Patch Work Moon

An interstellar Private Detective called Patch Drexler. Who lives in New Windsor. On Tellus One a planet colonized be the Earth's Governing Body, is asked to look for a missing artifact.

Patch Work Moon

 

The power generator growled and the lights soaked the room in an unnatural glow. Slim glanced to his friend shackled in the corner, then to the claw hammer held in his hand. He tightened his grip, closed his eyes and recited the ritual in his mind. 

Smash! The block of ice shattered like a mirror, with every swing he heard the cry of agony from the corner. Small stacks of steam hissed as the ice touched the hot flesh. He had heard whispers about the burn and hoped that his friend had the strength to survive the process. Slim plunged his hand into the bucket of cold water, pulled out a rag and draped it across the fevered brow of the twisted form before him. The face of his friend contorted, and let out a cry which filled the room with a mixture of agony and rage. Slim recoiled as he heard the bones crack and saw the skin blister. The eyes of his friend snapped open, one brown and the other crimson.

“Keep fighting!” 

He placed more ice around the bed and tried not to look into his friend’s eyes. But Slim slipped on a piece of ice and smashed his face on the edge of the bed, his nose exploded, blood splashed onto the bed. Slim found a nearby rag and pressed it to his throbbing nose to stem the bleeding.

The bleeding eased slightly so he placed more ice around the bed, but his friend lashed out with claws and sliced his arm.

"Arrgh!"

Blood sprayed a fine mist, his friend’s nostrils flared as they caught the fresh scent, his scream mutated into a howl. Slim clutched his arm in pain.

“Come on don't quit, please!”

The chest cracked and the blistered skin rippled, as the body changed, the shackles tensed. His friend’s skin blackened like the rotten food discarded to the street urchins. The patches on the chest darkened near to the puncture wounds, Slim noticed that the colour swirled under the skin, like ink in water. The friend he had known for so long was being consumed by the monster within. Slim removed the parchment from the box he brought back from the caves in the northern plains. He placed more ice next to his friend and dunked the rags into the water and moved away as his friend twisted in agony. The bones in his arms, legs and back began to reform into its new shape. The skin was now black from maw to claw. Nothing of his friend remained, Slim read the last instruction on the parchment and repeated it like a mantra. Take the amulet. Place across the chest. Once the amulet turns black, the burn is completed.    

 

“See you on the other side of this brother.”

Slim looked at the amulet lay across his friend and stared at the gemstone, he watched and waited. The stone turned black and he placed it on the table beside the bed. He then saw the fur recede. No more screams, only a shallow rise and fall of the chest. Slim hoped the storm had passed. All he could do was pray his friend made it through the burn. 

***

Burdock and De Lyon bundled Patch into the office. They were Virgil’s heads of security, or as Patch thought hired goons. De Lyon shoved Patch as he walked past him towards the large carved wooden doors on the opposite side of the room. Virgil was the youngest son of the Roman family, the first to rise to fame and fortune. Patch wondered why he was here, the Roman family owned all the communications contracts on Tellus One. 

As Patch moved to a seat, he noticed that behind the large wooden desk and chair were two sets of steps that joined to another level. He gazed out of the large reinforced glass windows at the vibrant city of New Windsor, the buildings of the city glowed like the first great fires of the Northern Plains. Shuttles traversed the travel lanes and moved through the city like blood. From Virgil's office he could see the whole north side of the city, all the way up to the newly created space port on the northern plains. As he looked back into the room, he admired the ornaments and artefacts until he spotted what looked like a giant dog, with brown fur that had a grey streak on its head, lay along the top step. What struck Patch as odd was the colour of the beast’s eyes, one green and one blue. He moved his jacket sleeve to obscure the red light that flashed on his leather wristband, he was reassured his plan was in play. He activated his contact lenses and recorded a live feed. Figure heads filled the shelves underneath a large mirror built into the wall. Above the large door hung a tapestry showing the rise and fall of Julius Caesar, brought from the museums of old Earth. Patch noticed the dog never took its eyes off Virgil as he entered the room. He walked towards the large chair with regal elegance, his black hair neatly parted to one side, clean shaven. Virgil bowed his head towards his dog, before he glanced at Patch with his deep brown eyes. He opened the book that was laid on the large wooden desk and looked over the pages. 

“You're probably wondering why you're here?”

“Puzzled would be a better word.” 

“You owe money to Mr Fehrarey, yes?”

“Well in a fashion, it is my ex...”

“I don't care if it is your wife.”

“Ex wife!”

“It is irrelevant, the debt is no-longer owed to Mr Fehrarey, it is now owed to me.”

“Owed to you?”

