Status: In Progress
Fallen Future
Robin
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"Does it look like it?"
"Uh... No?"
"Well then."
"So... Are we there yet?"
"Are we there yet?"
"Not yet... Wait. How did you do that?"
"This is why I can't take you nice places, Max, you bug the hell out of me."
With a roll of his eyes, Zero ended the conversation; there was nothing more I could say. The eye-roll of death had spoken. All hail the eye-roll! We were a mere six hours from the base, which, obviously, in order to ensure absolute secrecy, was in the middle of nowhere. So we were six hours west from the middle of nowhere- Nowhere adjacent, an the sun (which was uncomfortably bright) poured down the backs of our necks. I wasn't really thinking straight due to the heat, so my thoughts were curving in on themselves. Like a banana. Curvy.
The professor has sent us to meet The Flash, without even telling us where exactly we were to meet him. It was just to help the mission. He simply fitted us up with tracking devices, pointed us westwards and wished us luck. For the first half hour of our journey, we headed East- Zero was convinced that the Professor was wrong because, as he put it,
"A man in a wheelchair can easily lose his bearings. East, West, North, South, Up, Down... It's all the same to them."
"You're a dick, Zero."
"What did I do now?"
If I had enough bananas I could catch a money. I'd call him Romando and train him to be a butler. I decided to tell Zero that.
"If I had enough bananas-"
"Let me stop you right there, fly-boy. If this is another heat-stroke induced rant I don't want to hear it. If, on the other hand, the end of that sentence is something useful, then go on."
"Never mind."
It was probably for the best. Romando could be all mine.
Okay... Okay Max. I just had to calm down and focus. I felt as if there was a gigantic magnifying glass above my head trying to melt me like an ant. Beads of sweat raced down my face; my upper lip tasted of salt and my fair felt sticky. Like glue had been poured over my scalp. Or squirted. From some giant squirty glue bottle in the sky. Just squirt, spluch, ew. And my hair would be all sticky.
I honestly needed to gather my wits otherwise I'd start hallucinating.
If only Jennifer had been there. Lovely, lovely Jennifer. Was that her? Maybe... If Jennifer was a tree. I was pretty sure she wasn't.
Shit. Did I say that out loud? Looked to the left, to the right, everything hazy, steamy. As if the air had been turned into water. Which would suck for people who couldn't swim. Like the Professor.
"Zero? Zero, I need rest. I need to sit down."
He didn't say anything, but a blur walking alongside me suddenly became a blur sprawled on the ground, so I threw myself alongside it in the hope it was him. Or else I'd look really weird.
"Max. I don't feel so good. I feel like I've got a jellyfish mouth."
"Jellyfish don't have mouths."
"I feel like I don't have a mouth."
Then how was he talking to me? Telepathically? "Zero? Zero, can you hear me?" I thought. Great, now he was ignoring me. Dick.
"Zero, you're a dick."
"I know."
Rolling onto my back I stared into the sky- there were no vultures. They were off chasing vulture mirages. As long as they kept their hands off my imagined Jennifer that was fine by me.
I couldn't figure out if it was just me, or was that blur slightly blurrier than the other blur? Or were all the other ones all moving backwards? No... it was The Flash, very far away, moving very fast.
"Zero... Zero, move. Flash is here."
"Take a message."
"Before or after the beep?"
"Must you beep?"
"I must. The beep must be free."
A flurry of pebbles flew across my vision.
"Ladies. Time to move."
"Zero's not here right now. Leave a message after the beep. Beep."
"Come on guys, I've got shelter. Up n' at 'em."
"Torment us all you wish, but don't screw with grammar. Up and at them," I could feel him heave me to my feet; I hoped that grope was accidental.
"C'mon, I've got shelter and provisions a half-mile from here. We get there, refresh ourselves; I'll fill you in and we can leave again."
Barely listening, I nodded. Whatever Flash said was fine by me, I just had to keep an eye on that suspicious looking tree that was trying to eavesdrop.
