After waiting for a while to make sure Harry had finally chosen not to leave, he pulled out a gun resembling a rifle. Melfina gasped upon seeing it. It was familiar...
******************************************
"Hey, Gene! You've got mail!" Jim's voice echoed in Starwind and Hawking Enterprises.
"All riiiiight!" Gene hollered as he jumped down the stairs and ran to the boy, suddenly full of energy. He snatched a magazine from Jim eagerly and flung the fist that held it into the air in triumph, grinning from ear to ear.
"YES! Thanks, buddy!" He hollered, ruffling Jim's hair. And with that, he bound up the stairs again to plop down on his bead and read the 'zine, nearly knocking Aisha off the railway.
"Heeey! Watch where you're going, Gene! Jim, what's gotten into him?" she whined.
Jim seemed used to this. "Aw, he's been waiting for this issue for a while. That's his magazine that has all sorts of random info on old weapons and junk. It's pretty cool, I like it myself." He sighed. "There's a big article covering castors this month, and Gene's a castor freak. It's natural."
"Hmph," Aisha growled. "Boys and their toys."
"Hey, he's gotta be enthusiastic about *something*, he can't be 100% lazy-ass about everything in this world," Jim replied.
"I heard that," Gene yelled from his bed.
Melfina, who had grown curious about what on earth could have Gene so exited, wandered upstairs and addressed him as he flipped through the pages.
"Um...may I sit down?"
"Sure, go ahead," he automatically replied. She sat down next to him.
"What are you reading?"
"The only worthwhile weapons magazine in the universe. Check this out."
Curious, she leaned over to look over his shoulder, and her eyes widened at the pages filled with all sorts of gadgets and devices designed for fighting.
"They've got all the new models along with the best classics, and every once and a while they throw in chronicles and studies on stuff that's been banned." He glanced to his side at Melfina's wide eyes, and he grinned, a thought striking him. He flipped a few pages and pointed to a knife.
"This knife here, it splits into four knives that rotate once it's pierced through flesh. You stab into the stomach and it completely tears up everything inside."
"Goodness," she gasped.
"And these custom bullets," he said, flipping some more pages, "Imbed themselves into the target and explode after three seconds. The explosives they're loaded with can make a 10,000 kilogram block disintegrate into nothing."
Her eyes widened even more, and Gene was inspired. He had the perfect coup de grace...
"And that one there," Gene said with a genuinely evil look now after flipping backwards a little, "...That's been banned for years." His finger landed on a crude looking gun, which would have looked like a normal rifle had it not been for the long, harpoon-like cone sticking out of the barrel. Gene pointed to the enlargement of the cone, calling it to Melfina's attention. The whole thing seemed to be crudely made by twisting pieces of jagged metal together, pointing their razor ends in every direction possible, and giving the whole mess a general harpoon shape with a painfully sharp tip.
"That's a Scrappler, an old custom torture device created in the early Space Wars designed for getting the most reluctant hostages to talk. You jab it into uncomfortable places," he said, poking Melfina's shoulder with his finger, causing her to jump and stare at him, "...and you twist it around for even more rewarding results. The gun is to make it go in deeper."
He turned his menacing face so it looked right at Melfina's. "The jagged metal makes it impossible to pull out without dragging out a whole mess of dripping, bloody muscle and flesh with it... so each and every person who DOES try to take it out winds up bleeding slowly, violently, and painfully to DEATH."
Melfina looked pale now, and neither Gene's wicked grin nor his tone of voice helped. Aisha, who had been listening, spoke up.
"Geez, that sounds like it had every reason to be banned! That's gotta hurt," she whimpered.
Gene nodded solemnly. "Anyone who's survived it has to keep it in them for the rest of their lives, or else they'll die that slow and painful DEATH! So you can always recognize the survivors of Scrappler attacks, 'cause they're walking around with huge metal spears stickin' out of their bodies!"