“It is simple enough, Mr Drexler, the money you owed is to be paid to me, now I have a job offer that will help you clear this debt completely and still give you a bit left over. Shall I explain?”

Patch took a moment to consider his options.  

“I accept Mr Roman.”

“Excellent.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to locate the following man, before the opening of the new communications tower near the Gemini One Space Bridge in the Northern Plains, that gives you three days.” 

Virgil hit a switch on his desk; the mirror began to change, an image of a grey-haired man appeared on the screen, covered in a cloak of rags. 

“This is Reuben, he stole a rare amulet belonging to my family from a transport ship.”

“What is this amulet?” 

“You have heard the whisperings of the Nan-Tar clan?”

“I've read reports and seen video footage, what I do know is the Burn is a deadly process. What has this Reuben fella got to do with the Nan-Tar?” 

“The old books state the amulet holds some significant power that will help save the galaxy from the terror of the Nan-Tar.”

“Why me? You could hire anyone. Hell, you could hire an army”

“That we could Mr Drexler but we need someone who follows their own rules, one who is willing to bend interstellar laws just a little bit.”

“What happens if he can't be located?”

“Well the Nan-Tar will gain a foothold in the Galaxy. Oh, by the way Mr Drexler, Burdock and De Lyon will come to collect you if you don't complete the job.” 

Patch reached into his jacket pocket, but the dog behind Virgil rose, it seemed abnormally large compared to other dogs he had seen, real or android. But he saw something he had never seen before in a dog. How it reacted to the movements he made, it puzzled Patch. 

“Mr Roman, I have a question about your dog.”

The dog growled and proceeded to walk down the steps and brushed up against Virgil, who hit another switch on his desk, he passed a data drive to Patch. Virgil and the dog both walked towards the large door.

“You will have to forgive me, I have some other business to attend to, Mr Drexler, I will have my guards escort you out, all the information we have on Reuben is on the disc. Find him.”

Virgil left the room, just as Burdock and De Lyon entered it. Patch headed past them and placed the data drive in his jacket pocket. 

***

De Lyon shoved Patch towards the open shuttle door. 

“See you soon, Patch.” 

“Let's hope not guys!” 

Patch felt the wind escape his chest as De Lyon caught him in the gut. As Patch rose De Lyon grabbed him by his collar and leaned into his face. 

“Remember three days Patch, tick tock, tick tock.” 

Patch coughed and covered his nose. 

“Anyone ever told you your breath stinks?”

The shuttle descended to within a few feet of the floor, Patch caught the smile on De Lyon's face before he fell. He tucked and rolled as he hit the ground. Patch picked himself up from the floor and dusted himself off.

“Thanks fellas!” 

 He gazed up to the North towards Virgil's office, three days to find the mysterious Reuben, the amulet and be on guard from potential Nan-Tar attacks. The task was the perfect way for him to start a fresh, clean slate. He stood at the door to his office, which was two storeys high as it now served as his home, since his wife divorced him. Patch Drexler Private Detective was etched on the panel beside the door. His office was built on the roof top of a small tower block that overlooked the Eastend River. 

He closed the door and draped his jacket over the spare chair. A panel opened near the door, in trotted Galaxy his robotic dog, his faithful friend, the only one that has never left him. He laid down at the side of the desk. Not many people would come away from a broken marriage with a whole Galaxy; other people would say he was lucky. He switched on his computer and placed the drive into the slot on the side. After the computer powered up and began to read the drive, a message appeared on the screen. Error 2609, data corrupt.

Patch clenched his first and struck the top of his computer. It churned and began to download, the data began to appear on the screen. The video-com on his monitor screen beeped, Patch leaned into the monitor and his face turned to anger. 

“What do you want? Slim.”

“Let me in!”

“Let you in, after what you did!”

“Come on, give me a break. What could I do Patch?!”

“You stitched me up!”

“I didn't have a choice!”

“We always have a choice Slim!” 

Patch closed his eyes and disconnected the call, the video screen disappeared. He bent down to the cupboard under the computer, reached inside and pulled out a bottle of Old Red Rum. Ten thousand credits for a bottle of fine spirits, for those special occasions. Patch played with the label that ran across the seal, before he placed it back in the cupboard and pulled out a different bottle. 

He moved his hand across his computer screen as he soaked in all the pictures from the drive, all of them contained an image of Reuben. He hit a file that had a video file. After a few minutes he stopped the footage, something had caught his eye, he rewound the last few frames; zoomed in on the wall behind Reuben, Patch had spotted a reflection in the chrome panelling, a symbol, which he was sure that he had seen somewhere before, the symbol was of a moon. As he opened the bottle and poured himself a double, the name of the club came back to him. Then it hit him it was the bar where he first met his ex-wife. The club was called Silver, but it went by a new name now of Club Haven. He walked over to the corner and hit a switch, a panel opened and his bed rose up from the floor; he gulped down the rum, placed his glass on the table and collapsed onto the bed. 

