Flash fiction thread

Thank you looks to be an interesting game

The Curse of Rabies

Diseases are present wherever they are.

They are always there. From the jungles of Africa to the farmlands of China, there's always a chance of cross-species contamination.

Over the course of the centuries that passed, mankind has seen the worst diseases. The Black Death during the Medieval Ages was estimated to have killed 1/3rd of Europe's population. Initially blamed on rats, it was actually carried by fleas that had the bacteria known as Yersinia pestis. The outbreak would eventually subside before returning again in the 1660s and the 1850s. 

The second next major outbreak was the Spanish Flu of 1918. The First World War was still ongoing so it was not noticed until people started reporting of flu-like symptoms in Madrid, hence the name. It actually originated in China, which was brought by Chinese labor workers headed to Canada, then spread across the border into the United States. In Kansas, one of the soldiers headed for Europe brought the disease to his camp. He was then shipped-off by train towards the East Coast, infecting other soldiers in the cramped conditions of the container cars. Aboard the troop ships destined for Europe, more soldiers got infected. From there it would spread, becoming one of the worst pandemics of the 20th century, killing an estimate of 17 to a 100 million people worldwide.

As medicine progressed to counter diseases, the natural order of life also mutates the virus. In 1969, a bird flu epidemic was spotted in Hong Kong and then spread to the region. Just like any other disease, it subsided. Then in the 1980s, there were fears of another worldwide outbreak as HIV spread across all continents. In 2003, the world would see the SARS epidemic due to the People's Republic of China covering up information regarding the virus. It originated as early as November 2002 after a farmer caught it from a civet cat in a rice paddy in southern China. Due to the Chinese media blackout, the virus spread to nearby countries and then finally to some countries in Europe and the Americas. Again, it ended on its own on June 2003.

Then in March 2009, the world saw another virus. This time it came from Mexico. Dubbed as Swine Flu (an amalgamation of avian, pig, and human viruses), it easily spread to the United States and Canada within the Spring of that year. It presented the first challenged for the newly inaugurated 44th President. By summer, it would have spread to almost all countries. Despite this, the risk was found to be no higher than seasonal flu. So majority of the world's population went on with their own business until the pandemic was eventually declared over by the World Health Organization on August 10, 2010.

Another year into the new decade, there were already a lot of events that took the media by the storm. As early as December 2010, people in the Middle East took to the streets to protest against autocratic regimes, economic crises, unemployment, and corruption. What started as gathering turned into revolution in Egypt, disposing their president. However, it appeared Libya and Syria were about to explode into violence. The international community cautiously watched the crises unfold in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the United States was making the preparations to withdraw from Iraq after eight years of conflict and occupation.

Another event was brewing. This time however it would not be in the Middle East, not in North America, nor in Europe. It would be in a town majority of the world would not even know. A name where only the fewest would even bother.

The date was January 31, 2011. In one of the peaceful villages of the town of Argao, located in the island of Cebu, Philippines, things went on as normal. The town was another Arcadia in the middle of the Philippines, surrounded by lush green hills and unpolluted by the modernization of the country.

That night, a man went to see his friend named Dario. Dario was a simple farmer but was a happy man. He was married to a woman named Yenna. Both had a son named Nat-Nat. Dario's friend came to his house for a casual conversation. They talked about what was going on locally and around the country over some beer. The conversation lasted until midnight when Dario's friend left. He walked into the dark forest path alone.

As Dario was preparing to sleep, he heard the barks of several dogs in the distance of the forest the same path where his friend left. Disturbed, he called out to the dogs telling to them to keep quiet.

The next day, on February 1, the radio was blaring about how a bizarre case of domestic violence that rocked a nearby neighboring barangay. Three were dead including one of the assailants who was shot by police for being unresponsive. Reports stated the man was "eating" the face of his wife and child, causing the police to open fire at him. A single shot to the head took down the suspect. Dario ignored this news as he worked in a nearby rice paddy while his wife tended to do the laundry at a nearby river. There was the rustling of leaves as if someone was approaching. Yenna by instinct looked over shoulder to see her husband's friend approaching her. However, he looked rather peculiar. His eyes were red while his mouth was foaming. The friend, or what was their friend, pounced on her. Hearing her screams, Dario rushed to help her wife. His wife was bitten in the arm by his former friend. He tried to pry his friend from his wife but he was unusually strong. Seeing no choice, Dario unsheathed his bolo and hacked at his friend. He was horrified on what he-did: he had killed his best friend albeit in self-defense. He decide to report this to the local authorities while his wife was treated for her wounds. They later went home. His son Nat-Nat was concerned of what would become of his mother.

