168th Greatest Story in the Universe - A Tribute
Created | Updated Jan 5, 2004
Part Seventeen
'Wake up Horowitz!'
Terry came around groggily in a small room with one table and one chair. Norman walked into the room, and sat at the chair. It was at that point Terry realised his wrists were bound, and he was lying on the floor a few feet in front of the table.
'I've had to work hard to find you, Horowitz. And I don't like working hard.'
Terry tried to get up, but somehow didn't feel as though he had any strength.
'Its alright, Horowitz. Don't even try to get up. Those bonds will keep you sedated.'
'Who are you?' Terry struggled to get the words out.
'My name is of no concern to you. I find yours far more interesting,' said Norman with an evil grin.
Terry, using the wall to brace himself, managed to struggle to his feet. Norman looked on with amusement.
'What do you want?' said Terry, still struggling to speak with any strength.
'I want to know what you know. For some reason my employers are very interested in you, and I am trying to find out why that is.'
'I don't know anything.' This was probably the most truthful thing Terry had ever said.
Norman held out a small box in his hand, and seemed to consider it for a moment.
'Do you see this box, Horowitz?'
Terry just nodded.
'It can cause you a lot of pain, if I want it to. Now I've suffered a lot because of you, and I think its time you did some suffering back - that is, unless you want to give me the answers to my questions.'
Terry was in little position to argue...
'Aelric?'
'Yes Erthgi?'
'Where are we?'
'I have no idea,' Aelric replied despondently.
'Do you think we're dead?'
'I don't know. I'm not sure we'd be in a prison cell if we were dead.'
'Maybe this is what the world is like after Judgement Day?' Erthgi ventured.
Aelric looked around. 'I don't know, I just don't know.'
Just then the metal door to their cell swung open and a large unconscious creature was thrown in, landing with a thump on the other side of the small room. Then the door closed, and all that could be heard was the heavy breathing of this giant creature.
'What's that?' enquired Erthgi.
'Maybe its some sort of bull?' suggested Aelric.
'It doesn't look very healthy. It's kind of a green colour, with bits of brown hair on its middle back. Oh and he seems to be wearing some sort of Roman-style garment covering its lower body.' said
Erthgi as he cautiously approached the beast.
'You and your Romans!' groaned Aelric, privately wondering why Erthgi seemed to think he'd gone blind.
'I wonder if it...' Erthgi started to say as he got nearer the beast, before it turned over and woke up.
'Grnaarrr,' wailed Revo Recma, as he got up - the sedatives he had been treated with had no effect on his alien metabolism.
'Arghhh,' screamed Erthgi as he ran back towards Aelric's side of the room. Aelric was now standing with his back as close to the wall as he could get it.
'Where am I?' yelled Recma. Aelric and Erthgi, surprisingly enough, understood him.
The pair stared at Revo Recma for a moment, and then exchanged glances. Even in the dim light they could see the giant alien was battle scarred. They felt his red eyes boring in to their heads.
Aelric whispered to Erthgi, 'Could this be Lucifer?'
'Do you think so?' replied Erthgi.
'Maybe.'
Revo Recma was clearly not happy with them apparently ignoring him, so he moved towards them.
'Who are you, and where am I?' he growled, his features coming into sharper focus.
Aelric pointed at Erthgi with a quivering finger. 'Erthgi' he said, and then pointed towards his own chest. 'Aelric, and I... I don't
know... I really don't know where we are. Please don't kill us.'
Recma grunted in their direction, turned around again, and walked towards the door of the cell.
'This is a cargo ship. Probably owned by the Scavengers, only they would be so cheap as to fit these poor excuses for doors.'
Recma turned around.
'Where are your bonds? If you are a member of the Callack organisation, I don't believe they wouldn't have bound you.'
'Bonds? We didn't get any.' Erthgi said.
'So why are you here?' enquired Recma.
Erthgi and Aelric both looked at each other and vaguely indicated they had no idea.
'Right, so you've been picked up by accident. Great, you're not going to be much help!'
Still shocked by the appearance of Recma, the pair stayed as far away from him as possible.
Recma smirked at them. 'They've underestimated me.'
Before they had a chance to consider what he had said, he had already taken a run up and was now in the process of breaking through the door of the cell. He then walked around the door before popping his large head back in to the cell.
'Are you coming?'
Not ones to disagree with a large green beer-bellied creature with red eyes and horns on its head whom had just crashed through a solid metal barrier, they decided to follow, and walked over to the door under which a guard who had been keeping watch now lay.
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