***

Beep! Beep! Patch opened his eyes and stared at his wristband as a message from Slim appeared on the screen, in anger he deleted it and climbed out of bed. He removed his wrinkled shirt and tossed it into the wash basket as he stepped into the bathroom. The youthfulness he had, now slipped away as he removed his first grey hair from in his neatly kept beard. He winced as the cold water hit the fresh scar above his left eye. His fighting days were over now as he had the chance to clear his debt.

 His small wardrobe was filled with shirts and pants, he grabbed a white shirt. With one hand he fastened the buttons on his shirt, with the other he opened the panels above his desk that revealed numerous pistols, contact lenses, flare sticks and assortment of gadgets. Patch reached for the second set of contact lenses, opened the case and tipped his head back and used his index finger to place the contact lenses into his eyes, his blue eyes could be hidden if he needed too. He grabbed two pistol magazines, the little screens on them showed 30 bullets in each, which he placed in his clip on his belt. A small set of lights changed from red to green when his palm touched the handle of the gun, he then slotted another magazine into the gun then placed it in his holster under his left arm. 

He walked through a sliding door that lead to his shuttle docking bay, he moved down the cold metal staircase towards the charge station. Patch unclipped two of the full power cells and replaced them with empty ones. The c-class shuttle hovered over the bay doors. He stepped inside, placed the power cells into a panel on the floor and watched as the lights and switches came to life. He slumped in the chair hit some switches, the bay doors opened and the engine growled. The shuttle fell as the docking clamps opened, he pulled on the steering lever to keep the shuttle level. Patch could see the New London Tower that was under construction as the shuttle climbed, cranes and small unmanned shuttles hoisted the steel high above the city rooftops. It would be the tallest building in New Windsor, reinforced due to the high winds. Patch navigated the shuttle into the traffic lane entrance, once the light turned green he entered.

***

Patch guided his shuttle to the roof of the tower block and parked it in the docking bay. He saw three men walk towards another shuttle as he headed for the entrance, the twelve-storey tower block held the nightclub on the eighth floor. Once inside, a holographic image appeared it was the building's AI, in the form of a man in a pinstriped suit with his hair slicked back, and deep brown eyes. 

“Good evening, sir. How may I help you?”

“Hello, I need to speak to the tenant of the fourth floor.”

“May I take your name please?

“Yeah sure, Patch Drexler.”

“Is it business or pleasure?”

“Business.”

“I won’t be a moment, Mr Drexler.”

The AI disappeared into a doorway of white light. Patch looked round the room the walls had images of the old world. He read the panels underneath them, the tower of London, the London Eye, Buckingham palace. All places he had never seen, but he knew of them thanks to the tales his grandfather had told him. He even told stories right up to the day he died. The AI reappeared and coughed slightly. 

“I need to inform you that the tenant is busy. Please could you call back another time?”

“Well, unfortunately I need to see him!”

“That is the message I was told to give you Mr Drexler.”

“Thanks. Is the lift working?”

“It is, Mr Drexler. I will activate it for you now sir.”

The wooden panel behind Patch parted to reveal a set of shiny chrome doors, which began to open. The AI walked into the lift. 

“Please enter, Mr Drexler?”

Patch stepped into the lift and unclipped his holster. Be prepared, he thought; a motto his grandfather lived by and one he tried to live by. The doors closed and they began their descent. The small screen cycled through the numbers as the lift moved through the floors. It stopped on the eighth floor. The AI turned to Patch

“Call me if you need more assistance, Mr Drexler. I have some other guests to attend to.”

“Thanks.”

Patch moved out of the lift into the club foyer. Large dark grey chairs ran along the wall opposite the doors, abstract images hung from the light grey coloured walls. No music could be heard and no staff to question, so he moved under the red rope and through the large door into the club. Patch hit two buttons on his wristband as he stepped into the darkness; his lenses tinted a dark green. He navigated the tables and the bar area, using his night vision and headed towards a door in the corner of the room. 