On February 2, the barangay captain, affectionally known by his nickname as Cap, was called in to see another case of domestic violence. This time, a husband bashed his wife's head with something heavy. The husband claimed he done it in self-defense, evident by the bite mark on his right leg. He further added that his wife became inexplicably mad and lunged at him. He was then held into custody in to the local town hall while the main police station in Argao was going to pick him up for processing within the week.

By then until February 8, bizarre cases of random attacks done by dogs and "crazed" individuals began occurring in the town. The local barangay health center - which is just the equivalent to a basic clinic - was getting full of patients with bite marks. Some patients started to fall into coma while others started having seizures and excessive foaming in the mouth. There were calls to have the patients transferred to nearby San Fernando or even to Cebu City, which was a two-hour drive away. None of these happened due to the lack of transportation.

The local priest, Father Jose, was then begged by one of the mothers to "exorcise" an evil spirit that entered his child. Entering the house, the child was gagged in bed. Upon seeing the priest, the child hissed like an animal and tried to reach for him despite being gagged. The priest then said a prayer and doused the "possessed" child with holy water. When that did not work, he went closer to put a rosary on the child's forehead. That's where he made his mistake. He was bitten in the arm and had to withdraw to tend to his wound.

In another part of town, Dario's son Nat-Nat was exploring the woods on his own. For a 10 year old, he showed bravery. Back then when he was a younger child, his mother would tell him not to venture into the forest alone for the supernatural elements of nature might take him to their unseen kingdom. These may be the engkantos (fairies), tikbalangs (half-man, half-horse), or the dwende (dwarves). In addition, the mother warned of indulging the wrath of these elementals that may see unfortunate consequences for the townspeople. In a sense, the mother was correct. The town was suffering from a strange disease that turned people into foaming maniacs. The explanation was scientific in nature but one does not expect to find a reasonable cause for it did appear very supernatural. Nat-Nat witnessed a group of bloodied men shamble towards the town. Luckily, he wasn't spotted as he smartly hid in the undergrowth. He then went back to his house to warn his father. Upon returning, he saw the horrible sight of what had become of his mother. Her mother became one of those foaming maniacs. She was tied to the bed to prevent any harm. Dario stood there, armed with a machete. He ordered his son not to look. Nat-Nat understood why. His mother was no longer like them as his father explained. She was one of those infected by the whatever curse those nature spirits put on this town. Dario put his wife Yenna out of her misery.

The Infected assaulted the town, bringing more into their ranks. Father Jose, who was still tending to his wounds, was overwhelmed by the horde. The other townspeople - those generally apathetic to what was going on - were killed as the Infected stormed their houses. Others tried to fight back with whatever weapons they have ranging from farming equipment to homemade PVC marble guns, but only those with blunt force trauma to the head killed their attackers. In the barangay health center, the bitten patients turned and overwhelmed the nurse. Cap saw all this unfold before his eyes. He ordered the the health center to be barricaded. One of the men who was placed into custody turned out to be correct. Before he turned, he was mercy killed by Cap. Cap and his daughter then went back to their homes to get weapons. Unfortunately, they only had a Glock pistol and a bolt action with a handful of rounds. It was not much but it was something to keep the Infected away as possible. However, it was not enough take on a swarm should it come. In the other part of town, Dario and his son Nat-Nat began hiking towards the town hall, where they may be able to call for rescue. They managed to bump into Cap's group composed of the local shaman armed with a bolo and Cap's right-hand man. Their plan was to head to the nearby barangay with a decently-armed Regional Mobile Force Battalion that would give them edge on firepower. They informed the police station of the incident, which would then deploy a SWAT team to investigate the area. Hitching a ride, the group drove away for the infestation.

Unfortunately, fate would barge in. The engine broke down at the worst possible moment just as a horde of monsters appeared in the far side of a coconut tree plantation. The men proceeded to take on the swarm while ordering his daughter and Nat-Nat to hide in nearby house and barricade all entrances. They took down a significant portion but in the end the horde was too much. Running out of ammunition, the fight became a deadly close-quarter battle. Limbs and heads started flying until finally Dario, the shaman, and Cap were finally overwhelmed. Their sacrifice brought precious time for Cap's daughter to hide in a house. The Infected would claw on the barricades, desperate to come in.

