Chapter 8: "If There is a God, He Can Rot in Hell"
Numbuh 4 sat dejectedly in the mess hall. His friends were eager to see him and asked him what happened, but he had managed to avoid them so far. Dizzy's crew were searching for any sign of Dizzy's pod, but Wally knew they wouldn't find a thing. He considered running out of the base without a space suit, but decided against it. What am I going to do? He thought about what Dizzy had told him, about letting Numbuh 3 know his true feelings, so he wouldn't make the same mistake.
"Have you found Denise yet, Dizzy?" Wally asked quietly. "I hope you have, mate. You deserve that much." Wally, along with Dizzy and the rest of the Aussies, were atheists; they believed in themselves, not God. But now more than ever, Wally hoped that there was at least something out there. If not, then Dizzy's life was so sad and meaningless that Wally could never bear the grief. He wondered what the other Aussies were going to do. Dizzy was their leader, how could they replace someone like him? Dingo would probably take his place, grudgingly, but who knows how long he could bear the responsibility before going crazy? Wally remembered when he had replaced Nigel as leader. What a disaster that was. How could Nigel and Dizzy handle the responsibility?
"Wally! WALLY!" cried a high pitched voice. Oh no, not now! He stood up slowly. In less than a few seconds, Kuki had him in a tight hug. "Wally, what happened what happened what happened!" she asked frantically, bouncing up and down joyfully.
Wally looked at the ground, miserable. "The mission was a failure," he said sullenly. "And Dizzy–Dizzy's dead," he choked, barely getting the words out.
The smile vanished from Kuki's face. "What?" she asked. Tears welled in her eyes.
"He died in the explosion, when that Crow guy blew up the Mantra. His escape pod was defective, and he couldn't escape." Tears were welling in his eyes as well, but he blinked them back.
"Oh Wally, I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears gently down her face. She held him closer. Wally couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye. Memories of Dizzy flooded his mind, of all the times Dizzy had been there for him, saving him at every turn. Suddenly, Wally made a decision, and without thinking of the consequences, lifted his head and looked Kuki right in the eye. For you, Dizzy.
"Kuki, there's something I have to tell you," said Wally.
"Yes?" she asked softly, her tears slowly drying.
"I'm leaving," he said bluntly, no trace of emotion in his voice. Kuki drew back, stunned.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm leaving. I'm going to Australia with the others, back to my home. They need me, now that Dizzy's gone."
"No! Wally, don't go!" cried Kuki, fresh tears in her eyes. "How can you do this to us! Don't you care about me? And Nigel and Abby and Hoagie, don't you care about them too?" She struggled to remain under control, but she felt herself slipping into hysteria.
"Wally, don't go," she pleaded softly
"I have to, Kuki. Tell the others for me, will you? I can't bring myself to do it." He turned away, and walked toward the exit of the mess hall, leaving Kuki by herself. As he was walking, Wally remembered one of the songs from his favorite band, The Beatles. How ironic, thought Wally. As the song coursed through his brain, he turned back towards Kuki.
"Hey, Kuki?" he asked.
"Yeah?" she replied, tears flowing fast and hard.
"I...
But if I seem to act unkind, it's only me, it's not my mind that is confusing things
"I...
Sometimes I wish I knew you well, then I could speak my mind and tell you, maybe you'd understand.
"I... I'll see you around." He turned away again, and this time did not look back. "If there is a God ," he whispered, "he can rot in hell."
THE END
(So that's the story, folks. Major thanks to flirtykuki, who has so far been my only reviewer. Who knows, maybe I'll get some more in a while. Anyways, I'm currently working on a sequel to all of this, so I'll see how it goes. Thanks a bunch to everyone who reads this.)