He pulled his gun out as he approached the door, he heard a deep growl followed by a scream and reached for the handle. A light blinded him. Someone emerged from the door and hit Patch across the face. Patch fell to his knees. How could something big move so fast he thought? Then from deep into the darkness, a feral growl that did not sound human filled the room. Patch stood and moved closer to it, he heard something crack. From his jacket he pulled a handful of flare sticks and threw them into the shadows. As soon as they hit the floor, they lit up the room for about 10 feet. All he could see was a naked man with his back to him, the man’s hands placed across the metal poles that surrounded the dance floor. Patch moved closer, he heard the back crack and saw the bones move as if something wanted to break free. Black matted fur began to cover the body like a wildfire, until no skin remained. The beast staggered with his head in his claws. Patch could not believe he was witnessing the change of a Nan-Tar. The tail of the beast moved to its own beat, up, down, left and right. Something moved on the end of the tail, Patch's lenses focussed in on the Nan-Tar, the tail end began to split like a flower and as the light caught the black spikes they shimmered. As the beast turned, it unleashed a guttural growl towards Patch, who nearly gagged.

“How often do you floss?”

The Nan-Tar stood tall and flared its snout, it was a good two foot above Patch's six foot frame, but the beast did not flinch as he fired a couple of warning shots, it just moved closer. The beast flexed its muscles, growled and leapt at him. Patch unleashed a few rounds in the chest of the beast, but it did not stop; he took aim and fired two bullets into the head. Bang! Bang!

The Nan-Tar fell to the floor in a motionless state. Patch heard voices exiting the lift; he bolted for the corner and closed the door the man had burst through. As he turned, he saw furniture had been turned upside down, objects scattered across the floor but he had a feeling that whatever they wanted, they had been unable to find. Patch moved round the large desk and sat in the chair, he hit a button on his wristband that changed his contact lenses’ vision, and he could now see fingerprints, partial and full. He scanned the desk, but stopped when he past a large ornament of a wolf, his lenses showed him multiple prints. He walked round the desk and looked down at the wolf ornament on the desk. The voices entered the club and changed into growls. He knew he did not have long as whoever came into the club had found their fallen friend. Patch placed his hand on the head, turned it and heard a click. He froze, but nothing came from the other room. Above his head the chandelier in the shape of a moon began to fall slowly, it stopped at head height. Patch looked at it and could see a small stone that had symbols carved into it. He prised it from the hidden compartment and placed it in his jacket pocket. Three growls came from the other room as he turned the head again, but he turned it too far, a panel in the corner began to open, he stepped inside and slid the panel back. Seconds later, he heard the growls in the room, when he turned he saw a man curled on the floor frozen in fear. Patch picked him up and followed the soft blue lights that were on the walls. They both went up some steps and down a little hall way, they got to a small door that had no visible lock. 

“Hey Buddy, are you the owner?”

The man did not answer, Patch shook him, nothing, so he slapped him across the face, the owner snapped out of his frozen fear. 

“Yes I am, who.. are you?”

“I'll answer that if you get us out of here. It won’t take long before they sniff us out.”

“Le...let me pass.”

The owner took a deep breath, placed his palm on the door, there was a click, the blue lights turned off. Patch stepped in front of the owner and looked out from the secret passage. They both moved out into an empty hallway. 

“Wh..who are you?”

“Patch Drexler.”

“What are you?”

“I'm a private detective looking for Reuben. Have you heard of him.”

“I have not, but I may know someone who will.”

“Could you arrange for me to meet him?”

“I could get him to me...”

Patch jumped back as the owner halted and slumped to the floor, lodged in his neck were five black spikes, down the hall a Nan-Tar stood tall and the end of its tail which was pointed in his direction, closed. Patch pulled out his gun and fired rounds at the beast as he ran round the fallen club owner and turned down the next corridor followed by the Nan-Tar. Patch just ran, left, right and left again, never looked back. He turned the corner and hit the panel for the lift, the doors opened and he slammed himself into the lift wall. Patch reloaded his gun, but he could hear the Nan-Tar close by. The doors started to close; Patch could hear the growls right outside the lift. He pointed his gun forward using both hands to steady himself as is heart pounded. A claw pierced the door and a snout began to appear, Patch eased the trigger and fired, blood spilled into the lift and the Nan-Tar went limp and hung there via its claws. Patch relaxed slightly when the doors fully closed and the lift moved towards the rooftop. More blood dripped into the lift as the tips of the claws were severed and fell to the lift floor. 

With his gun pointed forward, he exited the lift to the rooftop reception area. He swept right then left, it was clear but water fell from the ceiling. Patch expected the AI to appear but when he looked at the reception stand; it was just a pile of rubble, sparks and smoke. He left the reception area and made his way onto the rooftop. As he got closer to his shuttle, he heard two voices. He used his wristband, which activated the door on his shuttle, and it opened silently. Now he needed a distraction to get inside. With another combination of buttons on his wristband, he looked to the shuttle across from his, he could see himself appear and walk forward. Patch could see the men walk towards this image of him. His pre-recorded holographic video was a one shot deal. He prayed they would bite. One of them started to speak. 