When the SWAT team from the neighboring barangay arrived, they were surprised to see the presence of bloodied townspeople feasting on some bodies. Armed with M16s and M4 carbines, the SWAT men opened fire on them. They were surprised to see their rounds not affecting these lunatics. It dawned to them their opponents were not normal. The gunfire attracted more of them so the SWAT request for back-up. More and more SWAT and police arrived and shot the Infected. Realizing this wasn't normal, the mayor of Argao immediately called in for assistance from the Cebu Provincial Government. When the governor of Cebu heard about this, she requested that the military must be brought in. There were strange talk of a rabies like disease ravaging this rural portion of Cebu. In order not to incite a panic, the chaos was covered up as an incursion done by Islamic terrorists. The question next was who would buy the story as Islamic terrorists have not yet made a landfall in the Visayas in the entire Moro conflict that began in 1969.

---

Cebu City serves as the second largest city in the Philippines. Located right in the center of the country, it served as a commercial hotspot connecting Manila to Mindanao. The city has a functioning commercial port and an international airport in the island of Mactan. The city is home to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (CENTCOM) based at Camp Lapu-Lapu, which houses the Philippine Army's 3rd and 8th Infantry Division. It also oversees the command over the Mactan-Benito Air Base next to Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Naval Base Rafael Ramos, both on the same island. Lastly, two major police headquarters are located in Cebu, both serving the city and the province as a whole.

When news of the violence in Argao reached the AFP's Central Command, the first thing the CENTCOM deployed was the NAVSOG and Scout Ranger Battalions. Since it was far to travel by land, these special forces were board UH-1 Hueys from the Philippine Air Force's 205th and 208th Tactical Helicopter squadrons. Back at Camp Lapu-Lapu, a truckload of regular soldiers backed by one V-150 and one GKN Simba began the long drive to Argao. The presence of military vehicles was a sight to behold in Cebu's busiest streets. Majority just ignored it, thinking it was an exercise, but others such as children were awed by the sight of armored vehicles in the streets of Cebu. The Philippine National Police would then send a team of over 50 elite Special Action Force commandos to support local police and the military.

Of course, news would eventually breakout that something was happening in Argao. However, the media was fed with the cover-up of an Islamic terror attack. It was the most talked topic both on Facebook and Twitter. Since smartphones weren't much of a thing yet, there were not much videos coming from Argao.

As the first helicopters landed in Argao, the NAVSOG and Scout Ranger operators linked up with their police counterparts. They were told about the nature of these infected. Since these soldiers were city folks, they already got the idea of how the enemy looked liked from pre-mission briefings. The commander used examples from The Walking Dead, the most famous zombie show as of the present, and Left 4 Dead. They were told only a headshot was the only way to take them down.

So they advanced into the fray shooting down more infected. The fact the area was isolated meant that the outbreak could be contained. Overhead, the Hueys provided tactical overview, informing them where the enemy was. Door gunners aboard the Hueys also opened fire with their M-60 machine guns, mowing down the horde. The military and the police they needed to find survivors from this town. No more than 15 were rescued, hiding in their homes. One of them was Nat-Nat, the son of the late Dario, and Cap's daughter.

The sound of gunfire not only attracted the Infected but it also attracted the living. Citizens from neighboring barangays went on to see what was going. Overhead, they could see helicopters open fire with their machine guns while automatic gunfire rang across the hills. Roadblocks were then set-up in Argao, causing heavy traffic in the area not usually loaded with motorists.

Hundreds of kilometers away in Manila, President Beningo Aquino III was being informed by the military of what was going in that small town in Cebu. Later, Department of Health experts from the local provincial health office were deployed to Argao to take a look at these Infected. A handful were captured, gagged, and secured under heavy guard. As Aquino was briefed of the nature of this Infected. The news shocked him as with every cabinet member and military officer with him in the Malacanang Palace. Zombie-like creatures were real and the Philippines could see an outbreak if this would not be contained quickly! However, they had to keep it under wraps. No one would believe zombies in first sight. As advised by the Cebu provincial governor, it was better to stick up to the terrorist cover-up story. Both Cebu and Manila knew they could keep covering this up for long.

