everyone.  In his dream a huge explosion knocked him back and seeing stars he fell to the ground.  “… Skip… you have to… with us… meet us at location…” He finally came to but his comms were all jacked up and he could barely hear anything.  Shit. He thought to himself. What now? And not only that what in the holy fuck can just knock around one of The Prime??  A Triker that’s what.  Trikers are a very powerful alien race from… somewhere he couldn’t remember exactly where at the moment his head was still spinning.  “Hello human”.  An interesting thing about Trikers is that they have no mouths. So the damn thing was sending messages directly TO his brain, no help from his ears thank you very much.  “I come to you in peace… For now, anyway, human. We must talk, for both our lives depend on it”.  “Yeah yeah. Like that’s going to happen. Our kind catch or kill one another as often as we can.” Skip said aloud. “So you can go suck on a Cryo Chamber floor.”  He then willed himself to wake up. He didn’t like this dream. Something about it was too real.  Slowly he came back to waking life.  “Fucking Trikers I hate all of them”. Skip said.  Skip had a habit of talking to his ship. Space travel can get pretty boring and lonely and Neil was an old friend he trusted. His ship knew more about him than anyone.  “I could have done without having that dream. This is a pretty important mission, not as bad as Cap would lead me to believe, but I need to stay focused either way… What do you think about it Neil”? He asked.  But only silence answered.  To be continued.


November 21, 2022 I’ve got a theory I don’t like. What if there’s a very real chance that the powered flyby we’re doing today could have something go wrong with it. Alarms sounding, the ship burning too slow and falling ever closer to the lunar surface, or burning too hard or too long and flinging Orion, and just as importantly me, on a course out towards deep space. What if NASA did yesterday’s training just on the off chance they needed to get me a little used to alarms going off, and following Mark’s instructions? That’s a big part of my thinking as I make my final preparations before the burn. The moon’s getting really big, really quickly, enough so that there’s actually the impression of “falling” towards it - which is super cool. The most dramatic part or the burn ends up being the view. I’m only 80 nautical miles away at the closest and it’s literally right there. After seeing the moon as a thumb sized ball your whole life when you’re this close it really looks like you could just jump down. I’m going to lose radio contact with NASA as I pass into the lunar shadow and can hear the smile in Mark’s voice when he wishes me a safe 2 hours 36 minutes of radio silence. He had a joke in mind but decided not to say it. It’s a long time to just sit and feel like you’re alone. I’d never really thought of space as “lonely” but there it is. Basically, since day 2 of this mission I’ve been further away from any other human being than anyone has ever been. On the far side of the moon, radio to Earth blocked, it is like being lost at sea. The view keeps me occupied for about a half hour. I take a look for Webb, not that I expect to see it. The James Webb space telescope is, on any pen and paper diagram of the earth and moon, just a few inches further off beyond the moon from earth. In practice that’s more thousands of miles than I can see. But still, it’s “right there”. I eat a Skor bar, using my precious - only get one set in my adult life - teeth to grind caramel and sugar into small enough chunks for me to swallow. And then I read a book. It only half helps. Starship Troopers is an interesting read though - especially when contrasted with the movie. Should people have to demonstrate a willingness to put the collective good ahead of their individual benefits in order to vote? Or are we all on this ship of state together and so it’s important for everyone to get a say in its operations? 2 hours 35 minutes later and the master alarm hasn’t gone off, and I’ve got radio back. NASA’s crunching the numbers to see how it went, but they seem happy with heir first set of readings. “We’ve got a good insertion Alex!” Mark’s got a gentle drawl, like his tongue is in no real hurry to get the words out. “You watching the video upload from radio shadow? The moon looks amazing. I half expected to spot Webb.” I leave out the intentional self-distraction. I can hear the engineers buzzing in the background of the radio. It sounds like each and every single one of them just got a promotion, a bonus, and a text from a crush telling them that they loved them. “Hell Alex, between you and me, right this second, I’m jealous as hell of you,” Mark said. Ouch, that hurt. I honestly thought I deserved this. It was all I’d ever wanted since I was a little damn kid. I’d spent my summers at high school at science camps and dreaming about space, I’d gotten a damn degree in aerospace engineering with damn honors, I’d given NASA three years of my life working for them instead of founding a tech start-up (btw. It would have been called Clarity. An online science repository where studies are organized and cross posted and tracked by topic. Say coffee. You open the entry, and