“Hey, man, get out of here.”

“I don’t mean to bother you, have you seen my dog.”

“Go on get lost!”

“It is one of those robotic ones. I couldn't afford a real dog.”

“We ain’t seen your dog, now go.”

“Oh, there he is. Come here boy!”

Patch signalled to Galaxy it was time for his part in their little game, Galaxy trotted from behind his shuttle and towards the hologram. Both men looked at Galaxy and took a step closer.

“Now you have found your dog, move on!”

“You know the good thing about him; he only needs a charge and a service.” 

“We warned you!”

They both made a move for the hologram, at that point he darted in through the shuttle door. He activated the engines and the shuttle rose up. From a small video screen Patch could see one of the men fall through the hologram, he then hit a button on his wristband and Galaxy barged into the man with the gun and then leapt onto the top of a stationed shuttle. He eased the shuttle along the rooftop as Galaxy ran across the tops of the shuttles and jumped in through the open door. Once Galaxy was inside, Patch shut the door and hit the thrusters.

***

Patch woke his head pounded, but his right eye would barely open, in the mirror he could see it had swelled up and the bruise had begun to form. Blood had dried in his light brown hair above his ear.

The carvings on the rock made no sense as he examined it, he placed it on the desk and hit a couple of buttons on the computer. The rock started to levitate and spin as the computer ran the scan. An image appeared on the screen but it flickered and the error message appeared on the screen. Error 2609, data corrupt.

Patch hit the computer again but nothing happened. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his Galaxy model k9-4 walk towards him, Galaxy dropped a photograph down on the floor. Patch sighed as he picked it up. 

“You're a good boy, aren't you?”

Patch placed the photograph on the desk, it was of the day he and Slim had caught fish on the lakes of New Gevaudan. 

“They were good times, boy.”

Galaxy barked and nudged Patch. 

“Okay, okay, I get your point, boy.”

Patch picked the rock up, put it in his jacket and headed out of the door, Galaxy followed him. 

“I hope today is better than yesterday.”

*** 

The lift stopped on the twenty-fifth floor, the mapping system on Patch's wristband instructed him to head left down the corridor. He moved down the corridor and checked the numbers on the doors as he passed, 1136, 1137 then he arrived at 1138. Patch tapped on the door and waited, a small screen protruded from the wall beside the door, the round face of Slim filled the screen. 

“Didn't think I would see you at my door, Patch!”

“Trust me I didn't want to come.”

“So what can I do you for?”

“I need you to run a scan for me.”

“When are you going to replace that piece of junk? I keep telling you, you need to move with the times Patch.”

“I know, I know, once I've done this job.”

“Put off 'til tomorrow what you can do today. You will never change.”

“Are you going to buzz me in or shall I go and visit the Breaker twins, it won’t take them long to crack it?” 

Patch knew the mention of the twins would annoy Slim, who saw them as only con men. The door buzzed and Patch walked inside. Boxes filled the hallway, all full of computers and numerous components, the hallway lead to a big room. In the middle of the room on an overturned large metal box, stood Slim, sweat poured from his brow as he lifted a box from a trolley. If Patch was honest, he missed Slim and his gadgets. 

“What happened to your face?”

“Not now!”

Slim climbed down from the metal box he was stood on.

“OK, OK. What have you got for me Patch?”

“I need to decipher the carvings on this rock.”

He hoped the carvings could lead him to Reuben. Slim walked over to another desk with four large screens and computers on it. 

“Can I see it please?”

Patch placed it in his hands. Slim held it in the air, he turned it round in his hands and he squinted at it. 

“Do you understand what it is?”

Slim placed it on the desk next to his screen and hit a few buttons. The rock levitated and spun as it scanned it. On one screen the computerised image of the rock rotated as the programme ran, when it found something it copied and transferred the symbol to the second screen. 

“It's very old that much I do know Patch.”

“Well then, let's see what this little rock has to say.”

Patch focussed on the screen as more symbols began to appear. He could hear Slim as he tinkered with some junk on one of his desks. Patch turned towards Slim when he heard a bang, he saw Slim wave his hand in the air then he wrapped a rag round his hand. A beep from the computer brought him back to the rock.

“What is it doing now?” 

“Don't touch anything!”

Slim pushed Patch out of the way and hit some keys on the keyboard. The screen showed all the symbols, but it couldn't decipher them.

