STEPHEN & WALDO Written by James Brown Narrated by Peter Walters   It had been two months since Stephen and Waldo escaped and the pain still prevented Waldo from fully clenching his right fist. Short of counting sunsets, they had no way of knowing the date, or exactly how long they had been on the run. Together they trudged through blackened, sludgy, dead forests that covered most of England. Stephen could remember much of his life before their escape and he purposefully forced himself to relive his ordeals of being chained and imprisoned in a tiny holding bay, trying to make sense of it all. As a student of neurology, he knew every time a memory was accessed, the brain changed small details of it. The more a memory is revisited, the more altered it becomes and therefore unreliable as an accurate source of information. Every day he would relive more of his past and he began to wonder how much of it was now accurate. Waldo on the other hand had just one thought in mind... revenge; He would break Stephen’s concentration throughout the day with a random scream begging miliguard soldiers to find him, which always unnerved Stephen. Even in his frail malnourished state, he would act out heroically killing anyone who dare enslave him again. Both Stephen and Waldo had removed their standard issue thick institution clothing only a handful of times to wash in small streams. The once white heavy woven cloth, similar to a martial arts uniform, offered poor protection from acidic rain. Taking a day or more to dry, the damp cloth wore heavy on their thin bodies as they trudged on in search of food and shelter. Now in early winter, the search for home weighed heavily on Stephens’ mind. Both showed signs of malnutrition; tired, skinny, lacking concentration and constantly shivering. At night, Waldo noticed Stephen hallucinating, most likely a result of poor mushroom choice from whatever he could salvage throughout the day. Their small teeth were loose from scurvy and their fingernails had white spots from zinc deficiency. Finally, on day fifty-six in the wild, they came across a country house, still mostly standing. Perhaps it had once been a farmhouse, but with the amount of destruction, it was difficult to tell. But now at least there was a small chance for Stephen and Waldo to scavenge for something edible. They approached the front of the house in a crouched position weary of booby traps, using the overgrown row of black hedges as cover. They crept within throwing distance and held their position. Stephen picked up a broken brick and threw it with all his strength at the front door. They took cover, bracing for an explosion or the activation of some trap, but nothing. Looking at each other in disbelief, they anxiously began edging closer to the house. They crept around the entire building first, before attempting entry. The back wall to the house had long since caved in, exposing the interior like a dolls house. Stepping over broken bricks and debris, they slowly walked inside. Vines weaved in between scattered laying bricks and rubble that resembled intertwined veins. Stephen had a flashback of blood being drained from his body through numerous tubes – no time for that now, he thought and tried to force his attention to staying alert. Waldo imagined how beautiful the house could have once been. This old house in the country, perhaps the hub of a family life, laden with baskets of colourful flowers with butterflies and birds flapping all around. This idyllic past ended by an incongruous force now reclaimed by natures’ warped intrusive weeds and rot. Waldo observed the destruction of the wall and wondered what force could have destroyed half the house. He was sure some kind of explosion was the cause. The violent dispersion of bricks scattered over the back garden was proof of that. This was not the work of wind and plants. Together, they stepped through the house, only the second time they had been in one. Waldo walked past a broken mirror on the wall and for a moment thought it was a hole and someone was looking back at him through the other side. Caught in his own stare, he transfixed on his grey, dry skin and was reminded of soldiers he had seen all over the world returning from war. Their faces emotionless, drained, tired, guilty and hopeless. He had hoped never to see that expression again, least of all on his own face. How could the same vacant longing expression now belong to him? Stephen cautiously stepped over broken furniture and rain-soaked carpets heading straight for the kitchen to the front of the house. “Waldo” called Stephen, snapping him from a trance with his own reflection. Waldo came to the kitchen and saw Stephen tucking into what was left of some dried beans. Waldo joined him on the floor and began frantically scoffing down some of the preserved human food. When Stephen finished his beans, he moved his attention to the fridge. Opening the stiff door, he discovered a warm, lightless interior; the house had long since been void of power. Inside the fridge were four bottles of unopened water, something Stephen had not seen for years. They