Cloud Riders (33 page)

"You do not fool me, boy speck. I am Link Traver! You are Paul Winsome. You wish to destroy my passenger? I laugh. Ha ha. You will be destroyed before that can happen.” Another long pause. “Or, you can just leave like those two other silly creatures. They are now safe and you can be too. Take your sidekick with you.” His tone sweetened. “I can be your friend."

"You buying any of that?” Maken asked Paul.

"Answer me this, Maken,” Paul said aloud. “Why not build a shield to deflect Vile's suns heat away from Earth?” He waited and waited some more. “You didn't answer my question, Maken. I asked—"

"I know what you asked. The instant Vile Extinction's suns burst out and shine upon the Earth's solar system, life as you know it will be destroyed. In that moment, there would be no one left to build a shield. No one left to take a single breath. Clouds and castles would evaporate. Gone all inspiration and love. Gone Vicki and Holly. Gone you and Will. Gone Isno Gravity and if caught with enough surprise... me."

"That's scary. But couldn't we build it before she came out?"

"A project of that magnitude would have to go through congress, and perhaps would have to have the aid of other countries. Astronomers have not as yet noticed the wormhole. If we could harness all the imaginations on Earth into a single thought, such a deflector could be built in that fashion. All this could take years and years and still not come to fruition. I do not wish to crush all hope. You can do this. That is why you are here. It is all up to you and your friend Willis."

"Will, Maken Fairchild, who is Reshape, has told me we're elected to stop Vile from entering Earth solar system,” Paul said in a strong voice completely hiding his alarm. “However, he didn't tell me a thing about how we are to do this."

"I shall now demonstrate, boy speck, how you are to die,” Link Traver said. “Oh, Vile. Pay me some attention, please. About the boy speck, my orders to you are to kill him and end his so-called destiny!"

"But I'm so close!” Vile barked. “What does he matter anymore?"

"Kill him or I will deny you any further passage. Your dreams of becoming three-dimensional will not overcome your silly flatness! You will continue to be a freak in the Shadow Gobbler Universe. Only the Milky Way Universe can cure you. Think this over very carefully. Thank you."

"And now you die!
” The nasty Vile Extinction voice filled Paul's head, sending shockwaves through his body.

A speck came from Vile and flew at Paul and Will, becoming larger as it neared. Kid Badd.

"Will, look out!” Paul shouted.

"Remember your lesson with Bruiser Manly,” Maken instructed.

No longer semi-transparent, Kid Badd appeared flat. Paul knew he now existed within his mother's solar system and her flatness must have rubbed off.

Paul gasped involuntarily. He recognized where he saw the boy before. Kid Badd closely resembled himself. “Hi, Kid."

"Hi, Paul Winsome. Hi, Willis Dinker. Enough nice. Goodbye!” His eyelids flew fully open and his eyes sparked. His green laser strike sliced toward the boys.

Paul ducked. The laser charge burned his skin as it narrowly missed, hurtled past Will and out into the darkness, giving it a momentary green glow. Every hair on Paul's body stood as if to salute the passing ray.

Vile Extinction's vicious voice attacked his brain. “I'm puzzled. Most boys don't give up their lives so willingly."

"I didn't give up!” Paul shouted back.

"I'll try again, Mother,” Kid Badd promised.

Another green energy shot from Kid's eyes caught Paul by no-recharge surprise. He and Will ducked and the discharge flew over their heads, scorching them.

"Mate! What can we do now, for sure?"

"What happened to recharging?” Paul asked his flat double.

Vile Extinction's sweet voice replaced her nasty one. “My son, you have to recharge?"

"Out there, Mother. Just out there on Earth."

"I'm so sorry, Son. I didn't know.” Her voice returned to its nasty best. “So Hole, you keep secrets from me?"

"Oh, suck in your suns! You're flat!” Link answered in a voice exceeding Vile's nasty quality. “Your brain is flat! How could you hold onto a secret even if you knew it? You are a stupid flat woman who I give the gift of transportation to a world that can solve your illness! You dare accuse me of keeping secrets? What in a well-rounded world do you mean to question me? I should receive your worship and all I get is accusations of secret keeping! You fool! You flat fool!"

"You forget one thing, Hole! It is you who is the fool! You! I'm a solar system! You're a
hole
! You can't even remember you speak to a
lady
!"

Paul felt ignored. “Hey, Vile! Show yourself,” Paul shouted.

