ACT FOUR
The trio of special officers neared the end of their search when they heard the explosion. Frog immediately threw the door open and saw a large truck and its propane container on fire! Although he did not stand close to the newly started blaze, he could feel the heat threatening to scorch his face and gas threatening to sicken his senses.
He coughed out, "Team, we need to search someplace else! We haven't found anything on the train, and we STILL can't find the leaders!"
As they leapt one by one off the train and onto solid earth, Turtle made it a mission to bring up her discovery from before. "Actually, I might have found something before we got on the train, but it's back the other way. I think it might help us!" She threw a thumb behind her to point to the mysterious and potentially macabre scene she discovered that led into the mountainside.
Her teammates looked past her, and although the flames maneuvered in the opposite direction of that path, it did not make the path to the metal location any easier to follow. Nonetheless...
"Okay, we'll head there. But let's grab our emergency packs from the jeep and borrow one of the Toppat's smaller trucks to get out of here faster. Now go!"
While three of the hunters escaped becoming the hunted, the rest of the jungle visitors continuously brawled. But by now, they all gradually understood that the scales of life and death have been tipped with a new weight - surviving the larger fiery beast's wrath. Even then, while some chose to take flight, others responded differently and stayed to fight their opponents.
And then the one innocent prey, who was caught in the middle of it all, reacted differently.
The explosion caught Dave off-guard and sent him flying. He landed gracelessly and let out a loud scream that, thanks to the fire, went unheard. The impact of his earth landing struck his head, opening his head wound again. The bandages attached to his head might have prevented a new wave of blood from falling, but his headache - the irritating and enlarging pest it was - returned as a boomerang and left him feeling like he was hit by a train.
He dropped the fire extinguisher in his short flight and it landed somewhere nearby him, but he could not see where. The heat from the flames themselves brushed against his face, and through scent, he noted the companions of smoke and gas invading the air. His vision blurred and he did not want to move lest he broke a bone.
But he had to try. His whole mind and body urged him to just lie there. But he groaned and dug his arms into the ground, shoved himself onto his elbows. And then, he used his arms to slowly rise. His arms shook like the foundation of a condemned structure about to collapse. It hurt. It hurt so much! Everything was burning!
He fell. His leg felt on fire again.
He breathed hard, hard, hard as he laid motionless on the ground, everything in him agonizing and yelling for help. ...Something inside of him past his whole being told him to get up. A small and gentle and powerful voice urged that he MUST get up! GET UP!
And so, although he struggled and only managed to stand on his hands and knees, he was up. He spotted the fire extinguisher. And he crawled with the speed of a tortoise to it, keeping safe from the elements of smoke and propane polluting the air. He grabbed the extinguisher, wrapped an arm around it and tucked it by his side. The man proceeded away from the truck fire, now hopping on one hand and trying to keep going.
But as he did, he spotted the much smaller plants were in the fiery path, and decided to put the extinguisher to good use.
The two companions Galeforce and Rupert also heard the thunder boom outside. Unaware of the true nature of the explosion, yes, but they were aware of its potential danger and thus quickened their search. They found no trace of any human in the facility, save for a few clues, found in the bathroom near the sinks.
The general opened the doors under the sink and discovered the disheveled first-aid kit, its contents mixed and unorganized. "Price, look at this!" He picked it up and looked it over. "Our missing person was here; this kit has been used!"
"That's not all that was used, sir. Look!" Rupert motioned with a free hand towards the spot on the wall where the fire extinguisher once hung. "The fire extinguisher's missin'. But where's our guy if he's not here? We checked everywhere in this place!"
Galeforce shook his head. "I have no idea. But I think our only hope is that he's somewhere safe and away from here. But we'll know for sure once we're back outside. Evacuate, and fast!"
They left the room behind and came back outside. They found the outside world changed and not for the better. The fires from the airship and the fire from the truck set about like two hungry lions looking for prey to devour, their scents of gas and grass following their roars.
Both of them escaped the clutches from the lions as they scrambled to return back to their jeep sanctuary. When they did, Galeforce grabbed the car's receiver and barked, "Charlie! Come in, Charlie! I need you to report in, over!"
But there was no human voice to reply; just the static of noise. He tried again. "Charlie! Come IN! I need you to respond, over!"
Another fizzle of noise.
Galeforce feared the worst, and he tried one more time. "Charlie, please, speak up! ARE YOU THERE?! CHARLES!"
