The ship woke El from a short, but deep, sleep with a quick pulse through the bench he was laying on. He yawned briefly and sat up. The ship pulsed once more, lighter this time, and El smiled. A quick look around informed him that the others were still asleep. It was interesting how long the average human took to sleep. Even odder, they didn’t seem all that concerned about that time loss.
El stood up and padded barefoot to the dashboard, where the ship had backlit a small keyboard in a soft light. As he approached, small glyphs glowed to life on the keys, and El smiled again. It had been some time since he’d seen his native language. As he reached for the keyboard, a small line of glyphs appeared in the center of the blackened windshield.
The silver haired Vyrinnic is near.
The text faded rapidly as El read it. He thought for a moment, then pecked at the keyboard. Immediately, the windshield faded from black to clear, and El could see the empty lot, lit by the slowly rising sun.
“What did the ship say to you?” Grit asked from behind, and El jumped. In their short time together, El had already been surprised by how silent Grit could be. He smiled at the older man.
“It told me that Cassia is nearby,” he said, and Grit’s face brightened. Or, at least, it did Grit’s version of brightening. The big man stepped up next to him at the dashboard.
“Is she coming here?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” El said thoughtfully. “The Pathfinder can’t really track her location more than it can just…feel that she is near?” He ended the sentence as a question, realizing that he didn’t actually know much about how Pathfinders really worked. They were extremely rare throughout the multiverse these days, and a lot of his working knowledge came from reading. He put a hand on the dashboard and felt the ship humming. He hadn’t expected it to feel so much more alive than other ships.
El glanced around to see that Grit had pulled on his boots and appeared to be getting ready to leave the ship.
“Where are you going?” El asked, then realized the answer was obvious as Grit looked up from tying his shoes.
“You’re going to go look for her,” he said, and Grit nodded.
“I won’t go far,” he said. “Maybe just a block or two. My experience with Cassia tells me that she’s probably bringing some kind of trouble with her.” El considered this, then nodded.
“I will join you,” he said. Grit held up his hands in protest, but before he could speak, the ship pulsed strongly and the entire edge of the windshield flashed a bright red. El gasped.
“Aventus!” he exclaimed. “But how?” The ship flashed and pulsed again. El placed his hand on the dash and felt the intensified humming there. Aventus was definitely in the area.
“Aventus?” said a new voice from behind him. El glanced at the newcomer and identified him as Kevin. The one who could apparently travel the actual fabric of the multiverse.
“Who’s Aventus?” asked Mel loudly. The redhead was short and solid, and attractive by human standards. El was somewhat scared of her.
“Yes, Aventus,” he replied. “He is the very agent of chaos, and he wants to destroy the multiverse.”
His explanation was met by a moment of silence, and then a loud barking laugh from Mel that caused Kevin to chuckle as well.
“Sounds intense,” Mel said. Only Grit looked serious. El was uncertain of how to proceed. He’d explained Aventus in the most dangerous terms he knew, but apparently he’d said something funny. The ship pulsed again, and to El’s horror a figure stepped into the empty lot.
“He’s here,” he whispered. “So fast. He must’ve been waiting for me to be released from the IPF.”
The four of them watched as the figure stalked towards the ship. The Pathfinder continued to pulse and flash red until the figure stopped in the center of the lot, facing the ship. Another line of glyphs appeared in the center of the screen.
The One Who Ends wishes to communicate with you.
“What’s it say?” Mel asked, immediately. El looked at Aventus through the windshield for a moment, and then turned to face the others.
“Aventus wishes to speak with us,” he replied. “I am not certain that he knows I am here, though something has drawn him to this place.” He looked solemnly at the group. Grit was impassive, as usual, but Mel still seemed to find the whole thing slightly humorous, judging by her slight smirk. Or maybe that was her normal face. Kevin, at least, had started to look concerned.
“I’m afraid it would be best if one of you spoke to him and attempted to hide the fact that I am on board,” El said. He doubted any of them could stand up to Aventus’ questioning, but it also seemed to be their only choice. There was silence as the four of them looked at each other.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“It is difficult to lie to Aventus,” El continued. “It is much better to speak in vague truths and hope he doesn’t guess your true meaning.”
“Who is this guy?” Kevin asked, sounding incredulous. “Some sort of super villain?” Mel snorted, but Grit leaned forward looking serious.
“I think we should listen to El on this one,” he growled in his low voice. “At the least, we should take this threat seriously.”
The ship pulsed again, and another line of glyphs wrote themselves into the center of the screen.