"Yeah,” Will said. He turned toward Paul. “But why, mate? Wouldn't it be better to keep her hidden, I'm thinking."

"Dad taught me it's better to face enemies than let them sneak up on you. So she needs to do her dip thing so we can see her."

"You think, maybe, mate. Well, my dad sort of taught me to do some planning before facing an enemy, for sure."

"My dad said bullies are cowards!” Paul shouted at Vile Extinction. “And you're no lady!"

Kid Badd hovered nearby, eyes charged and ready to shoot their deadly beam, yet seemed to be on hold.

"Dear dead boy, what part of being a solar system didn't you comprehend? Surely you see my solar system body in front of your eyes, dear boy. I am tilted so you can see me. It is I.” She dipped a little more until she popped into Paul's sight. “I am your friend.” She hesitated, and then said, “Oh, I guess I blew that part."

Maken flashed his presence into Paul's mind; a seconds-long knowledge feed much like Paul's first experience with his liquid intake of his wizard's point of view.

"Each and every thought you perceive is ours. Every touch, taste, every creation, every love, every hate, every movement is now ours. Everyone you meet, you meet with me. All you destroy, all you build, help or hinder, you do with me. That which you are afraid of, I join in that fear. All you learn I learn. You and I are the students. Together we are the teachers. Together to cherish life by knowing it is but a dream. Open your eyes to the possibilities and imagine your world with me."

The words didn't come as sound and were beyond thought. Paul became so calm he had to guard against going to sleep. The message went beyond their physical existence. His and Maken Fairchild's parallel-imagined-lives had combined. But for how long?

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Vile Extinction's words became sweet as she had been with her son. “I'm in a time warp, two-dimensions trying to become three-dimensions. I need to borrow a small tiny little wee corner of your solar system to become whole. Such a tiny solar system am I. Why, I call myself Vile Extinction to hide my loving nature. It is only a disguise. “

"Answer for us,” Maken said. “My thoughts are your thoughts."

"Then you mean to harm Earth solar system to hide behind not meaning it harm?” Paul's words flowed without having to figure out what to say. “Vile Extinction, do you have any idea how devastating it'll be when you add your blazing suns’ heat to our sun's heat? It'd be beyond scorching, beyond fire, beyond hot. Volcanoes will burst. Planets will turn into mush and run like molten rock, devouring everything. Not only will you destroy Earth solar system, but devour yourself in your self-created disaster."

"Yeah,” Will tried to help.

"Your Earth solar system is so immense, Paul,” Vile explained. “I only want a tiny corner to exist anew, out of the darkness of this connecting tunnel. I deserve to be well-rounded as only your three-dimensions allow. I want, what do you call them? Shadows? My son told me about shadows and how they give added life, a sharpness to shapes. How about it, my friend? Allow me to blossom into the full existence you enjoy.” Her words were so helpless and enduring, her next comment caught Paul by surprise. “Son,
kill
them."

Kid Badd's green laser eyebeam flashed into Paul. Paul's body glowed in emerald sparks as his mouth froze wide open in an endless scream from the surprise attack. He crumpled in excruciating pain, his eyes shut, a groan tore from his throat as the fire consumed him—a burning torture he couldn't endure for a second longer. “Let it stop!” he moaned. “Make the pain stop!” he begged, longing for death to take him instantly.

Paul heard his dad's voice.
"In crises, focus on what you can do, not on what you cannot."

The liquid wizard inside him whispered, “Center your attention on the fight, not your pain."

Green flashes passed in front of Paul's eyes, playing a game with his senses. He opened his eyes in time to see Will crumple under another laser shot directly into him. Will shrieked a death cry that sent chills through Paul. His life appeared to be intact, and Will's gone. “Will's dead, isn't he?” Paul gasped in anger, his glowing green face contorted in massive hurt.

A moment of clarity engulfed Paul's tortured mind as the danger and pain became secondary to the liquid wizard flowing through his veins, nourishing his brain into understanding his foe. He looked into Vile Extinction's surface and saw fright. The liquid wizard rearranged a few of Paul's brain cells until the answer came to him in an inspiration brighter than a Kid Badd laser shot
. I no longer feel pain. I exist in my parallel-imagined-life! Give me pain and I gain. Will's death is an illusion.

Again Vile Extinction's voice came to him, a reverberation far away and as close as his thoughts. “Boy Paul Winsome, you live?"