“Sorry Patch,this is really old, but I know someone who could help us”

A red light appeared on his wristband. Patch closed his eyes and to see what Galaxy could see in the hallway, two figures exited the lifts. Patch grabbed the rock and headed for the door. As he opened the door his friend bolted in through the gap, Patch knelt down. Galaxy jumped on his back and all four legs connected round Patch's shoulder and waist like a back pack.

“Who is it Patch?”

“Burdock and De Lyon.”

“Not good, not good. What do they want?”

“You're not wrong, it's me they want, Slim. Not you.”

“You’re doing a job for Virgil Roman?”

“Gotta find a guy called Reuben.” 

“What's the deadline for the job?”

“Three days. This is day three.”

“Well Patch, you still have time left.” 

Slim moved to the corner of his place and opened the window. 

“This way!” 

“Where are we going?” 

“You'll see, you're gonna love this.”

Patch moved out onto the ledge and followed Slim. He watched Slim enter the building through another window, Patch hugged the building walls as shuttles zoomed passed him. He composed himself and shuffled along to the window and climbed through. Slim had placed his hand on a panel on a desk that revealed a screen and they could see all the corridors on this floor. Patch spotted Burdock and De Lyon outside Slim's place, and then he saw a pack of Nan-Tar enter the building. 

“Slim, is there a quick way out of here? If we don't move now we will be dog meat.”

“Watch this!” 

Slim hit some buttons and the entire floor's power went off except for their room. 

“Stand here Patch and keep your arms by your side.” 

A small section of the floor started to move down. 

“How much of this building do you own?”

“All of it?”

“All of... How?”

“It has taken me a while, didn't want to say anything but that is why I did what I did.”

“Why didn't you just say?” 

Slim held out his hand. 

“Surprise just doesn't cut it now does it.” 

Patch accepted the hand and shook it; he felt relief for the first time in a long time. Both he and Slim moved through the levels of the building in a small lift shaft. 

“Very clever”

“I've been busy over the last two years.”

“If we survive, you'll have to show me what else it can do.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

After Patch pressed a button on his wristband Galaxy fell from his back and waited by the lift doors. Once it stopped and a panel opened, they both stepped outside and Galaxy ran up the alley but collapsed to a heap as if his battery had been severed. Patch moved to the front and pulled out his gun as he knelt beside his trusted friend, but something knocked the gun from his hand, out of the shadows walked four men, all of them wearing grey boiler suits, one of them placed a small electromagnetic pulse device into his pocket. They forced Patch and Slim inside the opposite building and slammed them into the wall; Slim hit the floor hard, blood poured down his face. Patch tried to reach for him but he was pinned back against the wall by two of the men.

“We need you to come with us, Mr Drexler.” 

“Mr Roman never said that he had other hired guard.”

“We don't work for Mr Roman.” 

“Then who do you work for?”

The other men tied Slim to a pillar; they ripped open his shirt and slashed his chest open. One of the men removed his boiler suit and collapsed to all fours, his body writhed in a controlled agony, his bones cracked and reformed, grey hair sprouted from every pore. 

“You need to come with us. Don't make us hurt him, we don't like doing this.”

“It doesn't come across that way.”

He then saw the tail, move and open, the spikes glistened. The beast turned towards him, the man that had pinned him down nodded, it moved towards Slim its tail snaked in the air then it flicked and a handful of spikes hit the pillar above Slim's head. The tail coiled to strike again. 

“OK, OK,OK! Don't hurt him.”

“Wise choice, Mr Drexler.”

“Just don't hurt him.”

“You have my word.”

 The last thing Patch saw before a sack was placed over his head was one of the men hit Slim, who then collapsed in an unconscious heap. In the darkness, he heard the leader of his captors speak.

“We have him, Reuben!” 

Patch reached for his wristband and activated the inbuilt camera on Galaxy, when Patch closed his eyes he could see the back alley, Galaxy was back online. Patch hit another button to activate the camera, and signalled Galaxy to follow them. He saw Galaxy climb onto the back of the shuttle that he was being placed on.  

“Good boy.” 

Patch felt a blow to the head, and then the blackness engulfed him. 

***

Something cut through the ties that held Patch captive. As he removed the sack from his head there in front of him stood his faithful friend, the one, who had never left his side.

“Good boy.” 

His eyes focussed; all around him stood crates and metal girders.

Bang! The noise echoed from deep within the mountain rock, his loyal friend turned and stood his ground. A feral growl could be heard as it approached them, the growls changed to voices. Patch placed his hand on Galaxy's head and ushered him to hide. He then went back into his captured state, hands behind his back and a sack over his head. One of Reuben’s disciples in a grey boiler suit pulled at Patch's arm.

“On your feet!”