The One Who Ends is asking if there is anyone alive here.
El sighed.
“Aventus grows impatient,” he said. “Someone must address him, or we risk him attacking.” There was more silence from the group, until finally Mel stood up.
“What the hell, I’ll talk to this guy,” she said, stepping up to the dashboard. El tapped on the keyboard.
“I’ve assigned the ship to you for now,” he told Mel solemnly. She made a weird face at him, and then blinked in surprise at how the keyboard was now labeled in her own language. Then, before El could provide some quick advice, she punched the microphone button.
“Hey shithead, we’re sleeping here. Fuck off!”
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Aventus paused. He generally considered himself someone who prepared well, but he had to admit that the aggressive female voice that had just shouted at him from the Pathfinder was shocking. He found himself unsure of how to respond. While he stood there, the voice returned.
“Can you hear me out there, numbnuts? I’ll fight you if I have to.” Aventus frowned, then shook his head. He understood the words, but he was not used to the aggressive tone. This human woman wanted to fight him? Most humans were innately afraid of him on some level. Most creatures in the multiverse for that matter. He absently rubbed his arm as he remembered another creature he had met recently that had been surprisingly unafraid.
“We do not need to fight,” he finally said. He spoke softly, and in his own language, knowing the Pathfinder would amplify his voice and translate his words.
“I simply seek your companion, Cassia Moreng. If you can provide me with her, I will go peacefully.” Aventus spread his arms out wide to indicate he was not carrying a weapon.
“She’s not here,” came the reply, still forceful. There was something in the tone, though. Aventus took a step forward.
“Stop right there, pal, or I’ll step out there and blow your fucking head off.” Aventus paused again. The tone had changed from over aggressive to ice cold. For the barest hint of a second, Aventus questioned if he was somehow in the wrong place. He couldn’t see the Pathfinder after all, only sense it. He growled and shook his head. Who was this woman to make him indecisive? He’d had enough. He reached inside his cloak, and then remembered that he’d lost it while hunting Eli. When that creature had…he suppressed a shudder. No matter. He didn’t need weapons to rip apart whoever was in the ship. They obviously were not Cassia.
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Kevin jumped when Mel slammed her hands against the dashboard.
“Shit, I pissed him off,” she said, as they watched Aventus begin to stride purposefully across the lot towards them.
“Good thing,” she continued. “Because he pissed me off too.” She turned and stomped towards the door.
“Wish this fucking magic ship had some weapons,” she muttered angrily. The ship pulsed, and the wall near the door formed into some sort of cabinet. Mel opened it cautiously and pulled out some sort of futuristic looking gun.
“Damn, a laser blaster!” she exclaimed, examining the gun.
“Is she really planning on facing Aventus?” El whispered at his side, and Kevin jumped again.
“I don’t know, probably,” he said with a shrug. “You know, she’s…Mel.” As he spoke, Mel pushed by them to look out the windshield. Aventus was still approaching, and was almost to the ship.
“Let’s go!” Mel said, and whooped. Kevin grabbed her shoulder as she went by.
“Mel, I’m not sure that’s the best thing to do,” he said. Then he grunted as she turned and chest bumped him.
“Thanks Kev, love you too,” she said, then turned to Grit.
“Grit, my man. Take care of that one if I die. He won’t survive on his own.” She pointed at Kevin. Slowly, Grit nodded, then shockingly reached out and fistbumped her. Mel grinned. Kevin hated and loved that grin.
“Kevin, I think you need to jump us,” El whispered, again at his side. This time Kevin didn’t jump.
“What do you mean?” Kevin asked. “Can’t you jump yourself? We need to stop Mel! Or help her, or something!” He started to move towards her, but the kid grabbed his arm.
“Kevin, if I jump us then Aventus will recognize the trail. I seriously doubt he is familiar with yours.” Kevin shrugged off El’s arm and started after Mel, but the boy was relentless. He ran after him and grabbed him again.
“Kevin, please! Aventus will go through both of you. You have to get the rest of us out of here!”
Kevin started to shake him off again, but Grit put a hand on his other shoulder, and nodded. Almost as if through slow motion, he watched as Mel launched out the door of the ship, laughing. Spinning, he could just make out Aventus through the windshield. He had a wolfish grin on his face, and as Kevin watched, he started sprinting towards Mel. Even in that brief time, he could tell that Aventus was moving impossibly fast. Finally, he reached out mentally and launched the three of them into the multiverse. As the tunnels appeared in his vision, Kevin could hear himself shouting Mel’s name.