the first thing is the most compelling meta analysis of coffee’s overall health effects, then sub articles about its most significant individual effects. Someone writes a new study about coffee increasing the risk of colorectal disease? It has to “beat” the other studies already up about that in order to get posted. The idea is, you want the state of the art on coffee and you’ve got the top articles right there, and you can zoom in with greater and greater detail revealing more, and more, niche studies, but all of them the leading ones. Science “news” can happen when something in that top line changes.) Anyways… I hadn’t done that. Instead, I’d tried for this. And I got a form letter saying that unfortunately, due to the “keen interest in the astronaut program, many well-qualified applicants such as myself,” didn’t get in. But Moonikin did? An empty seat on the one trip I ever wanted to take. I did, honestly, think I deserved it. Now all I can think about is how Mark must feel exactly the same way, except he got even closer. Yet here I am, and there he is. I cheated and got what he wanted. Everyone at NASA must feel like that. I’m such an asshole. I give things a few hours back at NASA to calm down. They’d be having champagne and enjoying the win. Mission control might not even be too crowded. “Mark?” “Yeah, how’s it go’in up there buddy?” He didn’t sound like he’d been drinking. Probably on shift. I couldn’t hear much in the background anymore. “Can you do me a favor? I’m going to need a lawyer for when I get back. Think you could find me someone?” There’s a long pause at that. “NASA wants to keep you being up there kind of close to the chest for the time being. This is kind of their moment in the sun, and they’d rather not have clouds right now.” “Yeah… No problem.” If NASA were asking for a favor, I definitely owed them a few billion. “Hey, look on the bright side. So far the mission’s been going off without a hitch. You’re due a mission glitch, and maybe it saves you the worry of a trial.” The funny thing about the radio, if you say something, then cringe at having said it, the person on the other line will have a hard time knowing. I very much heard Mark cringe. He must have had a couple of glasses of champagne after all. But hey, I don’t believe in bad luck or jinxes. You hear that God? I dare you to do something to me! Smite me! See? Still alive and unsmitten. Smitted. Whatever, I’m an engineer not a linguist. Still… I’d kind of deserve it. \*\*\* I’m Nathan H. Green, a science-fiction writer with a degree in aerospace engineering, and I’m going to be doing daily semi-fictional stories tracking the Artemis I mission. You can follow along through my reddit (u/authornathanhgreen). *Artemis I Has A Stowaway* is a work of semi-fiction. All incidents, events, dialogue and sentiments (which are not part of the mission’s official history), are entirely fictional. Where real historical figures appear, the situations, incidents, sentiments, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events, personality, disposition, or attitudes of the real person, nor to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. Save the above, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. © 2022 Nathan H.


It was the first Saturday of the summer, and the skies of Obsidian Springs were completely cloudless. The sun was beginning to peek its head from behind the summit of the volcano that loomed over the island city, creating rays of light and heat that slowly overcame the land and left an array of endless skyscraper shadow patterns in their wake. Small cafes and diners were packed with locals who were out welcoming in the sunny season, while the city’s infamous “Skyline Beach” was flooded with tourists taking pictures of the city from every angle imaginable. Although the view of the city was nothing short of awe-inspiring, it still placed second on the list of sights visitors looked forward to getting a glimpse of during their stay on the island. “Mommy, daddy! I wanna see him! When can we see him?” A blond haired boy shouted, taking a break from the several small sand structures he had been working on. “It’s not up to us, bud. He comes when he’s needed.” Responded the father, who was sunbathing with his face buried into his towel. “We will not be seeing him!” The boy's mother angrily interjected. “The second I hear even a peep about one of those hideous creatures lurking anywhere near this city, we’re getting our things and going straight back to the hotel.” “Awwwwwww, come on! No fair!” Whined the boy. “That’s enough!” The mother snapped back. “Relax, babe.” the father said nonchalantly. “It’s not a big deal. There hasn’t been a serious incident in over a year. The guys a pro! You really want the kid to miss out on the chance of seeing a real life superhero?” “Red Orion is the coolest!” Shouted the boy, who was now sitting down on a towel, shuffling his hands around the inside of a small red and white backpack. “I said that’s enough! I refuse to put my family in danger just to see some reckless psychopath in a halloween costume jump around the city and-” “REEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!” The boy screeched, interrupting his mother’s speech. The boy