each opened one, drinking furiously and satisfying weeks of thirst. “Let’s check around the house, there might be some tools we can take.” Said Stephen after finishing his bottle. Waldo was content to rest a while but knew that Stephen was right to not linger in the house and keep moving. Stephen packed the two remaining bottles of water into a backpack he found under the stairs and threw it over his shoulder. He made his way upstairs, being cautions with every step as he feared the house could collapse. On the landing, Stephen could see what he guessed were two rooms spread as rubble over the back garden. The roof of the house was almost completely missing. The only rooms intact were the bathroom and a small bedroom either side of a hallway that was otherwise destroyed and exposed to the harsh elements of the outside. After walking cautiously to the bathroom, he began exploring, pocketing a small pair of scissors before a pain in his stomach hit him with such force that he instantly fell to the floor. Downstairs, Waldo was about to stand up from the kitchen floor to continue exploring when he too felt a sharp pain inside his stomach that paralysed him to a fetal position. They could hear one another struggling to call the other for help. What was going on, thought Stephen? Then he realised. The only thing they found in unusually good condition – the water - that was the booby trap. Now their bodies were beacons for the miliguard who would be en route to their location. Once captured, they would be taken and enslaved again. Rolling on the floor, Stephen grabbed the shower hose and plunged it down his throat. He immediately vomited and the freshly drank water pulsated out of his small, lipless mouth, spreading over the floor. He saw thousands of blue sparkles in the water, homing beacons activated by Stephens’ body. A hundred miles away, deep underground below earths scorched surface, a Navigation Officer in the Federal Ordinance began receiving an alarming notification on his terminal. “Sir” He called out. “We have activation in quadrant 3-7-5.” The Chief Officer dropped his mobile hologram screen and immediately walked over with haste to the Navigation Officer. “Positive ID?” The CO questioned. “I’m awaiting confirmation from the sat-com now, Sir.” Within seconds, the screen displayed the names ‘STEPHEN. WALDO. ID CCONFIRMED. PRIMARY TARGETS.’ “Son-of-a-bitch.” The CO whispered, not believing what he was seeing. “Listen up.” The CO addressed the room of people, most of whom were holograms. “You are all about to receive coordinated for our primary code red location. Deploy three fully loaded air transports, lock down the area within ten miles, I want three-hundred-and-sixty-degree radar eyes from here to China, everything we have. Monitor the sky’s. Get me the Minister on coms, NASA, the NSA and Off-World Recon. I want the targets held in a decontamination pod within sixty seconds of their apprehend. Get drones in the area armed with static flashes and immobilisation guns. The targets must not be allowed to leave that area unless they are in our custody. We know their capabilities, so leave nothing to chance. Get to work, whatever you need to do, do it. I don’t need to tell you what happens if we lose them again.” He barked. “Sir, I’ve located an immobilisation patrol drone just two miles away.” The eager Navigation Officer continued. “Perfect, send it in.” Insisted the CO. Stephen had crawled down the stairs backwards on his hands and knees, carrying the shower hose in his hand. Vomiting up the water made him mobile again, but he was still in pain. “Waldo, I’m coming.” He shouted as he shuffled his way across the kitchen floor, clearing the way of debris, mud and dead insects. Stephen shoved the shower hose into Waldos’ mouth and down his throat and began pumping his frail stomach. After a few pumps, Waldo coughed up the water and the floor was full of the same blue glistening Nanobots, each serving their purpose of causing paralysis in the host and transmitting a homing beacon. “Are you able to move?” Questioned Stephen. “A little.” Replied Waldo. “How could we be so stupid?” Stephen was momentarily transfixed by the Nanobots – an idea struck. “Waldo.” He said. “What if we used the Nanobots to transmit our location to a ship. They could rescue us.” “How?” Waldo replied, trying to sit up. “We’re on a Ley Line, can’t you feel it? Come on, we need to find a large enough boulder.” As Stephen helped Waldo to stand, they both heard the faint murmur of a military mobile drone. They looked towards the broken window as the flying machine slowly crept into their sights. “Hurry.” Said Stephen. The immobilisation drone was only two feet wide and easily flew into the house tracking it’s two primary targets. A small dart bolted out of the drone and it flew at speed toward Stephen. Waldo saw it and grabbed Stephens’ newly acquired backpack, dragging him to the ground, narrowly missing being tranquilised by the dart. This was enough to send Waldo over the edge. No longer would he have to wait for the fight, it was here. He picked up a broken wooden beam and