Chapter 14: A Lot Of Weird Goo?
Zack awoke floating in some sort of weird, gel filled, capsule. Wait what!? Immediately he tried pounding on the glass like any person with half a brain would do. (Really though if you only had a half a brain you would only be able to use the other half of your body).
Strangely, despite that he was entirely submerged, he could still breath? It was a weird sort of breathing and he ended up inhaling the gel, only to exhale it through his nose. It burnt, but not horribly, and the tingling sensation was rather calming. Even still he tried pounding again and luckily this time a figure came over to see what the commotion was. It was not only until the figure was within two feet from his capsule that it could be recognized as Jane. Jane just waved at him and started laughing, at least it looked like laughing, it was hard to hear in the red, gelled-filled capsule. Zack didn't know what was apparently so funny--aside from the streams of gel streaming from his nostrils. Obviously it had to be more amusing than his snot streams though, as Jane really seemed quite amused. He just couldn't figure out what it was.... Well, until he looked down that was, and noticed that he was only wearing a bright red speedo?!
Zack didn't have any comment to that, he was too busy wondering how he ended up in a speedo. He decided he didn't want to know.
"Let me out already," Zack screamed, after a few minutes of the humiliation went by, wishing for the torture to end. Sadly all that came out was Lt e ut arey, which of course amused her even more. He tried this a few more times but still no luck. Finally Jane disappeared but returned shortly after with a short red scaly thing. Although it could have been anything being that red goop was corrupting his eyes.
For the next few minutes he just stared at them in annoying silence, watching them say things he couldn't hear. Jane and the red thing exchanged some confused looking gestures, and the figure tried typing a few things on a computer. When nothing happened the figure just shrugged, and to Zack's great horror pulled a random SWORD off the nearest table. Holding the sword above its head, the creature charged, aiming straight at Zack's own head!?
Some say that your entire life flashes before your eyes before you die, but your life is too long usually for that to happen, and anyone that could say otherwise is... well, obviously dead. So naturally this renders the saying false. Well, unless you have a screen showing you a super speed life slideshow, which is pretty rare to find, and is only offered in the highest class hospitals. Due to the fact that Zack didn't have one of these, he had to settle for screaming. Lots, and lots, of inaudible screaming. Leading to him inhaling mouthfuls of the red goo.
The red demon's sword went straight through the glass, slicing through the gel, and heading straight towards Zack's head, faster than he could dodge it. But instead of continuing its terribly evil path--well if swords could have good or bad paths that is--it stopped just barely poking his nose before slamming all the way down the capsule, cutting a clean line right down the center. Now usually when glass gets a cut down its center it explodes shooting shards everywhere. This... was exactly what happened.
The destruction of the capsule led to the weird gel spraying everywhere, but unlike normal liquids and semi liquids that would have moved along the floor, this particular stuff floated up to the ceiling like bubbles in water. Without his magic gel and capsule Zack landed on the, now glass covered, floor to be greeted by a now gel covered Jane, along with her new crazy friend.
Jane was about to say something but the other figure beat her to it. "Wow. It actually worked!?" said the red thing a little too surprised for Zack's comfort. "We never had a chance to try the Xhert Chamber on a human before. I'll have to mark that down in the ship's log. Unfortunately the voice activated, convenient one, was patented, so I'll have to get the old tablet back out."
"WAIT WHAT!?"
"I know right!" agreed the red... thing. "HollyWood, am I right? Half the original cast died twenty years ago and they're still making films. And hanging on to old trade marks! Lightsabers are cooler, get used to it."
"Um..." Zack stared between Jane and her four foot tall, four armed, scaly creature, with a very long horizontal head, blankly.
"Or was your very dramatic 'WAIT WHAT!?' not your way of sympathizing with my grievances with HollyWood as well as certain Sci-Fi TV series from the late sixties? questioned the creature
"What?! No! I couldn't care less about your issues with Star Trek!" Zack sighed wondering why everything had to be so hard. "No. My very dramatic 'WAIT WHAT!?' was my way of screaming about how Jane let you experiment on me!"Just my luck I would have woken up looking like you!" Zack explained to the, now rather offended looking creature.
"I'll have you know I have a P. H. A. R. T. in quantum physics, and spent six years on Uranus studying mysterious gasses," said the scaly man proudly, apparently not realizing how ridiculous that sounded.
"--Zack, this is Vockreel," Jane quickly interjected, perhaps trying to avoid further miscommunication. "But you can just call him Voc," she continued, ignoring that Zack was trying very hard not to laugh. "He luckily spotted me trying to climb down from the hotel room they trapped me in, right as I was losing my grip, and beamed me up into his ship. Really it was rather convenient."
