Fragmented

Chapter Nine

The tension in the air after Professor Red's statement was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Light broke the silence after a moment.

"Hold up. So you're telling us that an ancient Steve from our world found a way into this world and is currently killing the inhabitants?!"

"That's what I said, yes," he said calmly.

"How do you know this, Professor?"

"Look at the grayness and withering of his skin. The locked joints. The liquid that's oozing out of his mouth. Especially the liquid. This looks like the work of someone with a much greater amount of power than the Steve from the past had when he was still wreaking havoc on our world. He's gone now, thank Origin, but whoever this is is clearly more dangerous. Someone like the First Curse." He pulled out the small vial of glowing purple sludge from the portal and held it up for them to see. "The two look exactly the same."

Everyone leaned closer to the dead man, and Sabre realized the Professor was right. They were extremely similar. But that would mean...

"Great. Another enemy," Time sighed. "One more problem to add to our growing list. When will it ever end?"

"I don't know man, but it's probably not anytime soon," Sabre said. "We should get going. M's starting to turn blue from the cold- er, purple, I guess."

"Right. Let's get going," Ryan said. The group continued on past the still corpses to two cars parked on the side of the road. Lucas fished his keys out of his coat pocket and unlocked his car. The headlights from the silver car lit up and it honked, scaring the Steves. Light pointed his spear at the vehicle, the Professor yelped and hid behind M who was petrified with fear, and Time had his powers at the ready as he shifted into a defensive position.

"Hey! Hey, it's okay! It's just a car!" Sabre exclaimed. "It won't hurt you."

"W-why did it do t-that?!" M stuttered, clearly terrified.

"It does that to show that it's unlocked and you can get in," Sabre explained. "No harm there, right?"

"Wait, we're getting in that thing?!" Light said, gesturing to the vehicle with his spear. "Why?!"

"It'll take us to my house," Lucas said. He looked at Sabre. "Did you seriously not tell them about cars?"

"It's not something that normally comes up in conversation," Sabre said to him, then continued to calm the rattled Steves. "Lucas and Ryan are going to drive their cars to Lucas' house, and we're going to ride with them." Sabre fumbled for an explanation for a moment. "Imagine a big minecart, but it's enclosed, can move really fast, and it goes by itself. Someone needs to guide it though, so that it doesn't veer off the road. It's perfectly safe, trust me. They're both good drivers."

Light still looked wary, but the other Steves were curious. Time and M slowly creeped closer, but Professor Red ran up to it and immediately began studying the paint job and feeling along the grooves of the door, forgetting how cold he was in an instant.

"Fascinating..." he mumbled. "What a sleek contraption... very aerodynamic. What a brilliant invention." He peered through the window as everyone chuckled quietly. "Hm... tinted glass, clever... so many controls..." He looked back at Sabre, Lucas, and Ryan. "May I take a look inside this fantastic device later? Just to see exactly how it works."

"Uh... no?" Lucas said. The Professor's enthusiasm deflated a little at that, but he perked up again at Lucas' next sentence. "I can maybe take you to the abandoned junkyard a few miles from my property at one point, though. You can poke through whatever you want there. Now we gotta get going."

"Oh, thank you!" Professor Red said earnestly, clasping his hands together. "You won't regret your decision!"

Sabre leaned over and whispered in Lucas' ear. "You'll probably regret it."