Soon, soldiers from Mindanao arrived by RoRo to augment their fellow cadres fighting the Infected. Also included were U.S. Special Forces operators from JTF-510 on the request of the Malacanang Palace. These American operators were to observe on how these Infected behaved and directly report back to the Pacific Command, which would then directly report to the Pentagon 6000 miles away. Then, the information would be shared to the USARMIID in Fort Detrick, Maryland and the CDC in Atlanta. The U.S. Embassy in Manila was also slowly observing the development of events. It placed a travel advisory on its website for American citizens currently in the Visayas.

The outbreak would finally be quelled on February 11, 2011. Over 233 townspeople were dead. The casaulties also included 27 police officers and 20 soldiers. Those that got bitten were given a mercy kill before they turned. The 15 survivors were then interviewed and cared for by the DOH. They were requested not to go public though since that would cause a nationwide panic. They were promised to be compensated and to be the first to be vaccinated once the vaccine would be developed. Samples of infected blood and tissue were then shipped back to Manila for study. The U.S. government requested a sample, of which Manila willing cooperated. The local WHO office was informed. In the country, various protests rang demanding for answers of what was going in that seemingly peaceful town in rural Cebu. The government continued their statement about terrorist infiltration. Some conspiracy theorists brought leaked photos of the victims that were torn apart while those who died with gunshots to the head were clean. They were quickly discredited by the government while those conspiracy theorists received a warning from the Philippine National Police not to spread rumors or face arrest.

The WHO then issued a press release of a new variant of rabies found in the Philippines. It did not say the specific, only new name: N-RABV-11 or Novel rabies virus of 2011. However, the WHO also stated not to panic as it was contained. Around the country, stray dogs were culled for the fear of the virus while pets were vaccinated as a precaution, even if the specific vaccine of N-RABV-11 was not yet in development.

The quick response of the Philippine government, the PNP, and the Armed Forces prevented a much larger outbreak from spreading to the rest of the country and subsequently, the entire world. The outbreak in Argao would become a footnote in history, overshadowed by the ongoing civil wars in Libya and Syria, the Tohoku earthquake, the death of Osama bin-Laden, the final Space Shuttle Mission, the independence of South Sudan, and the death of Col. Gaddafi.

To this day, the survivors have kept silent on the matter. While science proved it was indeed a virus that cross-contaminated from dog to human, some of the superstitious survivors would blame the supernatural for the unfortunate events that almost saw a zombie apocalypse of fiction become a reality roughly a decade ago.

---

Author's Notes:
This is basically my take on the Cebuano zombie indie-film called Di Ingon Nato, which translates in English Not Like Us.

TV Tropes page for the film. Watch the trailer of it below.

Unfortunately, I could not find a movie with an English translation of this. This is by far the first Filipino zombie movie, even predating Block Z by seven years.



IMDB page here.

I used the world "curse" in the title alluding the Filipinos' superstitious nature when it comes to diseases.

I highly recommend you watch that local Cebuano indie zombie movie. It has won various awards at film festivals in Europe and South America. It's not your typical zombie outbreak where the characters have lots of guns and plot armor that easily plow through a horde. Nope, it's those realistic ones that tackle on the ignorant and the unaware of the nature of zombie for better character development. It's vastly underrated and needs the recognition it deserves.

That was really, really dark. It's a great piece of writing, and very harrowing. Really good work!

I've made some changes to the short story I posted yesterday, towards the end especially. What the wolf wanted the woods for is shared by those who take it from him.

Gillan1220 nice story which other forum if I may be so bold to ask

Here's another one, this time something I submitted for my college creative-writing class. Maybe I'll write some follow-ups in the future, depending on how things go.

Scrapyard Treasure

Jaiden shut her computer down, clutching her head with both hands. Exams were a real bitch, especially the history one she’d finished just now. Hopefully, she’d at least get a B, depending on which of the professor’s assistants graded it.

A sudden buzz interrupted her thoughts, and she reopened the holo-screen with a brisk hand-wave, a fresh wave of annoyance washing off of her. Seriously, what part of “Please don’t bother me on Exam Day. Thanks.” did people not understand? Sure, maybe her delivery was such that lesser acquaintances would call her out of spite. But judging by the caller as Jaiden peered at the screen, this one was just calling to annoy her.

Running a hand through her violet-highlighted hair and accepting that it’d keep ringing until she gave in, Jaiden opened the screen anyway, glaring at the boy on the other side of the line. She couldn’t see it directly, but the look in his eyes gave away the smirk behind his mug of coffee. How he had the energy to call her after completing his own wave of exams, Jaiden couldn’t begin to understand.

“Hey, Leng. You’re looking well.”