stood up, fighting off the pain in his stomach. Holding the beam like a baseball bat, he took a giant swipe at the drone and hit it with all his might, splintering the beam in two. The satisfaction of striking the drone did little to damage it. It easily stabilised itself again, unaffected by the attack. Stephen grabbed Waldo as the drone shot out two more darts, each narrowly missing their targets. Frantically, they both began throwing rusty kitchen utensils, broken bricks, fistful’s of mud and broken tiles at the drone, anything within reaching distance. Finally, Waldo’s four fingers grabbed a broken kettle and hurled it at the drone who expertly swayed to dodge it. The kettle struck the wall and made a splitting sound followed by several large creaks. From the floor, Stephen and Waldo stopped moving and listened. The drone froze and hovered at the same altitude. In unison, they all looked at the precarious wall at the front of the house as it began to crumble inwards onto them. Stephen and Waldo stood up and ran out the back of the house into the garden. They frantically jumped over the wreckage that was the ruins of the bedrooms upstairs spread throughout the lawn. The front of the house was in total collapse as the walls, staircase, bathroom and bedroom all came crashing and smashing to the ground. At the epicentre of its destruction was the drone, as it slammed to the floor, pounded and crushed by bricks and mortar. When Stephen and Waldo reached the end of the garden they looked back and saw the final stages of the house flattening into it’s own footprint. Waldo let out a roar of jubilation, exacting some semblance of revenge. The outburst startled Stephen, who looked at Waldo in surprise and concern. “Come on, we’ve got to move, they’ll be onto us now.” Said Stephen. “Hopefully we can find some sand to eat.” Waldo added. They began running away as best they could, towards more dead forest. At the Federal Ordinance, the navigation officer was staring at a new message on his screen. “Sir, immobilisation drone is down.” He said. “What, how?” Replied the Chief. “Unknown, but it’s offline, Sir. We believe targets are on the move, heading south. We’re picking up weak signals. There is a sniper copter en route to scout for them now, Sir.” The navigation officer said. “How long until it reaches their location?” “Seventeen minutes, Sir.” The navigation officer instantly replied, anticipating the question. “Well, Officer, the next seventeen minutes are going to be the most important of your life. The two remaining targets left in the world have shown up on our recon. And our team are the only line of defence.” “We’re mission ready, Sir.” Replied the navigation officer. “I know you are. Just make sure we get it right. The worlds’ eyes are on us. The decisions we make now will shape the planet for generations to come. It means the difference between our planet having power for our homes, hospitals, factories, transport medicines and food supplies… people dying of radiation poisoning or not, us included. We’re fighting for our lives. If we don’t get the technology that was promised to us, the estimate is three billion deaths worldwide within twelve weeks. God knows how many more after that.” After walking for fifteen minutes, Stephen and Waldo precariously stepped down a rocky incline leading to a river, making their way to a huge boulder imbedded into the riverbank. “When we get back home I’ll be a hero. Did you see how I caused the collapse of the house, crushing the flying drone to it’s death? I think I even heard it scream in pain as it died.” Waldo bragged. “Machines don’t die Waldo.” Rebutted Stephen. “Well, destroyed then. Either way, I killed it and it feels good.” Waldo went on. “You know, you’re beginning to sound like them.” Said Stephen. “Why aren’t you happy I killed it? If I didn’t we’d be tranquilised on the floor right now waiting to be picked up by a transport to take us back for more experiments and torture.” Protested Waldo. “Have you already forgotten what they did to us?” “I’ll never forget. But what’s the use of revenge? We should have never been here in the first place. We tried to warn them of the solar flare, but all they wanted to do was attack us. It’s just showed me that sometimes, it’s best to not try and help.” Stephen said. “You’re right. They did attack us because we tried to help. Some things need to be punished, like they did to us.” This revelation caused Waldo to stop walking. “I’m going back.” Stephen stopped and looked back at Waldo in shock. “What? That’s not what I meant.” He gasped. “I’m going to attack them, take down as many as I can.” Said Waldo walking back up the riverbank. “Are you insane? You’ve seen the weapons they have. You won’t last a minute. The house collapsing was a fluke. We’re not fighters.” Protested Stephen. “We are what we do. And I’m fighting. These things don’t even deserve a magnetic field on their planet. They probe us and try to steal our technology when their own fails. I’m glad their planet is scorched. They’ll all die and I’m going to speed up the process.” “At what cost, Waldo. Don’t