Chapter 8 - Full Circle

“Looks like I found myself at the right place, right time,” Alex said, glancing over his gun to Rayne. “You good?”

“I’m fine,” she grunted, dusting off her shoulders. Her eyes trailed along the edge of the gun; the gun pointed at David. It made her uneasy. She knew what it was, and she knew what it could do, and it was far more frightening than a sword or an arrow.

“David, we don’t have to do this,” she said, her tone more imploring. “We just want to know what’s going on.”

“What’s going on,” David said, “is my boy Rick and I…”

“Not your boy.”

“My boy Rick and I… we are about to escape,” David continued, unphased. “I don’t know how, but I’m banking on some incredible coincidences and ridiculous luck to get me through.”

“Stop it,” Rayne snapped, “just stop…” she gestured around with her hands, “just stop all of this. This charade, this act that you’re doing, just talk to me.” Rayne observed him. She’d seen in that valley a glimpse of him behind the mask, and she knew there was more.

But David’s eyes narrowed, and his casual stance turned defensive. She could see him, watching Alex, and the gun. He wasn’t just waiting on dumb luck, he was waiting on an edge, an opportunity.

“We don’t have to do this the hard way,” Alex said, taking a step forward, fingers adjusting on the gun.

“Oh, come on, the easy way is no fun,” David said as he took a matching step back and bumped right into a vending machine. He turned, and his eyes lit up. “Oh, heck yeah, hey, do you have any salt ingots? I am thirsty over here. All that running really gets to me.”

“There’s no way,” Rick piped in, standing almost forgotten to the side with his hands still raised, “you literally had a soda like five minutes ago.”

“Oh, so I’m not allowed to be thirsty after five minutes?” David asked incredulously. “You know Rick, I can tell we’re still not on the same page here. Maybe, just maybe, I was asking for money, so when he gave me some, I could have taken his gun and saved us both, but no. Now I don’t get my drink and I’m explaining my entire plan to them. Some accomplice you are.”

“Not your accomplice.”

“Just shut up!” Alex roared, his knuckles white, gripping his weapon. “We have Explorers on the way, and they’ll be here any second.” Rayne could almost see the vein throbbing in Alex’s head. He was frustrated. A ticking time bomb, and David was doing all that he could to set him off.

“You hear that, Rick?” David snorted. “Finally, some REAL Explorers are coming to get me. It is about dang time, don’tcha think?”

“I said, shut up!” Alex took another step forward.

“Alex…” Rayne tried to caution.

“If this guy’s as dangerous as everyone says, then I’m gonna treat him that way,” He snapped back.

“You’re wrong about that,” David smirked, his green eyes glowing in the shadow of his hat. “I’m not as bad as everyone says. I’m so much worse.”

“Hey wait, time out.” Dustbunny announced suddenly, one of his tall ears twitching at a sound Rick couldn’t hear yet. “I hear something.”

They all paused to listen for a moment, and the sound soon became clear. It was the approaching sound of a helicopter. Rick looked out the window and there it was, reaching a hover dangerously close to the window.

Inside the helicopter was Jim Bones.

“Yep,” David pointed, a satisfied look on his face. “I called it.”

“I found you!” Jim yelled from the open side of the chopper. Next to him, locked and loaded, was one of his henchmen gripping a Gatling gun. “I want the power you have David, I know you have it! I’m gonna take it and use it to buy breakfast for months to come!”

Rayne’s eyes narrowed at David. “Great, just great, David, now you’ve got other people after the Oasis Spark, too.”

“Um, Rayne,” Alex said, lowering his weapon, his mouth agape in shock. “We should probably take cover.”

“That,” David said. “Is a fantastic idea.”

“I’ll take that accumulator even if I have to take it from your boney fingers!” The skeleton man roared, and the gatling gun whirled. It spun for one second, two, and then unleashed a hail of bullets. Rick screamed and dove to the ground just as a line of lead tore through the windows and cut across the room. Alex grabbed Rayne and pulled her down too, the two of them crawling around the corner and out of the line of fire.

David grabbed Dustbunny by the ears and the two of them hid behind the vending machine. Probably hoping that a couple of soda cans would get knocked out of it.

“Rick!” David yelled. “Find some cover dude!” Rick flinched with every resound crack and whizz that came close. The bullets were ricocheting all across the room as he crawled behind a small wall that led out of the room. He still ducked down as the bullets bounced nearby, and he patted his stomach and chest to make sure he hadn’t been hit.

“You good?!” David yelled, offering a thumbs up.

“No!” Rick yelled so loud his voice cracked. “No, I am not! I am absolutely going to die!”

“Please don’t!” Dustbunny yelled, though his little voice was barely audible over the cacophony of gunfire. “That would be most unfortunate!”