Or, for that matter, be such a smartass after knowing her for all these years. What a weird set of friends they made, though she had better things to do than take the bait this time.

“Hello to you too, Zach,” Jaiden drawled, blowing a stray hair out of her eyes as she rested her cheek on her knuckles, not caring how tired it made her look. “How’d your exam go?”

“Well enough,” he replied with a shrug, stirring his coffee as if the last few hours were nothing to sneeze at. “Needed to study a bit more, but nothing serious. Prodigy’s gonna’ prodigy, you know.”

In other words, Zach barely lifted a finger, and would still coast to an A. By now, Jaiden was used to his I.Q.-touting, though now that she had to work harder than ever before to keep pace with him, it stung more than it used to.

“We’re both prodigies, ya’ pale freak,” she jabbed back as she rolled her eyes. “That’s why we’re graduating from college at eighteen instead of starting it.”

Nineteen, in Zach’s case.

He shrugged again, that smug look still plastered on his face. Sometimes, Jaiden wished she was as un-reactive as him, though she’d never admit it for fear of yet another thing for him to brag about.

“Eh, you’ve called me worse,” Zach said after a few seconds, glancing down and back to find his mug empty. “Anyway, I called to ask if you wanted to head to the Scrap Zone with me? Denise is still in school, but she’ll be out in time to join us.”

“That abandoned junkyard?” Jaiden asked, nose wrinkling as she recollected the last time he dragged her there, kicking and screaming. “Yeah, no. Hard pass.”

For a mechanical genius like him, swimming in a sea of rusty gears, sprockets, and other metal parts she couldn’t name was heaven on earth. For a computer nerd like her, not so much. If he wanted to set up a garage near the entryway with enough food and furniture to practically live there, though, that was his funeral. She, being a civilized individual, preferred her townhome.

“C’mon, J! I found something cool there, you should come and check it out.”

“Zach, I swear, if it’s another—”

“I won’t shut up until you say yes.”

At that, Jaiden closed her eyes, cursing under her breath at the fact that he actually went there. On second thought, maybe she shouldn’t have taken the call, and just let Zach nag her so that she’d at least head to the Scrap Zone when she was fresh later. Still, seeing as time travel wasn’t a thing—or at least, wouldn’t become one without Zach’s all-important say-so—undoing her mistake wasn’t an option.

Sighing as she heaved her shoulders, Jaiden re-opened her eyes, her pointed look a marked contrast to the resigned expression on her face.

“Fine,” she forced out, almost cringing as the word left her mouth. “But I’m driving there myself, so I can leave on my own terms this time. Cool? Cool. Bye.”

Jaiden hung up before he could protest, briefly relishing his shocked expression before hauling herself off her bed. Checking the time on her communicator, she shoved it into her pocket and trudged over to the bathroom. If she went out tired and into something she’d regret if not for Zach’s nagging, she’d at least shower first.

----------

“Well, well, well. Took you look enough to show up.”

Zach spread his arms in welcome, seemingly not noticing the greasy smudge on his cheek before wiping it away with a licked hand. Jaiden winced, but didn’t comment. After all these years, he still refused to carry a rag with him.

He shrugged again, that smug look still plastered on his face. Sometimes, Jaiden wished she was as un-reactive as him, though she’d never admit it for fear of yet another thing for him to brag about.

“Had to freshen up,” she answered, one hand on her hip as she looked him up and down, gesturing at his dirty grey jumpsuit with the rusty zipper in the middle. “Couldn’t go around looking like that, now could I?”

“Hysterical,” Zach deadpanned, resting the wrench in his left hand over his shoulder. Jaiden swore he was trying to come up with his own fashion-themed retort, but given how innocuous her purple hoodie, cargo shorts, baseball cap, and red beanie were, he had nothing.

“Where’s Denise?” he asked instead, peering over Jaiden’s shoulder.

“Didn’t bring her,” she shrugged, motioning over to her empty scooter, parked right at the entrance of the Scrap Zone. Which, not so coincidentally, was as far as possible from the piles of trashy, broken-down machinery sitting all over the place.

“I texted her to let her know, though,” Jaiden continued as she followed him towards his makeshift garage, pretending not to notice the drones circling the perimeter and what looked like pop-up turrets hidden under certain piles. “She said you already called her, and that she’d be there around 6:30.”

“Well, it’s 6:29 now,” Zach replied, glancing at the watch on his free hand. “Knowing Denise, she’ll be here right on the nose. When she can’t be somewhere half an hour early, she’ll be there just in time.”

