Misfire

Part Three

Mork didn't waste much time gathering his belongings from Mindy's apartment. He packed quickly, knowing the sooner he was out of her life the better off she would be. Stuffing what he could into his silver suitcase, he took one final look around to make sure he wasn't missing anything, not wanting to leave one item behind that would remind Mindy of his presence, knowing it would cause her too much pain. He knew he would miss her. As he glanced around the apartment, he kept thinking about all of the memories they'd shared in that warm, cheerful place. Now he was an exile, never to return. The pleasant, welcoming décor seemed to mock him in his gloomy mood, taunting him, telling him he didn't belong. After all, it was meant for someone more civilized, someone sweet and benign, like Mindy. It was not a home for a monster like him. It seemed like a doll house, and he felt like a big, clumsy oaf who could easily damage it as he had damaged Mindy. Before he left, he checked her refrigerator, finding the one thing he knew would provide him with some comfort. A six-pack of cream soda sat on the shelf, and he grabbed it, vowing to drink every can of it until he could forget what he'd done to her, until he was numb. He didn't care what happened to him, just as long as he could stop thinking about Mindy, and the blood. Turning to take one last look around the apartment, he left, slamming the door behind him.

Craving solitude, he wandered into the woods, climbing a steep hill that overlooked Boulder. Dusk was falling on the city, thousands of lights twinkling in the distance. It was a beautiful, serene scene, one that he hoped—along with the cream soda—would bring him peace. He perched on top of a rock and opened his first can, gulping the bubbling liquid with his finger without pausing, wanting to get drunk as quickly as possible. Belching when he finished, he tossed the can into the woods and leaned back to stare at the stars. He could already feel it taking effect, his body warm and tingling.

"Well Orson, there you are up there," he said, squinting and pointing at the sky. "And Mindy, Mindy's down there." He looked sadly back down on the city lights. "Funny, the lights look like stars on the ground. Tell me fat man, just where am I s'posed to fit?" Laughing, he opened another can and began guzzling it.

A branch snapped behind him. Even though he was intoxicated, he was still aware enough of his surroundings to hear it. Turning in the direction of the noise, he saw several undefined shapes moving in his direction, his vision too blurred by the effects of the soda to see them clearly. He heard laughter and hushed voices, and he realized they were humans approaching near where he sat. It was the last thing he wanted.

"No, go 'way!" He shouted, standing up on wobbly legs. "Hear me? Go 'way!"

Losing his balance, he toppled to the ground at their feet. He heard them laughing at him.

"Whoa, check out this guy! Far out," one of them said. "Dude, he's more stoned than we are."

Mork struggled to get up, feeling too woozy and disoriented to be successful, his shaky body collapsing back to the ground. He felt ashamed and humiliated, burying his face in the dirt and groaning. He felt a pair of hands on him, helping to lift him upright.

"N-no, don't touch me," he said, his eyes half-closed. He tried to fight them off, but he was too weakened and uncoordinated by the soda to make much of an effort, eventually resigning and allowing them to help him.

A woman with long flowing blond hair and wearing a bandana cupped his flushed face in her hands and cradled his head against her chest.

"So what's your name, baby?" She asked.

"M-Mork."

"Mork? What a trip. What are you, Jewish or something?"

"From Ork. 'Nuther…planet."

"A space man, huh? That's cool," one of the men in the group said, unrolling a blanket for the rest of them to sit on. His hair was as long as the woman's.

"N-no, I'm…m-monster. Don't touch. Dangerous," Mork said, pointing at his finger.

"Well, we don't judge, do we Moonbeam?" The man asked, the rest of the group settling down in a circle around him, some of them lighting joints.

"No, we accept all people," Moonbeam said, stroking Mork's hair and smiling at him.

"You mean…not afraid?"

"No, it's cool. You can hang with us, man," the man who appeared to be the leader of the group said.

Mork pushed himself up into a sitting position, using Moonbeam to steady himself. "Well I…tha's nice," he said, grinning. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"So, tell me why you're out here," Moonbeam said.

Mork looked at her, bleary-eyed. "Huh?" He asked.

"Well, all of us come out here to get away from something. We come out here to get back to nature. What about you?"

The violent and disturbing image of Mindy being struck by his finger returned to haunt him, even in his drunken state. It seemed there was nothing he could do to escape it, or the pain and distress it caused him. Tears flowed from his eyes.

"Mindy," he whimpered.

"You're out here because of a chick?" one of the other men in the group asked.

"She once called me…monster from outer space. Turns out she's right."

"Well, I don't know this Mindy, but that seems pretty harsh, bro," the group leader said.

"Did she throw you out?" Moonbeam asked, looking at him with deep sympathy.

Mork stood, unsteady on his feet for a moment before regaining at least some of his balance. "No," he said. "What would you say if I told you I can zap things? I have great power. I'll show you."

He didn't care anymore who knew he was an alien. Let them do with him what they wished. His profound sense of grief slowly turned to rage. If he was a monster, then he decided he should behave like one. There was no sense anymore in hiding his true nature.

"Show us, Mork," Moonbeam said, staring at him in awe. "Show us your power."