Rick’s breathing was panicked, he was sweating and freaking out, and maybe for the first time in his life he had a reason to panic and that wasn’t actually helping. He needed to calm down, he needed to figure out a way to… to do something, anything.

He reached into his pocket, looking for that comfortable feeling of the necklace, and it wasn’t there. He patted one pocket, then the other, and he looked around. The only reason he’d stayed was to find that stupid necklace and he’d gone and lost it again.

Then he saw a gleam of blue, and there it was. Right in the middle of the room where he’d dove to the ground. Bullets tore up the tile and chipped pieces of stone off the rough-hewn walls. Decorative plants spilled out of vases and pots and glass scattered across the floor.

Rick had to get it. If he didn’t, he’d never forgive himself.

“Sometimes I just think about doing one brave thing,” Taylor had said.

“Just this once, O’Brien,” he said to himself. Then he scrambled to his feet and made a mad dash for the necklace. Bullets whipped around him, a few of them so close that he could feel the wind. He snatched the necklace off the ground and kept moving and moving straight towards David.

Rick jumped into a slide and crashed into the wall right behind the vending machines and next to David.

“I’m not gonna lie,” David said, helping Rick up. “That was stupid and dangerous. I loved it.”

Then the gunfire stopped. There was a loud clang, and David peaked around the corner.

“They’re outta bullets, now is our chance,” he said and jumped to his feet.

“Our chance to do what?” Rick asked, heart pounding so loud in the quiet interim.

“Something very stupid, and very dangerous.” David said. Behind them, Rayne and Alex were checking things out too, figuring out why the shooting had stopped. Rick knew that at any moment all the other Explorers in the building would be on that floor and who knew what would happen then. He couldn’t stay.

For better or worse, Rick O’Brien had followed David Echoe this far, and he could go just a little bit farther.

“Alright,” Rick said, “let’s do it.”

“Help me out with this,” David said, grabbing the vending machine and pushing it toward the shattered window. For whatever it was worth, Dustbunny joined in, pushing with both his paws and his ears. They shoved as hard as they could, Skeleton Man shouting at his henchman, telling them to reload the gun. He pulled out his own silver revolver and aimed it, taking potshots as the helicopter tried to stay still enough in the air.

David tackled the vending machine, tipping it over, the weighty object pressing against the broken glass. Rick pressed his body against it, as David took another step back and slammed into it again with his shoulder. This time the glass gave way, and Rick realized all too late what David’s plan was.

He screamed as he lost his footing and went tumbling out of the window. The two of them went sliding down the sloped glass, the vending machine flipping and flopping down alongside them, cracking every window that it bounced off of.

David yelped and kicked himself out of the way just in time to avoid the heavy object as it crashed down above him, sending soda cans flying everywhere. Rick rolled out of the way just as the machine flipped over and smashed right next to his hand, shards of blue and cans of soda spilling through the air.

In the distance below them, Rick caught sight of someone. It was an Explorer, and she had a really, really big sword. Despite its immense size, she threw it. Threw it.

It went whipping through the air, creating a deep hollow humming sound. David grabbed Dustbunny and jerked him out of the way just as the sword clipped the window and curved upward like a boomerang towards the helicopter.

It severed the tail of the helicopter in one clean swipe.

Skeleton man screamed as suddenly, their control of the helicopter was lost. It was already perched precariously close to the Explorer’s building, and now that it was unstable, the helicopter spun around and leaned right into the glass.

The noise of tearing glass and twisting metal erupted as the helicopter crashed into the building, sending shards of glass raining from on high. Rick squealed in terror as he heard a whipping sound and felt the rush of wind as one of the helicopter propellers whistled past him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” David yelled.

“I’m sure they have insurance,” Dustbunny said as David clutched him in his arms. They went sliding down the sloped glass windows, the ground getting closer and closer.

“What do we do, what do we do!?” Rick howled as he kicked his feet out and tried to get any kind of grip with his hands, but he couldn’t.

“Just do what I do!” David answered, and as they slid closer and closer to the ground, they also neared the canopy of trees. As he neared the edge of the building where the glass stopped sloping and turned into a flat wall, he kicked off, and Rick had but mere moments to follow.

Rick did the best he could in the second or two that he had to position his feet just enough, and he jumped. His feet slipped, and he went flailing through the air, but he hit the tree with a painful thud, hitting one branch and then another, going limp as he flipped and flopped his way down until he hit the ground.

He groaned and sucked in a deep breath to replenish all the air that had been knocked from his lungs, but he wasn’t given much time to rest. David dropped to the ground alongside him, looking perfectly fine, and pulled him to his feet.

There was a resounding crash as flaming pieces of helicopter came tumbling down the side of the building, slamming down around them.

“Come on,” David said, looking away from Rick. “We need to go.” He was looking across the wreckage littering the sand. There was the Explorer, the woman. She was watching them, a dull smile on her face as she reached out and caught the massive sword in one arm as it came whipping back around.