Jaiden nodded in agreement at that, but otherwise followed him silently, hoping she’d be there soon so that Zach could just spill the beans already. Considering what a sweet and excitable girl Denise was, she’d probably be more enthused by Zach’s discovery than Jaiden. For an impressionable high schooler who excelled in neither engineering nor computer science, she was surprisingly easy to get along with.Indeed, she was one of their key lifelines to what “normal people” did and thought, considering how tiring it became to hang out with the smug eggheads at the University of Magnus Park. Hopefully, when it came time to apply for college and move her stuff into her dorm, she wouldn’t become one of them. Losing someone who talked to them like they were people instead of budding Einsteins wouldn’t be fun to deal with.

A buzz sounded off in her pocket, and Jaiden retrieved her communicator to see a new text come in.“Looks like she’s here now,” she commented, looking up to see Zach’s holo-screen open already, showing Denise’s car pulling in from multiple angels. She resisted the urge to comment on his overkill security measures, simply nodding at him when he acknowledged her. For a guy with such a relaxed demeanor, Zach could sure be paranoid.

“Hiya’!”

Both heads turned to the seventeen-year-old fashionista as she strode into the entryway, smiling enthusiastically. “Haven’t seen you guys all week! How’d exams go?”

“Good,” they replied simultaneously, Jaiden adding “enough” under her breath, too quietly for Denise to hear. No need to demoralize the heart of the group, who was a year and a half away from heading off to college herself.

“Cool, cool. So, Zach, you wanted to show us something?”

“Yep. C’mon, I’ll take you there in my ride.”He motioned over his shoulder after changing out of his jumpsuit and putting on his black, heavy-duty hooded jacket, its endless pockets having yet to be zipped shut. Again, Jaiden resisted the temptation to snark. Denise, who was bouncing with excitement, didn’t seem to care.

“Nice! You wouldn’t mind if I drove back after you’ve shown us, would you?”

“Not happening, McBride.”

“Aw!”

----------

“Ugh! Okay, remind me again why we agreed to follow you down here?”

Jaiden flicked what seemed to be a dead worm from her hair, reaching into her pocket briefly before withdrawing her hand, suppressing a grunt of frustration at how she left her hand sanitizer at Zach’s garage. Not that it’d have been enough, considering how bug guts were bug guts, no matter how many germs it got rid of.

“Because I threatened to nag you all the way to the grave if you refused,” Zach replied, using his handheld telemeter to scan the tunnel for signs of valuables in the rough. Or, more likely, scrap metal that had a mind of its own, to use one of his euphemisms.

“Starting to think nagging would’ve been better,” Jaiden deadpanned, plucking a stray beetle from Denise’s jacket while she wasn’t looking, deliberately making sure she didn’t notice. The girl may have been their lifeline to average-I.Q. people, but she lost her shit more easily whenever her look was “messed with”. Probably something her modeling job hammered into her over the years, if Jaiden were to guess.

Zach shrugged, turning away from her and swinging his telemeter to a light at the end of the windy tunnel, the illuminating cerulean a strong contrast to the darkness and dirty greys and browns that surrounded them.

“Eh, you know not to underestimate how persistent I can be,” he remarked, smirking to himself as Jaiden’s frown deepened while his back was turned. “Besides, looks like we’re here, and will get this whole excursion over with in time for your hot date.”

“Ha-ha. Let’s just get 'your precious' and G.T.F.U. while we’re still young.”

Jaiden motioned subtly over to an antsy Denise, silently asking Zach if he’d like to deal with her. He was the one who got them into whatever mess would come of this, after all. Not Jaiden.

“Fine,” Zach said curtly, not willing to challenge her there. “We can slide our way down the from here, just like if we were snowboarding on a windy pathway. Had my bots scan the place and bring back some samples to analyze, so I’m 99 percent sure it’ll be fine.”

At that, the three skidded towards the light—Zach first, Jaiden second, and Denise last. Given her choice of footwear, Denise cringed slightly as pieces of debris brushed against her boots. Jaiden, for her part, just wanted to get the hell out of there. And knock some sense into their suicidal friend, once they clawed their way out.

Skidding slightly before regaining their footing at the bottom, the trio walked their way towards the light as soon as the ground flattened, the girls shielding their eyes at the bright cerulean that flooded their vision. Zach, on the other hand, stared straight at it, his eyes widening and body stilling as he basked in his first personal look at the artifact he had been looking for.