He waited, until the disciple reached for him, then he hit him in the groin and as the man slumped, he caught him square in the jaw. The man fell forward onto a pile of crates and Patch used the binds that had held him on the prone disciple. Galaxy lead the way out of the room and Patch activated his contact lenses he could now see what Galaxy saw. Crates filled the room, from the floor up to the ceiling, one labelled C4, and in the far wall was a giant hole. A large sign read Gemini One Space Bridge. As Patch moved closer to the hole, he heard muffled voices from the darkness.  

Galaxy entered the hole first, Patch moved cautiously as the ground crumbled, after a few steps it became firm. They both followed the maze like tunnels until the voices became clearer. Patch peered through a gap in the rocks and saw a large black marbled tower. A tall grey haired man draped in rags gazed at the tower that was in the centre of a stone shrine. He noticed the tower was covered in Nan-Tarish carvings like the ones’ on the rock he had found from the nightclub. Boom! Crash! 

Rubble fell from the top of the cave and a bright white light bounced round the cave walls by the black marbled stones. Patch moved backwards from the light and felt the heat of a body behind him. As he turned, a Nan-Tar with brown matted fur hurled him over the rock and into the clearing. Patch hit the harsh dirt, Reuben turned and moved forward. 

“So you are the one that has been seeking myself and the Amulet?” 

“Let me guess you expected someone younger, faster and better dressed but at the end you get stuck with an old, slow... hold on... hold on... 2 out of 3 ain't bad. But I had nothing better to do than play where's Reuben.”

“A simple 'Yes' would've sufficed, Mr Drexler. Do you have something that belongs to me?”

“You'll find out I don't do things simple.”

Patch reached inside his pocket and removed the rock. Reuben stepped closer and reached for the rock, but Patch pulled back.

 

“Mr Drexler you have scratched my curiosity, who sent you?”

“Not at liberty to say, client confidentiality.” 

“Would it be, Nessa Grey?”

“Client confidentiality!”

Reuben nodded to one of his disciples who grabbed Patch in vice like grip that tightened with every movement; he raised his hand towards Patch and placed it on his chest, with his free hand he took the rock from Patch's hand. 

“You have a strong heart Mr Drexler. If you were to join us you could be so much more, we could use you in our fight.”

Patch looked directly at Reuben.

“In your fight? I heard the Nan-Tar want to take over the universe.”

“No no, Mr Drexler, me and my small group of disciples that you see here want to protect it from Nessa Grey who turned on our race and destroyed our home planet.”

“To be honest, you keep dropping this name, but I don't know who she is.”

Bang! The Nan-Tar stood at the entrance collapsed as smoke bellowed from his chest. From behind the rock appeared a woman with brown hair that had a grey streak and a dark red hooded cloak draped across her shoulders. 

“Nessa Grey, always knew I’d see you again and didn’t need a prophecy to tell me that.” 

“Well I hope you have what I came here for?”

“Over my dead body.”

“If that's what it takes, I will have the Amulet.” 

Patch fell to the floor as the beast dropped him and ran at Nessa, but she simply unclipped her gun and shot him down with devastating speed and accuracy. She then looked down at Patch. 

“Well, your three days are up, Mr Drexler! Thank you for your services.”

“I haven't met you before lady. I was hired by Mr Roman.”

“You have met me before, and it was me that hired you.” 

As she moved her hair out of her face, it revealed her eyes, one blue, and one green. Then he remembered who else was in Virgil's office during the meeting. 

“It's you!”

Nessa raised her hand and clicked her fingers. 

“Our agreement still stands, Burdock and De Lyon please escort, Mr Drexler away from here.” 

Patch turned to see both men walk into the shrine. Nessa removed her red robe and moved towards Reuben, who had also removed his rags, and there in the moonlight the prize glistened. Both Nessa and Reuben began to change with ease; Patch heard the guttural growls and the bones crack, as Burdock and De Lyon shoved him through the maze. 

When they climbed back through the hole in the wall, De Lyon pushed past Patch, as he turned Burdock had his gun pointed straight at him. 

“Now we are going to have a bit of fun, Patch, but I'm afraid you won't enjoy it.”

De Lyon started to change, his fur was a dark grey, he gave an almighty roar and prepared to jump at Patch. Out from the shadows came the Nan-Tar, he had left in the other room. The beast had broken free of his binds and was in full attack mode, it slashed at Burdock's arm, which caused him to drop the gun and then dived at De Lyon. As they fought against the crates, Patch dived for the gun, but Burdock got there first and held it in Patch's face, a red dot appeared right between the eyes. Click, boom! 

Blood trickled down Burdocks face as he fell to the floor. As Patch turned, he saw Slim behind some crates with a gun in his hand. 