"Ok, but with all due respect.... What are you? And what kind of a name is Vokral?" Zack finally asked. He knew that after Jeff Harris disappeared, that some other countries started working on genetic engineering as well, super soldiers mostly. He also knew that few turned out as planned. This comment earned him a punch in the arm from Jane, either upset that he didn't act more surprised about her near death experience, or just because he was a very stupid person. Really though she couldn't blame him for his curiosity, just because the odd short red man seemed friendly enough now, and just because he saved Jane earlier, did not necessarily mean he was friendly. After all, Bones' punks saved them from the Excript, and that didn't stop them from trying to kill the trio. It didn't hurt that the creature was still holding the sword that he almost killed Zack with just minutes earlier.
"It's Vockreel actually. With E's.... Where I come from it translates to Knower of All Things...." the red creature offered only looking slightly offended.
"Oh.... Ok then well that's weird, kinda egotistical if you ask me," Zack muttered.
"No. No it is not. Besides, no one did ask you. But if you must know--Where I come from--it is a perfectly fine name," Voc argued, looking fairley offended.
"Oh? And where is it you come from?"
"Well, let's see," Voc started sarcastically, smirking slightly. "What is that four armed species that uses giant spaceships like the one we're in now?"
"Oh... OH!" Zack exclaimed as he ran towards the nearest laser gun rack. The creature just proved his point expertly.
Zack had heard of the Ralams and their evil tricks. Apparently--way back before he was around--right when the Ralams started the invasion, before anyone really knew what the Ralams really looked like, the aliens were said to have infiltrated one of the biggest cities in New York. As the story goes the crooked species claimed to be another alien species from Ares. An alien species that also hated the Ralams. Long story short they ended up learning many military secrets, as well as human vulnerabilities, followed by the explosion of the entire city itself.
Without any further delay, Zack scrambled to grab one of the smaller laser guns, knocking many others down in the process. He pointed it at the creature's head without a moment's delay, carefully hovering his finger over what he expected was the trigger.
"Oh?" replied the red man now sounding rather offended.
"Zack!" Jane scolded, her face changing to a bright shade of red.
"It's ok Miss Jane," Voc replied. "I am not like my other taller brethren Zack, and I mean you no harm. I'm technically not even a Ralam, but a much smaller cousin--"
Zack let out a slight chuckle, what a joke. The little demon was even using the same lie they used on New York's City. "Just because you're a dwarf doesn't mean you're any different from them!" He was about to shoot the little monster but Jane had to go and step in his way.
"Zack! You're being stupid, and making us look ridiculous! Voc is our friend. He hasn't done anything to harm us," she reasoned. This was true. No, not the part about the savage alien being their friend, the part about him looking ridiculous. He made a mental note to put some pants on next time before attempting to shoot a Ralam.
"Ah Jane? Are you forgetting about him nearly impaling me?! If it wasn't for gravity, I would be dead!" Ok so now he was being stupid, but just because the Ralam hadn't done anything to harm them yet, doesn't mean he wouldn't, in the very near future. Then again Jane was always the first to kick someone in the face, or shoot a giant giraffe, so maybe she did have good reasons to trust the Ralam.
The alien walked out from behind Jane, his high-tech orangy space armor glistening in the surrounding capsules red glow. "I assure you I mean you no harm..." he hesitated. "Nor am I a dwarf. Technically speaking in your English I'm known as a Relen. I'm actually the last of my kin. See while my cousins do all the fighting and military planning, I design most of the more advanced weaponry. Although with them gone I have no wish to carry out this war where no one wins. In fact, I'd like to end this frivolous fighting all together," he informed in a monotone that made him sound like he was reading from a script. Perhaps because English wasn't his first language?
The Relen did seem convincing, as did he seem intelligent enough in his role to have not just made it up on the spot. But Zack had seen many actors in movies that could do the exact same thing--if not better. "But if all the grownups disappeared and you're obviously an adult...?" Zack started. Here it comes. The alien would probably do an evil chuckle and say something like, 'Oh but you're wrong, we're all still here.' Followed by another Ralam stepping out from the shadows and stabbing Zack in the back (quite literally). He would fall on the ground, bloody and lifeless, without even getting a chance to tell Jane 'I told you so....' Zack had seen that in a movie as well.
But that's not what the Relen said. No other Ralams came from the shadows. No backstabbing occurred. And while he could tell Jane 'I told you so' there really was no reason to. Perhaps Zack's life wasn't as much like a movie as he thought--kinda a let down really.
"Yes, in fact I am far older than any of you humans, at the age of four-hundred and fifty-six earth years," the Relen explained, without an evil laugh. "But please, continue."
"Well, if you are that old shouldn't you... not be here?" Zack asked, now rather puzzled. True, now that the alien was no longer guarded by Jane, Zack should have shot him by now. But honestly the poor boy had run out of movie scenes to rely on. He kept the gun on the Ralam/Relen, just in case, annoyed to see that it didn't even appear to mind.