Her smile disappeared behind a cloud of gray smoke.

“Like, now.” David said again, this time a little more urgently. He and Dustbunny bolted off into the brush, and Rick was right behind them.

***

Before he knew it, they had made their way away from the Explorer’s building, and they were walking down a cobblestone road through a tropical village. Wood huts with straw roofs on either side, and at the end of the road was a stone bridge that led over to a late-night ferry awaiting to fare its passengers across the sea.

The water was navy blue, with the stars and the moon rippling in its waves. Even though it was the same sea that surrounded his home island, it was a brand-new experience. One without the tall buildings and the city lights.

“Finally made it,” David said with a grin as he looked out over the water himself. “I must admit, that was an awesome escape. I’m glad we went back and got your…” His eyes dropped to Rick’s hand, and his grin faded away.

Looking slowly, Rick looked down at the necklace. It was nothing more than a mangled copper chain that held a small, scratched up blue fragment. The crystal had been smashed to pieces, and Rick recalled when the vending machine had almost crushed his hand, and the little blue fragments flying through the air.

“Oh,” he whispered, a small smile creeping across his lips, because there was no way in the world that things could have turned out any differently. “So that’s what that was.” In the heat of the moment, he hadn’t even realized what might’ve happened.

He let the chain slip down to the tips of his fingers, and then he tossed the remnants of the necklace into the water. Rick closed his eyes tight and felt tears welling up. He blinked fast and took a deep inhale through his nose.

“I’m sorry about your necklace,” Dustbunny said, his ears drooping.

“Yeah…” David said, rubbing the back of his neck in nervousness. “That sucks dude.”

“Figures,” Rick said with a soft sigh. “I should have known things wouldn’t have worked out. Do you think this is a sign?”

“No, I don’t think it’s a sign. I just think it’s unfortunate,” David answered quietly.

“Well, you were right,” Rick nodded. “It was pretty pathetic to place all of my little hopes on that thing, anyway. You were right.”

“I was right…”

“Well, thanks for agreeing.”

“No,” David said, “what I’m trying to say is I was right, but I’m not anymore. Because what you did was pretty dang awesome if you ask me. You’re a brave guy, Rick O’Brien.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“No, you didn’t give up,” David corrected, “you stuck with it, and for that, I am very proud.”

Rick smiled just a little. “You’re not used to making people feel better, are you?”

“He’s really not,” Dustbunny confirmed.

“Come on,” David grumbled, “give me props for trying.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Rick asked, and David nodded. “Why does everyone think that I’m your accomplice, that I’m some kind of adventurer? That’s what you said on the roof back in Old York, and all this time, she’s believed I’m your accomplice.”

“Well,” David said with a glow in his green eyes. “I think anyone can be an adventurer, and for whatever reason behind all of your complaining and whining, and crying, there’s something about you. I mean, with a little practice, I’m telling you, man, you could be an Explorer or an Adventurer or something. I can see it.”

“I can’t even tell Taylor that I like her,” Rick shook his head.

“But you can jump out of a seventh story window?” David smiled, “and you can sneak out of your little interrogation cell, and you can run from the Explorers, dodge death a dozen times, Rick, I don’t think you really understand what you’ve done today. It was awesome.”

“Very awesome,” Dustbunny echoed.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Rick nodded. “You know, I’m worried and afraid all the time, but… just now, just then,” he gestured to the Explorer’s headquarters, now aglow with lights and smoke and sirens. “In the moment, I didn’t feel so anxious. Didn’t have time to be lost in my head.”

David nodded his understanding. “Definitely is a paradox.”

As the ferry crossed the sea, Rick sat on a bench, looking back. He felt okay. Good, even. He lost track of time, quietly enjoying the moment as David and Dust stood inside the ferry, looking under the vending machines for extra change. It wasn’t all that long before the ferry horn sounded, and the ship came to a stop.

“Well, I guess here is where we say our goodbyes,” David said. “Me and Dust are going for some ice cream sandwiches if you wanna join?”

“I really gotta get home,” Rick said. He was a little sad to be parting ways. “Hey, guys. Thanks for helping me out today.”

“That’s what we do!” Dustbunny said, saluting with his ear. “We save the world, one Rick at a time.”

“Oh, hey, before we go…” David shoved a hand into the pouch on his hip and pulled out a small golden locket. “I picked this up not too long ago, and I know it’s maybe not what you were planning to give your lady friend, but it’s pretty and expensive. I’m sure she’ll like it.”

Rick opened his mouth to object, but David waved him off. “You earned it. Just do me a favor and quit waiting. Don’t be afraid.” David tipped his hat and made his way down the ferry ramp into Old York city.

“See yah later, Rick!” Dustbunny called, and Rick gave him a wave as the small gormaden ran to catch up with David.