stood up, still screeching, and began running around in circles. He held two action figures in his hands and waved each of them in the air. The first figure was a large, black, demonic dinosaur, with streaks of orange and red running up and down it’s entire body. It had spikes which resembled flames running all the way down its back to the tip of its tail. The second was a smaller, much brighter humanoid figure. It was painted almost entirely red, other than two white stripes that ran along each of its arms and legs, white shoulder pads, and a white belt wrapped around its waist with a matching “O” for a belt buckle. The figure's arms were pulled up and bent to it’s shoulders in a flexing position, and the top half of its face was covered in a red helmet. The muscular man smiled brightly. The boy bent down on one knee and began pouncing the dinosaur up and down into the sand while holding the red figure behind his back. “Oh no! A giant Eruptaur is attacking the city! Everybody run!” The boy shouted frantically. He took a moment to plant his knee firmly into the sand before flopping himself down onto his stomach in a dramatic fashion. He reached his arm back behind his head as far as he could extend it, took a deep breath, and swung it forward with all of his might, furiously crashing the toy monster into the sand structures he had built. “It’s destroying the city! Somebody help us!” The boy yelled. His mother shook her head in disappointment while his father buried his face back into his towel. The boy smashed the sand structures until there was nothing left for him to smash. He bellowed out one more ear-piercing screech before taking a moment to catch his breath. He paused for a moment, and then began to wipe several imaginary tears from his eyes. “The city is ruined.. All hope is lost.. I can’t believe it.. We need-” He gasped suddenly. His cheeks began to rise as he pulled the bright red figure out from behind his back and lifted it towards the sky. “Could it be?” He whispered. “Finally.. He’s here! It’s…” *** “Shield?” “Check.” “Club?” “Check.” “Bow?” “Check.” “With the arrows this time?” “Check.” “Check.” “Wait, what?” “Double check to make sure you have the damn arrows.” “Arrows - Check.” “Binoculars.” “Check.” “No, gimme the binoculars.” “Oh. Here.” The two men sat together on a rooftop on the far west end of the city. They faced outward towards the large volcano to the east with their legs dangling over the edge of the roof. The smell of the island's coastal swamp crept up from behind them and masked the stench of the piles of trash bags that lined up along the sidewalks below them. Pedestrians looked like ants crawling up and down the streets beneath their feet. Vince Varsity, better known to the public by his heroic alias “Red Orion”, was the larger of the two men. He wore a bright red, skin tight tactical jumpsuit, modified with built in white shoulder pads, white lining along his arms and legs, and a white belt with a matching “O” for a belt buckle. Known to the world as the savior of the city, Red Orion looked like he was ripped straight out of a comic book. He held the binoculars up to his face and aimed them out towards the volcano. “Where are ya, ya little fuckers?” He mumbled. “It’s still early.” The second man said, noticeably annoyed. He was a much younger and smaller man, although he barely qualified as a “man” in Vince’s eyes. He was known to the world as Red Orion’s trusty sidekick “Blue Belt”, but to the few who knew him personally, he was simply known as Billy. Unlike Vince, Billy held no extraordinary abilities. He couldn’t outrun a bullet, or kick a building down, or turn an Eruptaur into a pile of ash with one single punch. Although he was only human, what Billy lacked in physical prowess was made up for in wit, intuition, and his inherent desire to save people in trouble. In order to keep up with the world’s mightiest man and save as many people as he could, Billy was equipped with state of the art anti-gravity technology from head to toe. Anti-gravity gloves, boots, and a gravity pack attached to his back all allowed him to manipulate himself or his surrounding environment freely. A small motherboard strapped to his wrist allowed him to control all of his gadgets with ease. He wore a royal blue jumpsuit that was littered with pockets and straps, which were all used to carry Red Orion’s lethal arsenal. He went around his body and tightened each strap one by one, securing every weapon in its place. He knew an attack could happen at any moment, and he needed to be ready to back up his superior. “Mornings are always pretty quiet. What’s the rush?” Billy asked hesitantly. “Yeah, but they’re never this quiet. We haven’t seen a single one all day. I wanna kill something!” “It’s the first day of summer, man. The city is the safest it’s been in months. Everybody’s out enjoying the weather, you should be glad!” “Fuck that! My job isn’t to care about any of those people. My job is to hunt and kill. That’s it.” “Jeez, tell me how you really feel.” Billy scoffed. Vince stood up and pulled the binoculars away from his face. He placed his hand above his eyes to block the sun from blinding his view and averted his attention downward towards the city. “You know