IV

There it stood. A creature made by the finest engineers in the entire Cul-De-Sac. Made from steel pipes, cardboard, and gasoline tanks, the machine towered over the other homes, or what was left of them.

The incident had left the Cul-De-Sac nothing more than ash and flame. All that remained now was the machine, and the house it was built over. Double D's.

Double D didn't follow the glow of electricity here, he followed the flames.

He hid behind cars, trash cans, bodies of burnt material that Double D couldn't decipher if his life depended on it, getting closer and closer to the base of the machine. If his hunch was correct, Eddy would be somewhere within the machine, acting as figure head of the hunting squad.

But of course, it wouldn't be easy getting inside.

There was a reason Double D was hiding. Eddy wouldn't stay in the dangerously unstable contraption without someone acting as a guardian. And that guardian would have to be the strongest, most loyal and least likely to question orders in all of the Cul-De-Sac.

That, of course, was Ed. Sporting a Model 1887, the titan of a boy ran around the Cul-De-Sac, pretending to shoot at invisible invaders. Double D knew that even though Ed was pretending to shoot, he'd have no trouble pulling the trigger if he saw any real intruders.

Double D had to be quick and quiet if he wanted to get passed Ed. He had already failed to be sneaky twice, but you know what they say. Third time's the charm.

And for a while, this saying seemed to be true. Double D had made it towards the door, his hand trembling on the knob. Perhaps Double D should have taken into account the squeaking, though.

"Die space invader from a star system I don't know!"

Double D closed his eyes, expecting his body to be decimated by shrapnel. But if Double D kept his eyes open, he wouldn't have seen Ed firing his gun, but instead throwing it, as if it were a boomerang.

It wouldn't come back to Ed, but it would be a useful tool for Double D. That is, if he could pull himself back up from the ground. The gun had slammed against his spine, spending a burst of pain throughout his whole body. His body felt like a ton of bricks, the wounds received this day finally seeming to take their toll.

Double D reached for the gun, but he couldn't reach it. Ed could, and he lifted it high into the air, behind his head.

"Ed...please...it's me...you're friend."

"Nice try, space alien, but Eddy told me everything. You stole Double D, and you're going to use your sock hat army to take over the planet. Now back to the neither world with you!"

Double D screamed as the gun collided into his spine once more. When Double D built up the strength to turn his head, he could see that the gun now had a dent in the barrel.

If Double D didn't act soon, this would be the end of his journey. He had to act now, with whatever will he had left.

He lifted his hand up, and put it into Ed's coat pocket.

"You won't find my brains in there, alien from beyond the beyond, I keep it in my other coat" Ed said with a grin.

But Double D wasn't looking for a brain, he was looking for something more important to Ed.

Double D pulled out a piece of stinky cheese, and threw it as far as he could.

"Sheldon, no!"

Ed dropped the Model 1887, and ran towards his cheese. Double D grabbed the shotgun, and fired.

The bullets tore against Ed's back, but he refused to fall.

"Ow! Don't think you're so smart, alien, I prepared for this!"

Ed stumbled towards a nearby minivan, blood seeping from his coat, and lifted it high into the air.

"Any last words, foul beast?"

"Yeah...look up"

Ed looked upward, and while he commented on the sky looking much darker from under a car, Double D fired once more, this time aiming for Ed's arms. Ed might be strong, but it only takes one moment of weakness for two tons of metal to fall on top of you.

Double D dragged himself towards the door to his house. It would all end after this.

END OF CHAPTER