After turning off the television, I noticed Jack and Sky were standing behind me and watching the entire news segment.
“How much of that did you hear,” I asked without turning around to look at them.
“Pretty much all of it,” Jack replied.
Sky put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. It helped a little.
“What are you going to do,” she asked quietly.
I stood up and turned towards them. A look of obvious concern was displayed on my face.
“Whatever Volax wants to do.”
“You’re not going to surrender Volax to them, are you,” Jack asked.
“Never.”
Jack slapped me on the shoulder and smiled.
“Then it’s turd flushing time, buddy.”
“Damn it, Jack,” Sky yelled. “This is serious! The future of the freaking world is at stake!”
“You don’t think I know that,” Jack fired back. “It’s my future too, you know! But I feel deep down in my soul that our friend here, with the help of Volaxion, can prevent these guys from taking the only freedom we have left in this God-given universe!”
I stood there wanting to interfere but held back because I felt they needed to hash this out for themselves.
Besides, I like watching a good debate.
“Why do you have to turn everything into a joke then,” Sky asked in frustration.
“Because it’s like Vincent here,” he said, gesturing towards me with his right hand.
“He deals with protecting us from bad guys, like we’re facing now, by using his super abilities. I use humor to deal with stressful situations like this one. Those turds could destroy the earth as we know it. I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just how I was made, that’s all.”
Sky’s face turned from anger to understanding. She smiled at him and opened her arms like anyone would if they offered a hug.
“I’m sorry, Jack, I’m just all worked up about this whole thing.”
Jack smiled and hugged her.
He hugged her gently, saying, “Besides, someone’s gotta be funny. You’re way too serious for the three of us.”
Sky let out a small chuckle as they let go of each other. I smiled at them for being able to reconcile their differences.
A team that argues together wins together.
“Well, now that we got all that out of our systems,” Jack said as he turned towards me. “Let’s see what Volax wants to do.”
“Well, pal,” I said as I closed my eyes. “What do you want to do?”
"I will adhere to my first instinct regarding this new development.”
” And what would that first instinct be?”
“We go to Pine Beach, and as you say in your world, ‘Kick some ass.’”
I laughed as I heard Volax use that language for the first time.
“Well, what did he say,” Jack asked with anticipation.
“He said....”
I paused for a more dramatic finish.
“What, man, what,” Jack asked in even more frustration.
“We go down there and kick some ass!”
Sky let out a sound of surprise, like someone taking a deep breath.
“Yeah!” Jack screamed. “I knew I liked that alien friend of yours!”
I smiled and patted Jack on the shoulder.
“It’s like you said. It’s turd flushing time!”
“Vincent, I would advise that we wait until tomorrow so I can prepare us for what may ensue in this battle.”
I mentally agreed with his decision because planning makes perfect.
“He says that we have to wait until tomorrow so he can get us prepared for battle.”
“Sounds good, buddy, but you know I’m coming with you right?”
I nodded in agreement.
“Once we get down there, you’re on your own, though.”
“No problem.”
“What about me,” Sky asked.
“You’re probably safer here, out of harm’s way,” I said as I looked at her with protective eyes.
“Good, I didn’t want to be that annoying damsel in distress that distracts you from saving the entire planet. I’d never be able to live with myself.”
“You’re a distraction for me as it is. But a damn good one.”
She blushed as she smiled at me, giving me a quick kiss.
Jack rolled his eyes and started walking towards the kitchen.
“You guys need to stop already, I can’t throw up on an empty stomach.”
Sky and I chuckled.
Jack has such a way with words.
After that, we spent most of the morning discussing whatever subject to distract us from the upcoming battle.
Sky and I decided to spend time together on the front porch at lunchtime. Jack stayed inside and ate lunch in the living room to get an update on the news.
Sky and I sat on the top step of the front porch, close enough to each other that we were touching.
We liked any form of physical contact we could get.
She looked at me while squinting to keep the sun out of her eyes.
“Vincent, you can beat these guys, right?”
I gave her my best confident look as I leaned into her a little.
“I wouldn’t be going there tomorrow if I knew I couldn’t beat ’em. Why? Do you think I can?”
She started to draw little invisible circles on the second step of the porch as she looked down at her hands.
“It’s not what I think that matters. I need to hear you say it. I need to know you’ll be okay, and you'll return to me in one piece.”
“Well, I can’t guarantee I'll be in one piece,” I said with a smile, “but the piece I return to you with will be the most important one.”
She slapped me on the shoulder.
“You pervert, that’s not what I meant!”
“Me neither,” I laughed. “I meant my heart. Not whatever your dirty mind was thinking about.”
She did her best to laugh at my joke, but I could tell that it was just a front.
“Listen,” I said as I gave her a sincere look, “If there was a chance, and I mean the smallest chance, that I couldn’t win, Volax wouldn’t let me go down there. You also have to realize that the future of humanity is at stake, and I’m the only person on this planet who has the slightest percentage of success. So I’ve gotta go down there regardless of whether I think I can win.”
Sky looked at me, and I could see her lip quiver slightly, tears filling her eyes.
“Vincent, I just don’t want to lose you.”