what your problem is, Billy?” Vince asked crudely. “You care way too much about those insects down there.” Billy stared at him blankly and didn't respond. “What's the point in caring for a bug?” “They’re not bugs. They’re people.” Billy objected. “Maybe that means somethin’ to you, but it’s all the same to guys like me.” “Guys like you? What’s that supposed to mean?” “Billy, when a mosquito sneaks up behind you and buzzes around your ear, what's your first instinct?” “What does that have to do with-” “Answer the question!” Shouted Vince, who was now squating on the edge of the rooftop. “I swipe my hand at it.” “Exactly! And why do you swipe at it?” Billy paused again, unsure of how to respond. He knew whatever he said would be challenged, so he decided to say nothing. “Because it’s a nuisance, and it’s weak enough for you to know that you can kill it with ease. If you swipe at it and miss, maybe it’ll fly away. But you’re not gonna chase it down and break your back just to get another shot at swattin’ it down. You’ll forget about it in 30 seconds, and eventually somebody else will have to deal with it. And maybe that person will get lucky and land a hit. And maybe they’ll kill it! But it doesn’t make a difference whether it lives or dies. Because for every one mosquito that dies, there's a trillion more to take its place.” “What the hell are you saying? You’d kill a bunch of people because their lives don’t matter?” “Not a chance. Sure, I could kill a bunch of people if I wanted to, but I don’t. Because I don’t care enough about these weak little bugs to chase em down with a fly swatter.” “So then why do you care so much about killing Eruptaurs? They’re even bigger nuisances than people are. They cause destruction and chaos. They kill people!” “So do humans. They’re just not as fun to fight.” Vince said smugly before letting out a soft chuckle. “That’s a real shitty way of viewing life.” Said Billy sternly. “Well, that’s why I’m the hero and you’re the sidekick.” Billy scoffed and turned away from Vince. He walked over to the other side of the rooftop overlooking the smelly swampland and sat down on the edge. Heat from the sun rising behind him pressed down onto his back, which made him feel comfortable. He concentrated on his breathing as he tried to push Vince’s pessimistic comments out of his mind. His eyes wandered through the marsh aimlessly for a few moments before focusing themselves on a large patch of sawgrass. He watched the tall blades sway side to side with each gust of wind that came and went, and tried to match his breathing with them. He remained hypnotized by the marsh for several minutes before being interrupted by a faint, yet noticeable vibration from beneath him. His neck turned swiftly to face Vince, who was already looking at him. “Did you-” “Yeah, I felt it.” Vince interjected. “Did it come from inside the building? Maybe somebody just slammed a door.” “What? Were you sleeping or something? The whole city just shook!” Billy stood up and jogged over to Vince. He grabbed the binoculars from Vince’s hand and aimed them at the volcano. “Vince, you don’t think..” “There's no way. HQ would have briefed us weeks ago if there was a chance of her erupting like that.” “Maybe an earthquake then?” Billy said, as he lowered the binoculars from his face and slipped them into one of his pockets. “Seriously? An earthquake? Don’t be an idiot. When was the last time we had an earthquake here in-” Obsidian Springs interrupted Vince with another shake, this one presenting itself in a much more aggressive manner than its predecessor. The building they stood upon rumbled and shook with a might strong enough to knock Billy straight off his feet. His legs kicked out in front of him causing him to fall straight backwards. He managed to catch himself by throwing his hands down to his hips and flexing his wrists, which was the motion he used to quickly activate his gravity gloves. He propelled himself forward and quickly caught his balance. The ground continued to rumble and showed no signs of stopping. Screams began echoing throughout the city below them as the quake continued to intensify. “This building isn’t stable. If this shaking doesn’t let up it’ll come down any minute. We gotta get movin’.” Vince ordered. “But what about the people inside!?” “Insects get squashed all the time, Billy! Now let’s go!” “No!” Billy shouted. He tapped the screen on his wrist and activated his gravity boots to their inverted mode, making his feet stick to the roof like they were super glued to it. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you help these people!” “Quit fuckin’ around Billy, let’s go!” “I’m not leaving!” Vince paused for a moment and stared at Billy. His palms balled themselves into fists and his eyebrows pointed downward towards his nose. He let out a furious groan. “Fuckin dammit Billy!’ He shouted, before turning around and stepping onto the edge of the roof. “I’m gonna get everybody out. I need you to get higher up in the air and get a better view of the city. Try to see if you can figure out what’s causin’ all this shit.” Before Billy even had a chance to nod his head, Vince was gone. A red streak of energy lingered in the air for several seconds before disappearing. Vince loved to show off his flashy speed, but he normally only used it while fighting. Although he was stressed, Billy was relieved that Vince was finally using his power to help people. For once in his life, Red Orion was acting like a real hero. Without hesitating any longer, Billy activated his gravity pack and began flying upward into the sky. He aimed himself east and flew closer to the middle of the city in attempts to get the best view possible. He climbed higher and higher into the clouds, using the summit of the volcano as his waypoint. Once he reached his preferred height, he stopped climbing and pulled the binoculars out again. He pointed them towards the building he had just been standing on and was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Vince carrying out the final residents of the soon-to-be toppled apartment complex. He let out a sigh of relief and whispered “Thanks, Red Orion.” From there, he aimed his sights downward toward the middle of the city. He watched as the ground below him continued to shake. People were running and screaming in fear as they all looked for a safe place to shelter themselves. He zipped open one of his chest pockets and pulled out a small headset and placed it on his head. “Vince, can you hear me?” He spoke into the headset worrily. “I hear ya. See anything?” Vince’s muffled voice replied. “Not really. It’s chaos down there, though.” “Yeah, no shit. Notice anything weird up there? Any suspicious choppers or blimps or anything like that?” “Not that I see. It’s pretty-” Billy paused. Finally, after adjusting his focus to the sky, he noticed it. A warm, dull, purple glow emitting from the top of the volcano. “The hell?” He whispered, as he pulled his binoculars back up to his eyes. “What? What is it?” Vince’s voice shot through the headset. Billy floated and continued staring, but he didn’t respond. His eyes and mind remained focused on the volcano’s crater. “Billy! Hello? Can ya hear me? What the fuck’s goin’ on up there!?” Billy snapped out of it and dropped the binoculars down to his side. “I.. I don’t even know how to say it. The volcano, it’s.. It’s glowing.” “Glowing? What do you mean it’s glowing?” “I mean it’s glowing! The top is-” CRAAAAAAAAAAACK-ABOOOOM! A thunderous explosion roared throughout every inch of the city. Car alarms began sounding off, pedestrian screams reached an entirely new level, and every dog in the city was howling to the skies. Billy let out a stressful “Shit!” as he pulled the binoculars back up to his eyes. He pointed them to the top of the volcano again, expecting it to be spewing boulders of fire, but saw no change. The crater was still emitting a soft purple glow, but it remained peaceful. It wasn’t until he aimed his sights downward when he officially began to panic. A horrifically thick crack, starting at the very base of the volcano, had begun to race across the entire city. He watched as the ground beneath him ripped wide open, completely separating the city in half. Clouds of smoke began to leak from the depths of the earth, turning the city into a soot ridden wasteland. “Vince! Are you okay!? Where are you!?” “ECK - ECK - ECK!” Vince coughed. “Fuck this fuckin’ smoke!” “We gotta do something! What do we do, Vince!? We gotta make sure everybody down there-” “Billy, just hold on for a second! Get back on the ground.” Billy stopped and took a deep breath. He tapped his wrist and began to slowly descend from the sky into the smokey city. He placed his hand over his nose and mouth in efforts to avoid breathing in too much smoke. He was semi pleased to note the ground had finally stopped shaking when he landed, but that didn’t make his current situation any better. “Vince, where are you? I can’t see 5 feet in front of me.” “Just shut up for a second!” Vince barked. “Do you hear that?” “Yeah, every car alarm in the city is going off. What does that-” “No, not that! From below us. It sounds like..” Billy’s eyes widened as he realized what Vince was hearing. “Hissing.” He mumbled to himself. He jumped up and thrusted his arms downward, projecting himself up into the air as quickly as he could. He watched as a monstrous jaw snapped shut just an inch shy of his foot. An Eruptaur had nearly turned him into it’s lunch. “REEEEEAAAAAAAGGHHH!” The beast cried from directly below him, hopping up and down in attempts to catch his foot in it’s death grip jaw. “Eruptaurs!” Billy cried into his headset. “NO SHIT BILLY!” Screamed Vince. “I’m gonna get rid of all this fuckin smoke, take cover!” “I’m goin up!” Billy replied, as he soared back up above the smoke. Watching from above, he could finally see where Vince was. He watched in awe as the red energy streak zipped up and down the entire city within seconds. The wind Vince was creating with his speed caused the smoke to lift up and drift out towards the heavens. “That should do the trick.” Said Vince, who was now perched on top of a towering gray and white skyscraper. But with one problem solved, another presented itself in a much clearer, menacing fashion. The two men watched motionlessly, feeling as though they were frozen in time, as dozens of Eruptaurs clawed themselves out of the crack in the ground and began flooding the streets of the city.