Mark McGinnis - The Simpleton

“Let him go! He doesn’t know anything!” Kyle yelled.

Cuddy then felt his arm grasped in two places—above the wrist and just below the elbow.

Jackie said, “Stop! I know where it is. I’ve been to the ship. I’ll tell you if you stop!”

The tension on Cuddy’s arm grew steadily—its radius and ulna bones beginning to bow and flex. Cuddy screamed out in agony.

Captain Holg, his interest now piqued, turned his head back toward Jackie, silently waiting for her to continue. But with the passing of every second—every microsecond—Cuddy’s pain level steadily multiplied. His screams filled the compartment, his arm on the verge of breaking in two. Through Cuddy’s tear-filled eyes, Captain Holg’s furry form was barely a blur, as was the hovering black object that suddenly appeared next to his head. Cuddy, fast blinking away tears, could now see the glowing blue light at the object’s center. Its two clawed, articulating arms, on either side of the large football-shaped construction, left little doubt that the AI orb had indeed returned.

Mere inches away, the orb’s point-blank firing of its arms’ plasma weapons eviscerated the Howsh captain’s head. Even before his lifeless body dropped to the deck, the orb was moving about, firing on the two robots.

While the tension and pain in Cuddy’s arm abated some, the orb and both robots battled on. Though they’d previously seemed somewhat meandering and clumsy in their movements, the robots now moved with the same lightning speed as the orb. Armed with their own integrated plasma weaponry, they were firing indiscriminately—red energy bolts coursed through the air. Cuddy heard Jackie scream out something. She was no longer in his field of vision, but he knew she’d been hit. He flinched as a series of plasma fire whizzed by him, inches from his own face.

The two robots, effectively working together, maneuvered the AI orb into the far back corner of the compartment. Managing as well as it could—dodging this way and that—the orb was clearly losing the battle. Never designed or intended for war, it was clearly outmatched.

In the short period of time Cuddy and the orb had interacted, he’d formed a bond of sorts with it. Now, for the second time, he helplessly watched as the orb selflessly fought on in his, and the others’, behalf. It wouldn’t be long now.

The AI orb had been driven down—now hovering close to the deck. Less and less it was firing back and the two Howsh robots moved in closer for the kill.

Cuddy wanted to look away. Didn’t want to watch as the inevitable ensued.

When Tow entered the compartment, it took Cuddy several moments for the realization to set in that he was actually there. He moved slowly but with purpose. For a moment Cuddy wondered if being a pacifist carried over to such things as fighting robots. But the question was quickly moot.

Tow used his two hands to direct his kinetic energy. Still firing, one of the robots rose up from the deck and hovered there a moment—then it was careening across the compartment while picking up more and more speed along its trajectory. By the time it careened into the farthest bulkhead, it was a blur of motion. It hit with enough force to shake the entire ship—enough inertia for the robot’s mechanical limbs to separate from its torso. For all of its intelligent processes to forever be quelled.

Tow brought his attention back to the other robot who, seeming distracted by the demise of his brethren bot, had stopped firing on the AI orb. With his hands raised higher now—fingers outstretched—Tow quickly pulled his arms apart in separate directions. The robot dismantled into a thousand pieces—like junkyard scrap metal—components pulled away—to eventually fall harmlessly to the deck.

Tow slumped down to one knee, clearly drained to the point of exhaustion.

“What the hell did I just see?” Tony Bone said.

Cuddy continued to stare at Tow. Miraculously, he’d rescued them. Saved their lives. But now he was terribly weak—was struggling. He tried to reach for him to somehow comfort his ailing friend. He felt so useless. Cuddy’s thoughts turned to Jackie… He’d heard her scream. Desperately, now able to use his arms, he swung his body around until her hanging form came into view. She was alive. Alive and rubbing a blackened scorch mark on her upper shoulder. With a furrowed brow, she gave an I’ll live … smile.

Surprisingly, the AI orb, with the exception of numerous plasma blast marks, was still fully operational. Cuddy had been the first to be freed. He made the process go faster with the others by lifting them up and relieving the tension of the chain so the orb could undo the attaching clasps.

Jackie was attending Tow. He hadn’t gotten up from where he’d faced off with the two Howsh robots. He looked up as Cuddy approached.

“Please… help me to return to the Evermore . You and I have much to accomplish in a short amount of time.”

“Accomplish?”

“I had wondered about it… hoped for it… with the introduction of Pashier genetics into your physiology. That you’d posses kinetic abilities.”

Cuddy still didn’t know what Tow was talking about.

“I am aware of what you did to the Howsh… to the one who was attacking your mother. Cuddy… your mind… it can be trained.”

“Is it important… now?”

“How do you think I made it this far… on a spacecraft without weapons? The power of the mind is formidable… but it must be properly trained.”

Cuddy shook his head. “Only if there is time.”

Tow continued to stare blank-faced up at him. Cuddy saw that his body had nearly lost all of its glow.

The others moved in around them—Jackie and Kyle—and Tony Bone, who was doing his best to support the weight of his father, the sheriff—and Officer Plumkin, with his stained trousers.

Cuddy felt the weight of what he said next. “That will have to wait, Tow. I’m sorry.” Cuddy gestured to the surrounding space with his hands. “We have this ship. A ship with weapons. It can be used to fend of the other two Howsh vessels… the ones currently attacking Earth… yes?”

Tow, obviously not used to thinking in terms of inflicting violence onto others, slowly nodded. He said, “But I cannot be the one to…”

“You can show me… show us all?”

Tow said, “I do not have much time… I’m sorry, Cuddy… but yes, I will do what I can.”

Cuddy turned to the others. “I don’t know if we are the best ones to do this… especially me. But we’re here, now.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony said. “And why are you suddenly talking like you have a brain?”

Jackie said, “He’s talking about us taking this ship to fight the other two… the ones destroying cities all around the globe. And maybe it’s just you’re getting stupider.”

“Us? Are you crazy? That’s a job for the fricken military… or NASA or anyone else that knows a hell of a lot more about that sort of stuff.”

Jackie said, “In the time that it would take to get them here… the agencies you just spoke of… how many more thousands of people will die? And what about Tow here? What do you think they’ll do to him? And remember… he’s the one who just saved all of our lives.”

The sheriff cleared his throat and tried to say something. He tried again, his voice barely audible. “She’s right. We’re here…” he looked over to Tow still crouched on the deck. “If he and the flying robot can show us… we can fight.” The sheriff looked at his son. “Stop being such a pansy… stop complaining so much and help.” He coughed and dropped his head. His eyes shut and fluttered.