“You’re not gonna lose me. Besides, I can’t lose.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“No, I’m not. I’m telling you that I can’t lose.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because the world wants me to save them. The world needs a hero. They need someone to believe in to deliver them from certain death and domination. Every single person on this planet needs me tomorrow. They’re counting on me to do what none of them can do. But I’m not going down there for any one of them. I’m going down there for you. You’re the reason I’m going down there. I’m saving you from all of this because you matter the most. By saving you, I save the world too. So, once all this is over tomorrow, and I stand victorious over these guys, the planet needs to thank you for that, not me. Because of you, I’m the hero. So, I’ll beat these guys and save the planet because of you. I will win.”
Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at me with a smile I’d never seen before.
I gave myself another mental pat on the back for such a great speech.
Great speech, buddy!
“Thank you,” She said as she grabbed me and hugged me hard. “I needed to hear that.”
After we hugged, I placed my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, and she rested her head on my shoulder.
“You know,” I said quietly, “those guys are gonna be sorry I met you.”
She smiled and softly replied, “Yeah, they’ll be sorry.”
“I hate to break up your little moment,” Jack yelled from the front door. “But it looks like they’ve evacuated most of the city and called in the military to help eliminate their non-flushable turds.”
Sky and I got up and turned to face Jack, who was stuffing his face with a ham sandwich.
“What do you mean most of the city,” I asked.
Jack held up a finger, signaling that he wanted me to wait for him to swallow a big bite of sandwich.
After he swallowed his food, he replied. “Your fan club, CASH, doesn’t want to leave the city, and they’re protesting for your surrender.”
“Figures,” Sky said, rolling her eyes.
“Oh yeah, they want your head on a pike, buddy,” Jack said before taking another bite of his sandwich. I found it hard to imagine how he could eat at a time like this.
What a pig.
“Who doesn’t want my head on a pike,” I asked sarcastically.
“What about Umbra,” Sky asked. “Are they still there?”
Jack wiped mustard off his chin, then replied.
“Still there? They’re the ones running the whole freak show down there. They don’t want to kick CASH out of the city because it gives them more ammo against the Guardian Host.”
Jack shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, which was a half sandwich. It made his left cheek puff out like a chipmunk storing acorns in its mouth to carry back to his little chipmunk house.
Good God, he’s such a hog.
“Good God,” I said in shock. “Have you ever thought about slowing down when you eat? No wonder we don’t have any food left in this place. Look at you.”
Jack shrugged as if to indicate that he wasn’t doing anything unusual.
He tried his best to reply, but his mouth was so full that it could burst at any moment.
“What,” he replied with a muffle as a small piece of bread shot out of his mouth and landed on the porch.
“You’re disgusting,” Sky said, wrinkling her nose at him. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us if you plan on finding a girlfriend anytime soon.”
Jack just shrugged it off and finished what he had in his mouth as we watched in disgust.
“Focus, you two,” he said as he licked his lips. “Hello? Umbra, military, CASH, turds. Is any of this ringing a bell?”
“Vincent, it seems as if we will have multiple enemies to face tomorrow. Although the military seems to be the only neutral party involved, they may be influenced by the Umbra Division to side against you as well.”
“Okay, so now I’m fighting the military, the Umbra Division, the Dondravens, and CASH?”
“Yep,” Jack said in agreement. “Unless someone else wants to join the club.”
“I can’t imagine there’d be anyone left to join in,” I said sarcastically.
“Tell me about it,” Sky said.
“All I know is that you’ve got your work cut out for you, buddy,” Jack said while gesturing towards me. “So I plan on doing whatever I can to help you tomorrow. I know it won’t be much, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Just promise me that you’ll stay alive,” I replied.
“You don’t have to worry about me, pal,” Jack replied quickly.
We all decided to go back inside to check out the news and see if there was anything else Jack had missed, but it was just as he said.
Except for the dedicated CASH members, the city had been cleared out and evacuated to various military bases or wherever they could go.
We saw tanks, jets, ground troops, and other missile launchers and weapons.
They were all placed throughout the city to ensure a lot of ground could be covered when the Dondravens arrived from wherever they were hiding.
I felt sorry for the military because I knew just how useless they’d prove against the advanced superiority of the Dondravens.
The Umbra Division probably informed them that they could beat the aliens with one hand tied behind their backs, and I’m sure they bought it hook, line, and sinker.
A part of me wanted the Dondravens to crush the CASH organization with one fell swoop so I could finally be rid of them.
The other part of me knew even though they were against me. They were also defenseless people with a lack of guidance.
I’d debated inside my head whether it was worth saving them and concluded it’d be worth it.
After an hour of watching the news, the repetitive information became boring, so we turned off the television.
Before we knew it, it was late in the evening, and we did our usual routine of sitting on the porch, talking about anything but what was happening in the world.
Soon, it was time for us to sleep; it felt like the last time we’d sleep in the house together.
There was an uncomfortable feeling in the atmosphere, even though nobody wanted to admit it.
Sky kissed me goodnight and held on to me for longer than usual before she went to the bedroom and turned in for the night.
I lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling, waiting for Jack to fall asleep.
Soon, he was snoring like a freight train, so I got up and touched his arm, and he stopped.
I laid back down and fell asleep within minutes.
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