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Chapter 8
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It was a frightening sight, looking out over what once had been a densely-packed city now consisting of a sizzling heatwave which radiated off every surface, the surrounding city framed eerily in the twisted streetlights warped from the flash of light and warmth into curled, wilting caricatures of themselves. Out in the city streets were a number of yellow lights, all of which were turned towards the building which Renner occupied.
Renner, however, could care less at the moment what the rest of the world looked like. Dashing forwards, he peppered Monopoly with a flurry of light blows as he passed, finally tossing the carpet piece to Diero’s confined form which burst forth effortlessly from the ground the moment his jaws touched it.
Monopoly had staggered slightly from Renner’s attack, but as Diero moved in for the kill, Monopoly suddenly swung out and decked the bony bodyguard with a retreating left hook to the jaw. In just a moment Diero was back up, but after kneeing towards his face fell again to a hook from the right.
“Fantastic.” The glowing orb of Monopoly’s consciousness looked at his hands. “I knew this was going to give me an edge.” He moved in, but reacted too slowly to Diero’s sharp kick, which dug into his shin and tripped him slightly, giving the cadaverous cowpoke the opportunity to roll aside and bolt for his boss.
Renner’s armor shifted from a speed-focused form to one with durable gauntlets, leaving him completely open for Diero to grab by the stomach as he dashed for the door. The little Ghid grabbed the deadsperado’s ankle as he passed, and the trio were propelled by Diero’s efforts down the tiny hall and out the door at the end, which flew off its hinges when presented with Diero’s elbow.
“That- Enough!” Renner growled, worming around in Diero’s grip. “We had him there; we could’ve taken him on, and- and stopped him!”
“He knocked me down, boss.” Diero replied, effortlessly scaling a nearby building and sprinting across the rooftops. “You wrote to keep you safe, right? Can’t do that if I’m dropping with every hit he lands. Now don’t let your decking the tall guy color your vision or muddle your memory of being nearly killed by him before. This ain’t our fight-”
Diero spun out suddenly as a shingle slid beneath his foot. The pair went flying for a moment, but Diero’s momentum enabled him to catch his heel in a gutter and gently set Renner down on the edge of the roof as he himself smashed into the rest of the gutter and hit the ground below. Renner didn’t even bother looking at Diero’s impact, or wince at the severity of it, for his mind was too busy comprehending what his loyal lummox had informed him of.
He had died. Now that it had been mentioned to him, his memory of the event was becoming clearer and clearer. He hadn’t nearly been killed , he was killed - Monopoly had ripped his mechanical spine out during the cider factory chase. The gap in memory of him actually dying was a painful hole to consider, as one moment his life was trickling out, and the next he was completely renewed, as if the brutal evisceration of his body had never taken place and the memory of it had been lost.
Diero had clawed his way back up by this point, but Renner’s solemn appearance held his hypothetical tongue. He levered himself over the edge of the roof and sat, slouching forwards and feeling about for another cigar as he waited for his boss to speak.
“You think he can see us?” The anodize airhead wondered, looking up towards the circle of the moon which glowed above the darkened city, the only major source of light in the area.
“Hmm?” Diero replied, looking at Renner with one eye while his other socket was busy having the end of his cigar stuck into it. He pulled it out and puffed at the other end, seemingly unbothered about Renner’s now revolted expression. “Tott did this the other day, and I figured it might work well for cigars too. Hey, it’s cost effective, and- look, I’m out of matches, okay?” Diero droned in irritation as his boss still held a look of repulsion on his features.
“Yeah um.” Renner pointed upwards.
“Oh, right… Him.” The cow-poking clodpoll gazed upwards, leaning back and resting one arm underneath his bony noggin. “I don’t know, but there’s an awful lot of him up there. I bet he’s just wishin’ that card’ll get to him faster and bring the whole lot of 'im down here. You reckon that’s what he’s up to?”
“You know,” Renner leaned forward on his knees and stared at the ugly rooftops in the darkness. “I don’t think anyone in the world really believes you speak like that.”
“'Fraid I do,” Diero spun the cigar in his fingers, ash flinging in every direction. “You recall my rich, varied history b’fore I up an’ met you?”
“Yes,” Renner gripped the sides of his head. “Please write a book so I don’t have to re-listen to any of it.”
Diero shrugged in reply, and kept staring upwards. There was silence yet again broken only by Diero’s hat scraping against the shingles as he shifted it side to side, over and over.
“What.” Renner finally asked, growing tired of the motion, but suddenly snapped his head towards the sky before Diero could answer. It was a ragged tear-like shape in the sky, the darkness inside it just ever so slightly darker than the night it was framed against.
“Book,” He began, straining as he slowly stood. “There’s a great big hole in the sky, and sooner or later someone’s going to come taking advantage of it. Diero, we need to get up there right now.” Renner hopped off the roof and walked a few steps, turning around for Diero to follow.
He followed by slumping forward and landing in a pile, his head covered by a plastic bag. Renner braced himself as the silhouette of a figure appeared, holding the deadsperado’s hat in one hand and a shining pistol in the other.
“Zippy has commanded all survivors of the wreck be arrested at once.” The officer deadpanned, his blue Pakari reflecting the yellow light of the Dreamers’ eyes which appeared like sudden sparks from the dark of the alleyway. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m placing you under arrest.”
I looked away for a moment.
One thousand and one bodies. All but one are Dreamers. The card is only a minute away.
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