The third time was a charm, and a sound was heard. But it didn't come on the receiver. It came from up above.
Galeforce and Rupert lifted their eyes to the skies. What they saw, was Charles leading a small flock of unidentified airplanes with all of their engines whirring in unity.
The receiver buzzed and a familiar pilot's voice was heard: "General, this is Charles, over. I'm okay: I met and brought some new friends to help fight the fires. Better duck and cover, sir!"
But they didn't take off like ducks. They watched in awe as the rain fell from the sky, released from the underbellies from all of the aerial firefighters. Eggshells built from water exploded upon impact and they put out the fires and saving lives - the plants, the wildlife, the military, the thieves and the innocent.
After recovering from his shock, Galeforce laughed. "Charlie, you never cease to amaze me. Keep it up and keep going! Over and out!" He placed the receiver back onto its position. "Well, Price, now that the fires will be put out, we can return to our objective!"
Water... oh how he yearned for it so badly. His lips were cracked now; he could feel their deterioration as he wiped a hand across his drenched face. He swept the sweat and dust off his forehead.
He took off his hat to release any heat trapped underneath before taking to fanning himself. He came to a stop near a tree and rested against it; he had to retire from his desire to stop the spread of fire.
Though he did his part to preserve whatever innocent plants he could spare from catching on fire or fusing with the larger fires, the small heats from the tiny flames combined with his black uniform combined with the larger heat of the earthly fires and smoke combined with the jungle's own self-made heat collectively slowed him down to a snail's pace. Dizziness spun in his head, and he wobbled on his legs like water.
As he breathed to regain himself, he failed to notice a small army of moisture droplets coming to his aid.
The first water drop hit his nose, startling him. And then he felt another raindrop hit him, and then another, and then another, and then another until he realized what was happening. He looked to the sky and he saw the water falling from the sky thanks to the heroic fleet of planes, followed by a military helicopter.
And Dave laughed. He joyfully laughed, the tears blending in with the makeshift rain. He took all of it in. The music of water pounding the plants and the hissing of fires' demise never sounded so wonderful.
The inner voice gently encouraged him to keep moving, as his salvation was close at hand. After inhaling the invigorating perfume of the water-covered earth, he picked up the fire extinguisher and used his temporal burst of energy to crawl to one of the military jeeps even as his leg wrinkled in pain again.
A handful of soldiers started rounding up the Toppats into tight and tiny groups, while the others either tended to wounds or ran after the Toppats who tried to flee the scene. His smile grew, but it quickly decreased. As much of a relief it was to see the good guys at work, they could accidentally trample or miss him if he stayed on his hands and knees. He needed to stand up so that they could see him. He sighed.
But he stopped crawling and pushed himself again. Using the fire extinguisher as his crutch, he stood to his feet even as his knees threatened to buckle from underneath him. He stood a minute to gain his balance and gradually put one foot in front of the other.
"H-Hey," he weakly called out. "H-hey! Over here! HELP! Please help!"
The pain in his leg spiked, causing him to scream and fall and losing the fire extinguisher again. But someone saved him in time, catching him in their arms.
"Don't worry, I got you! You'll be okay. We were looking all over for you and - wait a minute... Dave?!"
Dave froze in place. Wait... that voice! He chanced a glance at his rescuer, and his eyes widened in recognition.
"Dave!/Rupert! It IS you!" Both voices announced in unison.
The young soldier could not believe it... his friend Dave, deemed missing all this time, turned out to be the civilian they had been looking for? How did he get mixed up with the Toppats?
The young guard could not believe it... his friend Rupert, whom he last saw working in the police force, now served for the military? When did that happen?
Rupert snapped back to action. "C'mon, I'll help you walk, so lean on me! We'll talk later."
"O-okay!" Dave obeyed his orders, and Rupert grabbed hold of Dave's waist and guided his arm around the back of his neck and shoulder. Then the duo took off with Rupert supporting Dave's weight and helping him walk while Dave used his good leg to move.
They watched as the stronger guard protected the weaker prey. Now came the time to get revenge on behalf of the pack while everyone else was in a flurry of activity and not paying attention to them.
Discreetly, they moved a hand to underneath their form to produce a small gun, small enough to fit into the palm of one's hand and remain hidden.
The water aerial assault had ended. The rain ceased falling and the fires were gone, and so everything was wet.