"Oh? Is that what you think determined who disappeared, a random number you humans use to determine rights, privileges, and duties. No, that is definitely not the case. I would be happy to explain this all to you but first I think it's only fair that we wake up your friend. And for all of our sakes, would you please put some clothes on."
* * *
A few minutes later after Voc disappeared to get Mike from the lasik eye surgery room or L. E. S. room whatever that was, Zack got dressed in a cool new dark red leather jacket and jeans. He didn't mind the clothes especially since they shrunk to his human size the second he put them on. Though the two extra sleeves did get in the way. He made a mental note to cut them off once not in the presence of an alien, not wanting to be rude for fear of incineration. He still didn't trust the creature, despite Jane's comforting theories that if he wanted to kill them he would have already.
Once he got dressed Zack met up with Jane, a still glasses-less Mike, and Voc in what looked like a pilot station overlooking Phil's hotel. Based on the pitch black sky, Zack guessed that it was either the late hours of the night, or early in the morning of the next day. He still had the laser gun with him, and Jane made a face when he walked in with it. He didn't mind. Make all the faces she liked, for all he knew the gun was the soul reason they all weren't dead.
"Zack, is the gun really necessary," Jane hissed.
"Oh, I don't mind," offered Voc. "Keep it as a souvenir. Besides, he's holding it backwards anyway ..."
Zack ground his teeth as he hurriedly flipped it around, he was about to say something--though he didn't quite know what yet--but Mike, ever the fight stopper beat him to it.
"Hey, looks like the Xhert Chamber worked," he interjected pointing down at Zack's now undamaged leg.
Zack paused, looking down at his leg in confusion, only to remember a few moments later that it had a huge gash in it last time he checked. "Oh yeah!" Zack realized. With all the chaos, and the fact that it just happened he forgot all about his injured leg, he probably should have thanked Voc.... But it was the least the alien could do after the nurmurious lives the Ralams had taken. "So is that why I was in there--Hey what happened to your glasses? They don't have anything in this techno joint that could replace them?" he asked doubtfully.
"Well, of course we don't," interrupted Voc. "Do they teach you anything in school? All Ralams are born with no eyesight, so my kind--the Relens--took pity on them and designed L. E. S. So why would we need any form of glasses? It's a sand age invention."
"Oh..." Zack muttered, so he really had the Relens to thank for the Ralams invasion, he decided to not mention it, still for fear of incineration. "So you made his eyes perfect then?"
"Yep," Mike added proudly, he too had a four armed leather jacket identical to Zack's, probably because his original shirt of choice was covered in blood. Then again he could have just been trying to start a new trend. "I never really minded them," he explained, "But it would be annoying with them continuing to break, not to mention how hard it would be to find more prescription glasses."
Zack nodded in agreement.
Mike seemed chipper, apparently he didn't find it odd that the Relen was friendly either. That or Voc threatened to incinerate Mike if he showed any signs of hostility. Zack didn't know why he was stuck on the incineration topic. His obsession with the risk of getting incinerated wasn't out of place. Ralams did occasionally use incineration rays, yes. But they were more commonly known for their gruesome melee weapons, as Voc kindly proved when he split the capsule.
"True," Zack agreed. He wondered if Voc could design him a new head... perferebly a stronger one, then again he wasn't planning on letting the creature run any more experiments on him anytime soon. "But with all due respect..." he started, turning to face Voc. "If the Relens were so smart and stuff how did they all die while the Ralams didn't?" Yeah that's right he paid attention to minor details, and it didn't matter what Jane said about it.
"Zack!" she scolded, elbowing him as they sat down at an octagon shaped table.
"What?! I said with all due respect..." he mumbled defensively.
"Oh it's really no trouble, I enjoy talking about my brethren. It keeps their memories alive," the Relen offered.
Zack sighed, followed by an over the top yawn. Jane shot an annoyed look his way but he didn't care. Was this guy serious? 'I enjoy talking about my brethren.' ?! 'It keeps their memories alive.' What a joke.... Was the Relen still talking?
"You see my kind is very fragile compared to our cousins and we need them to protect us, in return we make sure they continue to advance, like the Rhinos, and those little birds, that clean their skin."
"I'm sorry?" Mike asked, rather confused on how anything could get close to a Rhino these days, as they viciously hunted anything that did.
"Never mind, we may have accidentally wiped them from existence when we obliterated, all of Africa," he said, as one would talk about the score of a football game, earning him a few blank stares.