“Well, we’re here,” Jaiden spoke up, snapping her fingers in front of his face to refocus his attention. “Why don’t you just grab it already so we can skedaddle?”

Denise seconded that with a nod, wringing her hands together anxiously.

“Fine, fine,” Zach conceded, holding up his hands defensively before walking towards the artifact. “Geez, you sure know how to ruin the moment.”

Placing his hands at the metal display in the middle of the elaborate border flanking it, its alien writing flashing brighter now that someone was touching its central component, Zach strained slightly before pulling it out with a grunt. Stumbling back before regaining his footing, he gazed at the artifact in his hands, his grin the widest that Jaiden had ever seen.

“Hah! Got i—”

A rumble shook the room, nearly causing Zach to drop his new possession and forcing Jaiden and Denise to their knees. They barely had time to exchange glances with one another, before the whole cavern began to quake, chunks of debris beginning to fall from the misshapen ceiling. The border holding that once held the artifact, its alien writing now bright red with warning, began to crumble, the frame breaking into multiple pieces before collapsing in on itself.

Zach felt a sharp pull on the hood of his jacket, and Denise on her wrist, both struggling to regain their footing before they realized who was dragging them.

“Run!” Jaiden roared, throwing them in front of her and shoving her hands into their backs as the trio bolted their way out, not glancing back at the cave collapsing behind them.

----------

“Right, so let’s get this straight.”

Jaiden pointed an accusatory finger at Zach, her glare practically hot enough to smelt metal. He flinched slightly at the edge her voice had taken on, but otherwise showed no signs of regret or shame. Which he would’ve outpoured in spades if anyone had died a few moments ago, though thank the Gods that prospect didn’t come to pass.

“You,” she continued, “had some of your drones prod their way into some abandoned tunnel-thing under the biggest pile in the Scrap Zone—”

She gestured wildly to the collapsed pile in the junkyard’s center, the dust it kicked up having yet to fully settle.

“—found your weird platform-thing—”

Her arm swung to point at the metal display sitting on the floor, a spherical device floating in the middle of its metal prongs, thanks to the built-in anti-gravity technology. To most, it would’ve been something too arcane and obscure for all but a few archeologists and historians with too much time on their hands to care about. Given how much trouble he went to obtain it for himself, Zach clearly thought otherwise.

“—and was so excited that you had to grab it yourself and drag us along with you, me by the back of my shirt, and put no thought into how you could get us all killed—”

“But I didn’t!”

“You almost did!” Jaiden shouted back, not done with her rant, but beginning to run out of steam. “And, if that wasn’t enough, go against all your training as a double-major in archeology, ’cuz reasons, so much that you could get expelled if anyone finds out about your little stint!”

She closed her eyes, face downcast as she released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. After a minute, Jaiden reopened them, steely resolve replacing her indignation and previous urge to strangle Zach half to death. Then, she spoke.

“You’re lucky, though, that I’m not telling anyone. And Denise won’t either, yeah?”

Denise, who sat at the table as her wounds were being tended to by one of Zach’s robo-doctors, nodded aggressively. Besides how unbreakable their friendship was—beneath all the snark and Zach and Jaiden pushing each other’s buttons twenty-four seven, anyway—it’d have also incriminated Jaiden, as well as Denise herself, for going along with Zach’s recklessness. Considering how her rich-bitch parents flipped out the last time she did something daring, she didn’t need them finding out about this. Jaiden, though an adult who lived on her own, didn’t need it, either.

“’Kay, good,” Jaiden replied after flickering her eyes over Denise, before shooting another withering glare at Zach, who totally wasn’t trying to avert eye contact with her. He may have lived and breathed the word smartass, but even he knew to keep his mouth shut when Jaiden got really angry. As in, pissed-enough-to-dislodge-someone’s-jaw angry.

“Now.”

She clasped her hands together, giving Zach an expectant look.“This sort of drag-us-into-your-suicidal-adventures habit of yours stops today. Isn’t that right, Zachary Francis Anderson?”

He nodded, hesitantly.

“Which means,” Jaiden continued, “that if you decide to test fate again and collapse a tunnel onto yourself, it’s strictly your business. Meaning, Denise and I don’t have to help you out. Right?”

He nodded again, a bit more slowly this time.

“And if, by the Gods’ fickle whims, we somehow wind up on another fun outing that you absolutely, positively, did not force us into,” Jaiden interrogated, fire in her eyes as she leaned forward, her spittle almost flying into Zach’s face. “You’ll explain everything we need—and want—to know as soon as possible, without holding back. Right?”

