A World Split In Two

Chapter 19: More Androids?

"What is that?!" Mike asked, pointing at what was really in the center of the small, metal walled room.

"That, my friend is ahh..." Sam started. "Well you see it's obviously a... yeah I got nothing." What really rested in the middle of the room was a huge metal statue of a... bear? "Perhaps my dramatic moment was falsely spent."

"Sounds about right--Hey, perhaps your uncle is from Chicago?" Mike suggested, now rather puzzled on why the room's sole object was a metal bear.

"No," Sam replied flatly, apparently not impressed with Mike's sense of humor.

"Oh ok.... I was just wondering, you know.. because of the huge metal bear and all?" Mike said, apparently not realizing that a joke loses all of its worth when you have to explain it.

"Well, I guess it's settled then," Sam complained, ignoring Mike's comedic fail. "We are going to die in here, or get eaten by savage amphibians. And all my uncle has in this stinking room is a giant dumb statue of a bear." Obviously Sam also was not from Chicago.

"I assure you sir that I am no dumb statue of a bear."

"Mike I have no time for your games. I'm busy starving to death," Sam complained miserably. "And wasting our air in the rudest of ways--your welcome.

"Ah... I didn't say anything," Mike replied.

"Well, then who did?" Sam asked now rather upset. "The herd of evil frogs? Or maybe the cold lifeless metal walls?"

"And you said I was dumb," continued the voice.

"I think that bear just talked!" Mike exclaimed.

"The boy is correct," agreed the bear who now stood up on his hind legs, doing some kind bow like gesture, to the sound of some metal bits screeching. "I am at your service, master Samuel."

"Oh great then!" Sam choked, sounding just a little insane.

"Indeed..." the bear agreed. A few minutes passed of the kids staring at the metal bear in shock, and the bear staring back, perhaps wondering if they were statues, before finally asking, "Is there anything you would like me to do then? Although don't get me wrong I am just as satisfied standing here, while you rudely waste each other's air, if that is what you would prefer," he informed, looking, and sounding, completely serious--Well as serious as a talking metal bear could be.

Sam didn't reply, for he was still too busy staring at the bear in shock. Finally Mike elbowed him. "Ohh right," Sam announced, shaking himself out of a daze. "Why don't... you know--GET US OUT OF HERE!?"

"As you wish, Sir," agreed the bear as he transformed into a seven--maybe eight--foot tall metal man, with a tinted blue metal suit, and a metal head, complete with long dreadlocks, and a thick beard. All of which, of course, were also made of shiny silver metal, and blue tinted highlights. Then to Mike's great horror, he noticed that one of the man's hands was a huge saw. A huge saw that was already starting to spin.

"SAM!" Mike shouted. "I THINK YOU SHOULD SPECIFY HOW YOU WISH TO LEAVE!"

This luckily brought Sam's attention to the giant saw as well. "Oh yes mister bear man!? We would like our souls and our bodies to leave. Not just our souls... if that wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"Ohh," the man muttered, appearing to be caught off guard, now staring down at his saw hand as well, as it's blade came to a stop. "You didn't think I would... kill... you, did you? For I would never hurt a master like that. You mistake me for the traitorous Genie that looks for any opportunity to kill his master. Or perhaps those nasty, word tricky, giants."

"Then what's the saw for?" Mike asked, still not totally believing him.

"Obviously to cut us out of this metal cage that I have been trapped in for the last thirty years," explained the bear, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now could you please stand back?"

The boys eagerly did as they were told, and watched as the metal man sawed a hole in the door, turned back into a bear, and charged out of the room crushing all the now helpless killer frogs in the process.

"Where were you when Bones was attacking?" Sam asked, once outside the bunker, trying to avoid stepping on dead frog guts in his already damaged Vans.

"As I told you before Samuel, I was trapped in a room for the past three decades. And I believe you hit your head a tad too hard on the fall into my prison, as bones are in-animated whitish tissue, making up your skeleton. The adult human skeleton is made up of exactly two hundred and six, most of which are located in your hands and-- "

"Ugh, just forget it," Sam ordered, not in the mood for a health class lesson.

Mike sighed, hoping this guy didn't turn out to be a medical android.

"--Even if I could erase something from my memory, my duty to you was fulfilled when I released you," informed the bear as he turned back into a human.

"Wait, I only get one wish!?" Sam asked, now rather confused.

"Yes, but only because you seem a bit too... much for me to continue working with. Although technically speaking I granted three wishes for you. I freed you, killed the savage amphibians, and did it all without killing you. You should be glad I bundled it all into a combo for you. A lesser android may not have done as much." With that he threw both boys out of the basement and then jumped all the way up the ten foot wall like it was the easiest thing in the world. Next to sweeping and wiping down tables of course.

The boys landed on the surface flat on their butts which was kind of embarrassing since the entire group of kids was standing there watching them. "Where have you guys been? Bob came back over twenty minutes ago!" Jane asked, sounding a bit worried, but mostly just irritated.

"Oh we were just getting attacked by mutant animals," Mike said flatly, as if it was something that happened every day. Which he supposed in all fairness, it kind of did.

"Oh, is that all then?"

"Na... We also met a friendly neighborhood metal bear that can also turn into a metal human," he explained laughing at the idea of it. Perhaps this was not the wisest choice.

"Ooo, where is he?" asked one of the younger kids.

"He is just being ridiculous," Jane sighed, glaring at Mike as if to tell him not to get them all worked up.

"Oh really," said the metal man materializing from thin air. This caused all the kids to jump back, and a few to even pull out random laser guns. (Note to self, never throw a surprise party for post-apocalypse survivors.) "Oh there is no need for that," the man continued sucking all the weapons to his hand. "My name is Dominic. The One and Only Transformable Android, at your service."

"Wow," Bob exclaimed, "Good thing you guys went in the basement."

"Yeah, now we have a big scary guy who can take all our weapons at any given time," one of the younger kids complained.

"I assure you, I come in peace," reassured Dominic.

"That's what the aliens said," said someone else, but quickly stopped talking when another kid told him that the aliens just came and started attacking right away.

"Excuse me aliens? As in extraterrestrials?" Dominic asked.

"Yeah, where have you been for the last twenty years?" Jane asked, as both Mike and Sam smacked their heads in annoyance.

"For the last thirty years I have been trapped in my masters basement," Dominic informed them while Sam and Mike both lip-sank it having heard it a good twenty times. "Why have I missed something? Please tell me cheesy teen musicals are no longer a thing?"

"Um.... What now?" While Jane and the rest of the kids were busy filling Dominic in on everything he missed--and everything he apparently didn't--the boys took this as a great chance to sneak off to work on their secret project with some of the supplies they found in the basement.  

Well, it's been a while but what the heck lets give it a go! As always don't forget to vote, but (more importantly) tell me what you think : ). All feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for reading--H.G.