“So glad to see you Slim, how did you find me?”

“When I got back to my place I spotted these clowns staking my place out, it wasn't hard to switch the tables on these guys.” 

“Well I am so glad you did.”

“Are we leaving now? Patch.”

Before he could answer, Reuben’s disciple was flung across the room at Patch who collapsed under it’s dead weight’ it’s chest ripped wide open by De Lyon’s claws. He managed to slide himself free as De Lyon stalked Slim. As he lifted himself up, he grabbed one of the explosive charges and the crate lid from an open box. Its tail opened, Patch dived in front of the beast and a dozen spikes hit his makeshift shield. De Lyon growled at Slim then turned and unleashed a roar at Patch. Galaxy jumped off of a stack of crates onto the back of De Lyon and sank its metal teeth into his shoulder. Patch dropped the shield and hit a button on his wristband, he then twisted the charge cap as Galaxy jumped off De Lyon and rammed the explosive into the beast’s mouth, and dived behind a stack of crates. Slim bolted for the same crates. 

Bang! The walls were covered in blood and body parts. Patch picked himself up, and staggered through the hole back to the shrine. All he could hear were the feral growls and the ripping of flesh. When he entered the shrine, he saw small puddles of blood in the sand, and red rocks. Reuben and Nessa slashed and slammed each other into the cave walls. Even with Reuben’s black matted fur, Patch could tell he had been hurt. Nessa seemed to have the upper hand, her tail darted and impaled in Reuben’s stomach, he hit the floor. She reached down towards the prone body of Reuben and snatched the Amulet; he came to and grabbed her leg. Patch followed his instinct and went for Nessa, her tail opened up and she thrust it into the neck of Reuben, he yelped. Then Nessa swung it round and a dozen spikes impaled into Patch's chest, he wrestled with her but she just pushed her tail into his chest. He writhed in pain but managed to knock the Amulet out of her grasp, it landed next to the base of the black rock. Nessa pinned him down on the ground and growled at him. Patch watched Reuben crawl towards the Amulet; he found a piece of the black rock in the sand. As Nessa raised her head to growl, he slammed it into her eye, she roared in pain and swiped blindly at Patch. She caught him square in the gut and knocked him into the black pillar. Reuben uttered some words that Patch believed to be of the ancient Nan Tar language, the black rock glistened, and the cave filled with light. Nessa bolted off into the rocky maze. Patch heard cracks and groans as Reuben changed back into his human shape.

“Patch!”

Patch crawled on all fours to Reuben who now lay in a pool of his own blood. 

“Take this and keep it from the clutches of, Nessa Grey and anyone that is willing to join her and her cause.” 

“I'm not sure if I'll be walking out of here.”

Patch opened his blood soaked shirt to reveal his wound. Reuben reached for Patch. 

“Lie down beside me, Patch.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I am bestowing my title and power so you can survive the burn and protect the Amulet.” 

 “Are you being serious?”

“I am. My time is over, it is your time now. Take this box. It is important, it will help in the process of the burn. Follow the parchment.”

Moonlight filled the shrine as Reuben uttered some Nan-Tarish words, it bounced off the black marble, then into the pillar. Once Reuben had finished, he took one final breath and placed the Amulet into Patch's hand. 

“Keep this safe, you will survive you have the heart.”

Reuben let his breath go as his skin turned black and he was gone. Patch lay in the blood, in shock. He heard footsteps approach, as he sat up he saw Slim run towards him. Slim eased him up onto his feet and carried him towards the maze of tunnels. 

“We need that box!” 

“I can't carry you and the box Patch. You choose?”

“I can carry myself, just carry that box or I won't survive.”

Patch climbed out of the tunnel, but he collapsed to the floor. 

“Forget this Patch. I'm leaving the box.” 

“No! We need it!”

Patch used the crates to pull himself up, he hit his wristband and Galaxy appeared in the corner of the room. 

“Good boy. Grab the box and let's get out of this place.”

     

Patch looked at Slim.   

“You got a safe place for us to go?” 

“We can go to my other place brother. We will be safe there for a bit.”

Slim placed Patch in a chair and as the engine roared into life and began to fly away from the carnage, Patch floated into the darkness while his shoulder burned. 

Author's Note

Hope people like it, hopefully not to many mistakes grammar wise.

Reviews

[Rachelle]

Dramatic visuals, Ronnie. Check out a journal account when I was in the field and encountered something --- unusual... Not the sort to describe ... haven't developed that yet. It's a cold and factual narrative, as was my training, which now, I desperately attempt to break out of.
No Validity 1 and 2.

[Lithium1974]

Awesome, this could be padded out into a full on space epic :)