Knowing this, Rupert took great care in walking Dave back to where Galeforce sat in the jeep. The general was communicating with Charles on the car receiver.
"Right; check the perimeters to find any Toppats still on the run and watch our soldiers. See you back at the base soon, and thank those pilots for us! Over and out." He hung up and noticed Rupert with Dave - the civilian!
"You found him! Good; sit him down on the seat here." The general moved out of the jeep so Dave could have room to sit and take a rest. After Rupert dropped Dave off, Galeforce sought the back of the jeep to grab a hidden emergency kit from the trunk's sides. Opening it, he took out an item and then brought it out to give to Dave.
When Dave saw the item in Galeforce's hand, he half-laughed in relief. A water bottle. "Oh thank you!" He said, his voice now rough and exhausted. But he was feeling much cooler. Taking off his hat, he threw it to the floor of the car and snatched the water from the general's hand. He opened the cap and greedily drank as much water as he could drink.
Galeforce regarded Rupert and gave him a proud smile. "I'm glad to see he has been found. That was good work, Rupert."
Rupert gave a curt nod of thanks. "Thank you sir. General, I know this man." At Galeforce's slight surprise, Rupert elaborated, "This is Dave Panpa. He's a friend of mine. We used to work together on the police force before we switched careers. He became a museum security guard before I joined the military. After that, I lost touch with him."
"Until now, it seems. Hm." Galeforce stroked his grey beard. He took notes on Dave's appearance - ratty clothes, gaunt frame, tiredness, special concern paid to his head and leg injuries. This poor man had been through a lot, which drove the general to approach Dave with compassion.
He waited until Dave finished his bottle to speak. "Mr. Panpa?"
Coming up for air after drinking all that water, he wiped the excess water from his mouth. "Y-yes?"
Weapon loaded at the ready... target sighted.
"My name is General Hubert Galeforce. We have a base of operations not too far from here; we'll take you back with us and we'll treat your injuries."
"Oh thank you," Dave said again, full of assurance now that he had been found and the Toppats were under arrest. "You have no idea how much I've been waiting to be rescued and I-" Any further mention of his gratitude as he saw something glistening in the corner of his eye. Incredibly alert and suddenly sharp, he whipped his head to find the source.
Ready...
Galeforce frowned at the sudden change in attention span. "Mr. Panpa, what's wrong?"
Aim...
A concerned Rupert called out, "Dave? You okay? Dave?"
...
FIRE.
And everything became deadly quiet, save for the sounds of a man pushing another out of the way of a bullet and howling in pain.
The bullet penetrated too fast for him to fully comprehend the situation at first. But it did lead his mind to go back and think back about his time as a police officer. Throughout his time working in the prison and streets, he thought he had seen the worst kind of injuries and twisted fates shoved onto those unfortunate enough to receive them. He himself had gotten only but a few bumps and bruises, but nothing to permanently deter him from his job of serving and protecting. Save one...
This night shift was turning out to be most intense one of his life. A thief tore down the road on a puny blue electric scooter towing away the beautiful and valuable Tunisian Diamond, its large and glittering electric blue shape surviving the terrible chase. The car pursing it was piloted by him, while his new partner had taken shotgun next to him. His partner clung onto his door and leaned part of his body out the window with handgun in hand, intending to bring the criminal down.
The sirens blared into the night for all to hear, the lights flashing a simultaneous red and blue. Everyone sped by trees and small hills and the cityscape as the pursuit continued. They were so close to the precious gemstone, but the crook was ahead of their game. So ahead that he did something no one saw coming.
The thief bent down, scooped up a rock, and threw it with the intention of knocking his partner out of the car!
The rock struck its victim and the unconscious man fell out onto the road, rolling behind the vehicle.
"No, Johnny!" Oh no, not another partner, not again! He immediately picked up the car radio to inform the other officers that - "Officer down! Repeat! Officer down!"
And the rest? Dubbed history, and the roots of Rupert's new career as a military man.
The Toppat woman smirked. She may have missed hitting her intended targets - whether it was the senior officer or the younger soldier made no difference to her - but at least she hit that weak man in black. But she suddenly felt the weight of the world she once carried now crushing her with two Herculean officers.
"Hey! Get off me!" She gasped out. The pain she experienced before was nothing compared to the officers pinning her down like she was a wild beast.