As if possessed by some malevolent being, Mork unleashed the full force of his power, aiming his finger at anything that happened to be in his path, the sparks emanating from it so intense that it illuminated the night sky, the ripple effect creating a colorful ribbon that resembled the aurora borealis.

"Wow, man," the hippie group said in unison, completely mesmerized.

Miles away in Boulder, windows shattered and the lights flickered until the entire city went dark. By this point Mork's powers had taken control of him. Unable to stop, his body convulsed as if he were being electrocuted, sparks arcing from his finger like lightning bolts, surrounding him in a cage of light. He heard screams, but he was unsure if they were his own or if they belonged to someone else. He could no longer see, the light blinding him, his body glowing. The screams grew louder and the light surrounding him grew brighter, drowning out everything else until he collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.

"Mork? Mork, can you hear me?"

Slowly, Mork's eyes fluttered open, searching for the echoing voice that called for him in the darkness. He felt the warmth of the sun on his skin, and when he opened his eyes fully he squinted against the brightness of the day, a silhouetted form standing over him partly blocking its rays. As the form came into more focus, he saw that it was Fred McConnell looking down at him with grave concern.

"Pops?" He asked. "What are you doing here?" He sat up slowly, instantly regretting it, his head throbbing. He moaned and clutched it between his hands, bending over and gasping for air.

"Everyone in Boulder was witness to your wonderful light show last night," Fred said, sitting down beside him. "It took them all morning to restore the electricity."

The hazy memories of his drunken night gradually returned to him. "Oh no," he said, looking around for the hippies. "I didn't…hurt anyone, did I?"

"No one except for the power grid," Fred said, smiling. "Don't worry—everyone in town thinks it was a freak lightning storm."

"I was here last night, with a group of people. They…saw me."

Fred saw the blanket left behind by the hippies along with pipes and other drug paraphernalia. He grinned. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much about them," he said. "They were probably so drugged out of their minds that for all they know they hallucinated the whole thing."

"I was drugged, too," Mork said, lowering his head in embarrassment.

"So I see," Fred said, picking up the remainder of the cream soda six-pack. He looked at the wounded alien, wanting to relieve him of his torment. "Look Mork, I know the truth about what happened to Mindy. It wasn't a lightning strike, was it?"

Mork curled tighter into a protective position, shrinking away from Fred, preparing for his punishment.

"It's all right," Fred said, sensing his fear. "I'm not upset, and I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know what happened."

"I tried," Mork said, sobbing, "but I was too late."

"You tried to do what, Mork? Just tell me."

Mork looked at Fred with his tearful, bloodshot eyes. "A tree broke. It was going to fall on Mindy if I didn't do something," he said, his lips trembling.

"So you used your powers," Fred said. It all began to make sense to him now. The burn marks on Mindy—they had come from Mork's finger.

"I tried," Mork said. "I missed, and I hurt her. I could have killed her. It's all my fault."

Fred moved closer to Mork, wrapping his arm around the trembling alien's body. "Now Mork, you didn't mean any harm," he said. "It was an accident. You were only trying to save her. In fact, you may have saved her."

"I don't see how. I hurt her. "

"Yes, but not intentionally. I'll bet if you hadn't reacted as quickly as you did, the situation would have been much worse. That tree might have fallen on her if you hadn't acted. You're her hero."

Mork looked at Fred. He could tell the man was being sincere. "I never thought of it like that before," he said, wiping his eyes.

"Well it's true," Fred said. "Now don't you think it's time that you stopped feeling sorry for yourself and came down the hill to see Mindy? She's doing much better now, and she's been asking for you."

"Mindy wants to see me? But why? After what I've done…"

"She forgives you, just as I do. She knows you didn't mean any harm. She's actually impressed that you would try so hard to protect her. It shows the strength of your character, and that's important on Earth. It matters. It, uh…is also important to me, especially if you want to keep seeing her."

"I think I understand," Mork said. "I was so afraid you'd punish me."

"You did a pretty good job of that on your own."

"I guess I did. It's just…you have no idea what it's been like for me here, how different and isolated I've felt. I was once on a planet similar to this where they wanted to put me to death for having these powers. They were afraid of me and didn't understand them. I barely escaped. I thought the same thing was going to happen to me here, and I thought this time I deserved it. I would never hurt another being. It's just not part of my culture on Ork. To do what I did to Mindy—it's just unthinkable."

"I know, but you should also know by now that Mindy and I are more tolerant than that, or at least I try to be with you. We're not going to punish you for something we don't fully understand—we're going to try to understand it. After what you told me about how you saved Mindy, I think I understand you better than ever."

"Oh, yeah? What do you understand?" Mork asked.

"That you're kind and caring. You're a good man, Mork."

"I'm not exactly a man. I'm an alien, remember?"

"Not to me you aren't. To me, you're as human as I am. Mindy feels the same way. She accepts you as you are, and that's pretty special to have that kind of unconditional love."

"Can we see Mindy now?" Mork asked.

"Sure, let me help you up," Fred said, taking his hands and pulling him up from the ground. "Do you feel okay?"
"I'm still a little dizzy, but I'll be all right. I just want to see Mindy."

Fred smiled. "Well, you'll see her soon enough," he said. "Come on, let's get off this mountain."