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"Does it look like it?"
"Uh... No?"
"Well then."
"So... Are we there yet?"
"Are we there yet?"
"Not yet... Wait. How did you do that?"
"This is why I can't take you nice places, Max, you bug the hell out of me."
With a roll of his eyes, Zero ended the conversation; there was nothing more I could say. The eye-roll of death had spoken. All hail the eye-roll! We were a mere six hours from the base, which, obviously, in order to ensure absolute secrecy, was in the middle of nowhere. So we were six hours west from the middle of nowhere- Nowhere adjacent, an the sun (which was uncomfortably bright) poured down the backs of our necks. I wasn't really thinking straight due to the heat, so my thoughts were curving in on themselves. Like a banana. Curvy.
The professor has sent us to meet The Flash, without even telling us where exactly we were to meet him. It was just to help the mission. He simply fitted us up with tracking devices, pointed us westwards and wished us luck. For the first half hour of our journey, we headed East- Zero was convinced that the Professor was wrong because, as he put it,
"A man in a wheelchair can easily lose his bearings. East, West, North, South, Up, Down... It's all the same to them."
"You're a dick, Zero."
"What did I do now?"
If I had enough bananas I could catch a money. I'd call him Romando and train him to be a butler. I decided to tell Zero that.
"If I had enough bananas-"
"Let me stop you right there, fly-boy. If this is another heat-stroke induced rant I don't want to hear it. If, on the other hand, the end of that sentence is something useful, then go on."
"Never mind."
It was probably for the best. Romando could be all mine.
Okay... Okay Max. I just had to calm down and focus. I felt as if there was a gigantic magnifying glass above my head trying to melt me like an ant. Beads of sweat raced down my face; my upper lip tasted of salt and my fair felt sticky. Like glue had been poured over my scalp. Or squirted. From some giant squirty glue bottle in the sky. Just squirt, spluch, ew. And my hair would be all sticky.
I honestly needed to gather my wits otherwise I'd start hallucinating.
If only Jennifer had been there. Lovely, lovely Jennifer. Was that her? Maybe... If Jennifer was a tree. I was pretty sure she wasn't.
Shit. Did I say that out loud? Looked to the left, to the right, everything hazy, steamy. As if the air had been turned into water. Which would suck for people who couldn't swim. Like the Professor.
"Zero? Zero, I need rest. I need to sit down."
He didn't say anything, but a blur walking alongside me suddenly became a blur sprawled on the ground, so I threw myself alongside it in the hope it was him. Or else I'd look really weird.
"Max. I don't feel so good. I feel like I've got a jellyfish mouth."
"Jellyfish don't have mouths."
"I feel like I don't have a mouth."
Then how was he talking to me? Telepathically? "Zero? Zero, can you hear me?" I thought. Great, now he was ignoring me. Dick.
"Zero, you're a dick."
"I know."
Rolling onto my back I stared into the sky- there were no vultures. They were off chasing vulture mirages. As long as they kept their hands off my imagined Jennifer that was fine by me.
I couldn't figure out if it was just me, or was that blur slightly blurrier than the other blur? Or were all the other ones all moving backwards? No... it was The Flash, very far away, moving very fast.
"Zero... Zero, move. Flash is here."
"Take a message."
"Before or after the beep?"
"Must you beep?"
"I must. The beep must be free."
A flurry of pebbles flew across my vision.
"Ladies. Time to move."
"Zero's not here right now. Leave a message after the beep. Beep."
"Come on guys, I've got shelter. Up n' at 'em."
"Torment us all you wish, but don't screw with grammar. Up and at them," I could feel him heave me to my feet; I hoped that grope was accidental.
"C'mon, I've got shelter and provisions a half-mile from here. We get there, refresh ourselves; I'll fill you in and we can leave again."
Barely listening, I nodded. Whatever Flash said was fine by me, I just had to keep an eye on that suspicious looking tree that was trying to eavesdrop.