The two warriors - twin brothers - pressed her arms behind her back and stepped on her legs to prevent her from standing up. One of the twins snarled, "And let you try something stupid again? Yeah right, Toppat!"
"You won't be going anywhere with the Bukowski twins breathin' down your neck!"
The Toppat continued to wrestle with the brothers, but her time in the ring was over. The sharpened glower from Galeforce, who took her handgun away from her, made it clear that if looks could kill, that Toppat would have become ashes.
The only thing that finally broke her back and made her stop fighting was the sight of a fire extinguisher in front of her face, a hand posed on top of the handle ready to use. The hand belonged to a fighter wearing dark blue and despite his fierce appearance, he spoke in a hushed voice he could have been mistaken for a whisperer. Frog threatened, "Or the rest of the military. Make one more wrong move and you'll be taken down. Got it?"
The memory brought Rupert back to the present moment. He now fully comprehended that he was sitting on the ground with Dave in his arms. Dave was shoving his hands onto his side where the bullet struck him and he shook as he struggled to breathe.
Rupert helped by pushing a hand onto Dave's to help him, but in the process, blood flooded through Dave's fingers and touched his. But he didn't care.
"I-I'm sorry, R-Rupert. I-I just wanted to save you and G-Galeforce. I never... I never w-was a good p-police officer... w-was I?"
"No! Don't say that! You're a hero and... oi, Dave, don't die on me! You've got to hang in there!"
Rupert's urgent plea somehow gave Dave the incentive to stay awake a little longer. But as much as he was trying his best to stay awake, it proved to be a great cost to his already ailing body. Darkness threatened to creep into his vision and he was scared that once he allowed his vision to go black, he would not wake up. The very thought of losing his life - this time for keeps - when he was so close to regaining his freedom, scared him and he began to cry.
Rupert patted him on the shoulder, "Oi, Oi, no cryin'! You're going to be okay, I promise! You will not go down! I repeat, you will NOT go down-Just... please, hold on..." Rupert trailed off as the memory of Johnny invaded the moment again. But he fiercely shook it off. NOT AGAIN.
"I'm beggin' you, please hold on!" He laid Dave down on the ground and pressed both of his hands down on Dave's side as firmly as he could without breaking his bones. "You will not die, you understand?! We'll get you help, but don't you DARE die, Panpa!"
A tear-stained Dave took short and harsh breaths, fighting to stay alive. But the awful pain... he squeezed his eyes shut to block it out. Meanwhile, Turtle and Eel hurried over to help Rupert get Dave into the back of the jeep while keeping an eye on Dave's wounds. They carefully lifted him up and before he knew what was going on, he was lying on his back and saw Rupert looking down at him.
Rupert was talking to him, but for some reason... his voice wasn't registering. In fact, his voice seemed to slowly drift away.
The pain vanished. His vision blurred, the colors darkening and all thought of shape and design followed soon after. He was losing the war with his broken body coming out as the victor.
Finally... he could not hold his own anymore.
He closed his eyes. The last thing he heard was Rupert's voice.
"DAVE!"
A/N: Oh dear... poor Dave. Will he live? Will he die? Only time will determine that.
This blocky chapter was tough to write, so I'm grateful that it's done! And I'm grateful that I get to share this chapter with you all, and for a special reason. This week, I will be posting the latest chapters in all of my Henry Stickmin stories, including this one, in honor of the third (yes, I accidentally thought it was the fourth anniversary, but it's actually the third and for that, I do apologize for the mixup) anniversary of the final game in the Henry Stickmin games, Completing the Mission, with a focus on the 'Revenged' ending.
References:
-There are two callbacks to two games in The Henry Stickmin Collection.
1) "Rupert elaborated, "This is Dave Panpa. He's a friend of mine. We used to work together on the police force before we switched careers. He became a museum security guard. After that, I lost touch with him." - And they worked together in Escaping the Prison, the second game in the THSC.
2)"He himself had gotten only but a few bumps and bruises, but nothing to permanently deter him from his job of serving and protecting. Save one... " - Rupert's flashback is a callback to the 'Intruder on a Scooter' path in Stealing the Diamond. Rupert and his new police officer partner Johnny Panzer try to catch Henry while he's taking the Tunisian Diamond, but things don't go according to plan.
Oh, head's up: to round up this week of updates for my Henry Stickmin stories, I will hopefully be launching a brand new Henry Stickmin story tomorrow so be sure to keep a lookout for that.
Enjoy! :)