He took one look at Melfina's horrified face and promptly fell into a hysterical fit of laughter. This made her even more nervous, but she *really* jumped when a frying pan came out of nowhere and slammed against Gene's head. Jim rolled his eyes as Gene slowly recovered from the blow, groaning and cursing.
"Now that you've convinced Mel that you're a complete psychopath, how about ordering those castor shells?" Jim yelled, annoyed.
"Oooww! Dammit Jim, that hurt!" he whined.
"Order the shells," he repeated, "Before they run out. This is the cheapest way to get 'em."
"All right, all right!" Gene said, annoyed, and he jumped off his bead and leaped over the banister, taking the magazine with him to the phone to look up the number. Jim groaned and turned his attention towards Melfina.
"He's just being stupid. It's a pretty nasty weapon, all right, but he's overdoing it to freak you out. Just ignore him."
Mel gave a small smile and shook her head. "It's all right. He was just trying to scare me?"
"Sure was," Aisha growled. "I'll never get used to that guy's random evil streak. When's he gonna grow up?"
"Maybe I should just kill the subscription," Jim suggested.
"Maybe I should just kill you!" Gene's voice was heard. The three laughed.
****************************************************
Melfina stared at the Scrappler, now aimed in her direction. She looked at McDougal, pleading, but he showed no emotion. He only glanced in Gene's direction, and waited for the outlaw to get a full view of the weapon aimed for Melfina's chest.
And with that, he prepared to fire.
"Mel... run!..." Gene coughed. But he knew it was hopeless.
Melfina closed her eyes.
A shot echoed in her mind.
And a scream of agony filled the air.
Was it her own?
Wait...
Her eyes snapped open as a violent wind whipped around her body, caused by shockwaves from a nearby explosion. Once the wind had died down, she took the scene in.
Jim Hawking stood nearby, shaking slightly, the Castor that had been cast aside held tightly in his hands. Aisha was near him; she had taken him to the gun.
And Harry McDougal was dying.
***********
Cliffhangers... are evil. ) But so am I, so I don't care. r/r, as usual
******************************************
"Hey, Gene! You've got mail!" Jim's voice echoed in Starwind and Hawking Enterprises.
"All riiiiight!" Gene hollered as he jumped down the stairs and ran to the boy, suddenly full of energy. He snatched a magazine from Jim eagerly and flung the fist that held it into the air in triumph, grinning from ear to ear.
"YES! Thanks, buddy!" He hollered, ruffling Jim's hair. And with that, he bound up the stairs again to plop down on his bead and read the 'zine, nearly knocking Aisha off the railway.
"Heeey! Watch where you're going, Gene! Jim, what's gotten into him?" she whined.
Jim seemed used to this. "Aw, he's been waiting for this issue for a while. That's his magazine that has all sorts of random info on old weapons and junk. It's pretty cool, I like it myself." He sighed. "There's a big article covering castors this month, and Gene's a castor freak. It's natural."
"Hmph," Aisha growled. "Boys and their toys."
"Hey, he's gotta be enthusiastic about *something*, he can't be 100% lazy-ass about everything in this world," Jim replied.
"I heard that," Gene yelled from his bed.
Melfina, who had grown curious about what on earth could have Gene so exited, wandered upstairs and addressed him as he flipped through the pages.
"Um...may I sit down?"
"Sure, go ahead," he automatically replied. She sat down next to him.
"What are you reading?"
"The only worthwhile weapons magazine in the universe. Check this out."
Curious, she leaned over to look over his shoulder, and her eyes widened at the pages filled with all sorts of gadgets and devices designed for fighting.
"They've got all the new models along with the best classics, and every once and a while they throw in chronicles and studies on stuff that's been banned." He glanced to his side at Melfina's wide eyes, and he grinned, a thought striking him. He flipped a few pages and pointed to a knife.
"This knife here, it splits into four knives that rotate once it's pierced through flesh. You stab into the stomach and it completely tears up everything inside."