"Sorry. Mother,” Kid Badd said, fearfully. “I gave it my best shot."

"See what you've done!” she screeched.

Kid Badd fired a weak beam which missed Paul and Will's bodies, hit the inner wall of Link Traver, where it absorbed into the tunnel's inner skin. “Can you not kill a mere boy speck?” his mother reprimanded.

"Details,” Paul said, his pain easing. “It's always the details, details, huh Vile? And location, location.” Paul thought and felt the magic of Maken's liquid. He thought the easing pain too slow in coming, and thought of Keen Aware's words. “Hurry up! Hurry up!” The green fire returned to Kid Badd's eyes. Paul raised his right leg and let it detach and shoot itself at his adversary. The brave leg whammed into the boy's face.

Kidd Badd flew backward from the foot's impact, his two hands gripping the leg and holding it tightly, despite Paul's effort to vision its return.

"Come on, Kid. Give it back!"

Kid Badd flew his horizontal self toward his spinning flat solar system mother. Flying toward Paul came another flat shape.

"Meet my sister,” Kid Badd called to Paul. “Sister Badd.” He handed off Paul's leg to her as she passed. He backed and disappeared into the spinning disk.

The closer Sister Badd came the more Paul fought the need to gasp. Sister Badd looked like a flat version of Vicki. She held out Paul's leg and let it go. It flew and plugged back into Paul's body.

Imitation Vicki's eyes glowed red. Her voice came close to Vicki's, but didn't pass the test of being identical. “Paul die now, please."

The red laser shot entered Paul's body, a burning hot shaft slamming through his heart. The same shot went through Paul and entered Will's dead body.

A white glow summoned Paul into a dreamscape more euphoric than anything experienced in his lifetime. Mesmerized, his spirit reached toward the loving warmth. The radiance cradled him like a newborn child. The light comforted with inviting brilliance and communicated in profound silence.

From the white haze a tall black figure walked toward Paul. Will appeared spellbound. He noticed Paul. “Blimey, mate. This is some kind of place, don't you know."

"Will, are you...dead?"

"Yes, I'm thinking. Think so, kind of. Sure feels like it.” He put his hand to his chin, and looked into the palm of his other. “Ever notice the only place I have light skin is on my palms? Odd, isn't it. Not sure where I'm supposed to go from here, mate. You have any idea, like?"

"If we're dead, why do we still have skin color? I don't have any idea where I'm supposed to go. I didn't save the Earth solar system, so maybe I'm on my way to a fiery pit where destiny failures go.” Paul did his best to smile and had no idea if he actually did or not. “You plan to follow me?"

"Yeah. Don't know. Yeah, I'm guessing maybe. Wait until Holly finds out I'm dead, I bet she'll be pissed-off, for sure, like.” Will's voice became high-pitched. “Did you say fiery pit?"

Clarity of his situation came to Paul. His focus of mind came from the wizard juice flowing through his body, which combined with the glowing white haze. He knew he had a choice to make. Fade into this light or return to his parallel-imagined-life reality. Fourteen had to be too soon to go into the brightness. Others needed him. The solar system needed him! A cast of characters paraded past him, gliding in the currents of his memory. Vicki. His dad and mom. Maken Fairchild. Will. Fawn. At the end of the line were his less than cherished players, Calamity Horrid and Claude Nab. Buster and Bruiser arm in arm, identical twins. Last, a rolling flat disk with two stationary suns glaring at him, chased by Link Traver trying to recapture his prey. Those he loved invited him back to life; those he didn't made him want to stay.

The absolute comfort within the light drew him with the powerful solace of the Original Source of all creation. The heavenly glimpse ended abruptly with a flash of destruction as Vile Extinction spun into the Earth solar system. He saw Will, who seemed determined to follow his lead and he instantly realized what he must do.

Paul forced his eyes open. Where? What? His present existence flowed into his senses, a flood of memory combined with the immediateness of physical agony. Must it hurt so? Torment fogged his mind and pushed out rational thought.

Will moaned. He rolled over onto his side facing Paul. “That hurt, don't you know, mate."

"I know."

"Had a strange dream, like you and me got together and decided to come back, for sure. I wasn't hurting then, I'm guessing, for awhile. That Sister Badd knows how to use those red eyes of hers! Thought she'd killed me more than Kid Badd killed me, don't you know, I'm not pulling you."