Zach nodded again, answering with a hasty “Yes, ma’am.” before she could demand vocal affirmation from him.

“Good, then it’s settled,” Jaiden declared, clasping her hands together again. “So, with that out of the way, I’d like some medical treatment. My adrenaline rush is wearing off, and I swear I broke a bunch of bones whose names I don’t know.”

Zach waved another robo-doctor over, who promptly sat Jaiden down to examine her injuries. Denise, on the other hand, was almost completely healed, though that wasn’t the end of her problems for the day.

“Oh, man,” she moaned, glancing at herself, “How am I gonna’ explain my clothes to my folks? Look! My jacket’s ruined!”

Denise held up her black leather jacket, dotted with frayed holes and one slightly ripped sleeve from Jaiden pulling her wrist too hard.

“And my skirt, too!”

Which, unsurprisingly, also had multiple holes in it, the hem similarly torn-up along with the rest of the purple-pink fabric. She was lucky to have had fairly sturdy boots, though her knees—bare and scuffed-up from the tunnel Zach had dragged them into—still hurt from kneeling on debris, despite having been healed a few moments ago.

“Ditto with my missing earring,” Denise added as she gestured to her left ear, “which my mom will kill me for losing.”

“I gotcha’ covered,” Zach said, calling over another robot holding a tray. “We can 3D print you some fresh clothes and replace whatever you lost. Just drop your earring in the tray, and you’ll have a new one in five minutes, tops. It’s the least I can do for dragging you into that.”

“Great, thanks,” Denise replied, dropping her earring into the robot’s tray and getting up to head to the changing room. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some new clothes to wait for, and will need to make up a story as to what I was doing with you guys.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked out. Zach didn’t comment on the hole on the bottom of her left boot, seeing that in a few minutes’ time, it’d no longer matter.

“On that note,” Jaiden added after watching Denise excuse herself, “I should be going, too. There’s a laundry list of little adventures I’d prefer to forget you ever dragged me into, but this one takes the cake, by far.”

She gathered her things and slung her pack over her shoulder, silently grateful that she left it in Zach’s garage, despite his ability to replace all her stuff easily. Once she was finished, Jaiden fixed her beanie on her head and starting to walk past him, before facing him to make one last remark.

“Oh, and before I forget.”

Smack!

Zach dropped onto the floor, clenching his stomach and holding back tears of pain. In hindsight, he probably should’ve expected that stomach punch, though he deserved it for almost leading them into an early grave for something only he cared about.

“That’s for what happened today. I’d smack you a whole lot more if I wasn’t tired.”

Jaiden turned around and walked away, grumbling under her breath about why she was still friends with a genius-I.Q. idiot who never used his gifts to think things through. Despite her warnings, though, she had little doubt that—someway, somehow—he’d get into trouble again. It always found him, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it.

----------

Zach’s fingers flew over his holo-screen, directing his best repair-robots as they circled around the unearthed cargo. He had planned to unlock its secrets as soon as his drones fed the video back to him but didn’t have time to explain what it was about, since Jaiden and Denise left before he could elaborate.

Right now, it was painfully clear they didn’t care to know, since they were recovering from today’s misadventure, and would probably tussle with nightmares for the next few months. Yet another discrepancy Zach had to make up for, though he was sure he’d figure out a way. It may be buggy and tedious to maintain, but when it really counted, technology hadn’t failed him yet.

“Processing download,” the computer announced, its monotone feminine voice interrupting his thoughts. “Estimated time to completion: T-minus thirty seconds.”

Like he said, it hadn’t failed him yet. Although, he did wonder if Jaiden could’ve unlocked the thing in maybe an hour or two, rather than in five hours. Between recuperating from the day’s events and decoding all the alien text and schematics that trickled into his feed from the device, that was how long Zach needed to crack the code.

Now—new firewalls, self-destruct mechanism, or other advanced security measures notwithstanding—his work looked it would finally pay off. Good timing, too, as Zach checked his watch to find 12:30 A.M. displayed. At least it was Saturday.

“Database unlocked. You may proceed.”

Zach acknowledge the message with a swipe of his finger, ready—at long last—to dig through the treasure trove of science and mathematics left behind by the Ancients. It’d take a while before they were willing to speak to him again, but once they were fresh, he couldn’t wait to show Jaiden and Denise everything.