"Goodness," she gasped.
"And these custom bullets," he said, flipping some more pages, "Imbed themselves into the target and explode after three seconds. The explosives they're loaded with can make a 10,000 kilogram block disintegrate into nothing."
Her eyes widened even more, and Gene was inspired. He had the perfect coup de grace...
"And that one there," Gene said with a genuinely evil look now after flipping backwards a little, "...That's been banned for years." His finger landed on a crude looking gun, which would have looked like a normal rifle had it not been for the long, harpoon-like cone sticking out of the barrel. Gene pointed to the enlargement of the cone, calling it to Melfina's attention. The whole thing seemed to be crudely made by twisting pieces of jagged metal together, pointing their razor ends in every direction possible, and giving the whole mess a general harpoon shape with a painfully sharp tip.
"That's a Scrappler, an old custom torture device created in the early Space Wars designed for getting the most reluctant hostages to talk. You jab it into uncomfortable places," he said, poking Melfina's shoulder with his finger, causing her to jump and stare at him, "...and you twist it around for even more rewarding results. The gun is to make it go in deeper."
He turned his menacing face so it looked right at Melfina's. "The jagged metal makes it impossible to pull out without dragging out a whole mess of dripping, bloody muscle and flesh with it... so each and every person who DOES try to take it out winds up bleeding slowly, violently, and painfully to DEATH."
Melfina looked pale now, and neither Gene's wicked grin nor his tone of voice helped. Aisha, who had been listening, spoke up.
"Geez, that sounds like it had every reason to be banned! That's gotta hurt," she whimpered.
Gene nodded solemnly. "Anyone who's survived it has to keep it in them for the rest of their lives, or else they'll die that slow and painful DEATH! So you can always recognize the survivors of Scrappler attacks, 'cause they're walking around with huge metal spears stickin' out of their bodies!"
He took one look at Melfina's horrified face and promptly fell into a hysterical fit of laughter. This made her even more nervous, but she *really* jumped when a frying pan came out of nowhere and slammed against Gene's head. Jim rolled his eyes as Gene slowly recovered from the blow, groaning and cursing.
"Now that you've convinced Mel that you're a complete psychopath, how about ordering those castor shells?" Jim yelled, annoyed.
"Oooww! Dammit Jim, that hurt!" he whined.
"Order the shells," he repeated, "Before they run out. This is the cheapest way to get 'em."
"All right, all right!" Gene said, annoyed, and he jumped off his bead and leaped over the banister, taking the magazine with him to the phone to look up the number. Jim groaned and turned his attention towards Melfina.
"He's just being stupid. It's a pretty nasty weapon, all right, but he's overdoing it to freak you out. Just ignore him."
Mel gave a small smile and shook her head. "It's all right. He was just trying to scare me?"
"Sure was," Aisha growled. "I'll never get used to that guy's random evil streak. When's he gonna grow up?"
"Maybe I should just kill the subscription," Jim suggested.
"Maybe I should just kill you!" Gene's voice was heard. The three laughed.
****************************************************
Melfina stared at the Scrappler, now aimed in her direction. She looked at McDougal, pleading, but he showed no emotion. He only glanced in Gene's direction, and waited for the outlaw to get a full view of the weapon aimed for Melfina's chest.
And with that, he prepared to fire.
"Mel... run!..." Gene coughed. But he knew it was hopeless.
Melfina closed her eyes.
A shot echoed in her mind.
And a scream of agony filled the air.
Was it her own?
Wait...
Her eyes snapped open as a violent wind whipped around her body, caused by shockwaves from a nearby explosion. Once the wind had died down, she took the scene in.
Jim Hawking stood nearby, shaking slightly, the Castor that had been cast aside held tightly in his hands. Aisha was near him; she had taken him to the gun.
And Harry McDougal was dying.
***********
Cliffhangers... are evil. ) But so am I, so I don't care. r/r, as usual