"Anyway... another downfall of my species is we are unable to reproduce aside from the queen who only lays one egg every one-hundred years--when Ares is closest to the sun. But to make up for our lack of heirs we live to the exact age of one-thousand Earth years. But when your kind drilled into our planet, they drilled straight into our queen and our little underground civilization. And without the Ralams to protect us--due to the fact that they were all the way on the other side of the planet, hunting some Shazes--we surely parished...."
"Wait the colonists, just killed you?" Jane asked doubtfully, perhaps wondering how her kind could bring themselves to do such a thing.... Apparently she hadn't been watching any recent news, seeing as if humans had no trouble killing their own kind, Zack doubted they would have any trouble killing a whole other species.
"Not exactly..." Voc continued. "See... being that we were enraged that they killed our queen we tried to fight against them, thinking they meant war. That also explains how this terrible war started," Voc explained somberly.
"Wow, I'm so sorry, we had no idea," Jane replied sincerely.
"Well--in all fairness--when our cousins found out, they did not really leave any survivors to explain what happened...." Voc hesitated. "Of course I tried to stop them, tried to reason that the Earthlings were young and foolish, but they wouldn't listen--But enough about that, you asked why the grownups disappeared. And the reasoning behind that is rather simple."
Zack sat up in his seat that he had begun to slouch in. Finally something useful.
"You see with all the quantum energy this planet absorbed, all its atoms just split, ripping the split version--the one we are on now--away from your old dimension.... Like in that movie from 1953... Peter Pot I believe it was called, how he ripped himself from his shadow," the alien explained, although that last part just confused the kids more. "Look," he added now standing up drawing on a big board. "This is the original dimension," he said, pointing at a bunch of little crudely drawn circles that must have represented the planets, with a larger 'Earth' in the middle. "Now this..." he said as he drew a line down the board drawing an additional circle separated from the original galaxy. "This is where we went." He pointed at the new circle. "The quantum energy created an exact replica of your planet; buildings and all." He finished up the diagram by scribbling a big Them on the first Earth and Us on the second one, followed by A World Split In Two across the top. Very poetic.
"So how did we get on this dimension then?" Jane asked, apparently understanding it more than the guys as they were still debating between each other who Peter Pot was.
"Yes. I'm so glad you asked. The simple answer is just that you have different bone structures, so when the dimension split, emitting noticeable quantum energy radiation everywhere, it resonated differently on our bone structures, causing our atoms to shift, moving us here," Voc explained as if it was kindergarten to him.
"Wait? So if we moved because we have different bone structures... and the beasts are all here..." Mike started, thinking back to all the runnins they had with monsters over the week. "Does that mean that there are no creatures in the grownups' dimension?" he asked.
"No. According to my calculations just like the buildings, trees and ground, the animals were duplicated. Being how their brains were all cut down to extinct anyway, it doesn't matter if there is a savage beast on both worlds as much as it does if there is a double of the same person.... Well, morally speaking anyway. But for those of you that might actually care about the science behind it--" Voc looked at Jane. "Technically speaking, just like us, the savage animals have different bone structures. Although theirs caused their atoms to split, creating a duplicate for this dimension."
The Relen paused, taking a breath.
"But no, that is why I want to join the dimensions again..." he continued. "Because this dimension only has Earth, and while you people might be enjoying your new lives, I on the other hand have no company and am rather bored and lonely."
Zack froze. Here it was. That manipulative *child friendly insult*. "Sorry, but that can't happen buddy. My life stunk and we don't have time for this. Our own friends are starving," Zack said now rather angry at the selfish alien. He didn't look at Jane but he hoped she understood this as well. "Now, I appreciate you saving us and fixing my leg and all but if you don't mind, I think it's time we leave."
"Hm... I suppose if that is what you wish," agreed the Relen, with only a hint of disappointment. "But it is one in the morning, how about you all get some rest and at sunrise I will give you the food and supplies you need before dropping you off at your base," the alien said in the monotone again, directing the kids back towards the main room, only sounding minorly disappointed with Zack's response.
With that he led the three to the sleeping capsules which sealed and filled with purple ooze, despite Zack's restrictions. Apparently Jane and Mike were not claustrophobic, agoraphobic, germaphobic (because who knows what slept in the capsule previously), or being-butchered-in-their-sleep-by-a-shorter-version-of-humans-arch-enemy-fobic. Leaving Zack no time to wonder how Jane's crossbow fixed itself back at the Zoo.
Hey! Thanks a lot for reading! Feel free to pop on a vote if you enjoyed! And please, please critisize me. I'm not kidding guys. Everyone's so nice and supportive on here which is really great and nice and all, but really let's hear what you don't like. What you would change, or fix. I mean really feel free to tear the whole book apart, right down to character names and comma placement. Plot holes, unclear parts, slow and boring, or not really relevent. That's the only way how I can ever make it better. Also please check out my conversation feed because I'll be asking some servey questions that I'd really love some answers to. Thanks again!
--Me