let your anger destroy your life.” Said Stephen. “You go on and be saved if you’re a coward. I’m going to fight.” Waldo said, not caring if Stephen heard or not. “Waldo it’s a mistake. This is our only chance to get away from here.” Shouted Stephen in desperation. It was no good. Waldo had made his way back up the riverbank and was almost out of sight of Stephen. With haste Stephen ran to the boulder, splashing a few steps into the river. He held out his hand and touched the huge rock. “It feels like Sarsen.” He remarked to himself. “This will be perfect.” Stephen reached into his backpack and pulled out one of the bottles of water. He placed his hand on the large boulder and poured water over it from the top. He closed his eyes concentrating and began sending a rescue signal from his mind. The water began glistening blue, signalling that the nanobots were activated. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, collected his backpack and stepped out of the river. He ran back up the bank and called for Waldo in desperation. At the collapsed house, swarms of camouflaged steel miliguard robotic soldiers descended from the sky on zip wires, deployed from helicopters. Trucks soon followed coming to a savage skid and unloaded miliguard drones by the dozen. Within seconds every part of the area was under surveillance and control. “Sir, we have thermal tracks leading off in this direction.” Said one droid, indicating with its’ arm. The transmission made its’ way back to the Federal Ordinance where every governance in the world was watching. The Chief Officer belted authoritative instructions back through the intercom. “Follow them, proceed with all units. Track them down and bring them back.” “We’re closing in on their location now, Sir, we’ll get them.” Said one of the robot soldiers. A sharp triangle shaped camouflaged sniper copter descended at speed, tracking the ground and leading the way for the other troops to their target. Waldo reached down and picked up a long piece of wood that was sharpened at one end. “This will be perfect.” He said to himself. He held it like a spear and practiced wielding it hitting imaginary enemies. His right hand still hurt from his daring escape months ago preventing him from whooshing his makeshift spear with any real force. He collapsed to his knees and watched as he tried clenching his hand into a fist. “Who am I kidding. I can’t fight. Maybe I am just like them… scared and angry.” He said. “Waldo.” Said Stephen from afar. Waldo looked up into the distance and saw Stephen running towards him. At that moment Waldos’ entire body seized in pain. Every muscle began convoluting. His skin felt wet like a million needles were penetrating it. His bones throbbed and every nerve in his body felt like it was being twanged like a guitar. The sniper copter had just fired an immobilisation pellet into Waldos’ body. Within seconds, ground troops descended on him, pulling him up and forcing him into a decontamination pod. “No” Shouted Stephen. The sniper copter made its way to Stephen who began running away. It locked onto Stephens’ body and fired another pellet at him, only this time, the pellet stopped in mid-air. Suddenly the sniper copter began imploding, crushing inwards into itself. With a pathetic screeching noise, it fell to the ground as scrap metal. The noise made Stephen look back - this could mean only one thing. Stephen looked up and saw a new, much larger ship patrolling the sky. Only this time, the flying object was not trying to apprehend him. It descended to only sixty feet above ground and was the size of a small house. The craft was not lit by conventional lights, instead, the ship itself illuminated, radiating light as if the very material it was crafted from was light itself. “Home.” Cried Stephen. The other ground miliguard drones began shooting at the new craft, but it was useless. Everything fired upon the ship miraculously seemed to pass straight through it. The miliguard soldiers were thrown into the ground, each one unable to function or move. The ship had deployed a targeted gravity pulse that prevented them from making the slightest movement. The contamination pods door suddenly burst open and Waldo slumped out. The ship projected a white glow that engulfed Waldos’ body and levitated him towards the ship. Stephen took off his backpack and let it fall to the ground. He took a few steps closer to the ship hovering just above him and like Waldo, the white glow carried him aboard the craft. Federal Ordinance had been watching the events unfold of the miliguard soldiers capturing Waldo. They were collectively in in anticipated hope until static interference prevented them from seeing any more. The soldiers tried using their comms to update them on the situation, but only broken words were getting through. Clearly this hovering craft didn’t want them communicating. “Do you have confirmation on the pickup?” The Chief Officer demanded. Static split words came through the intercom from the robot soldiers at the scene. “Si… we... pickup… contact… attack… b… down… ackowleg…”. Was all they received. “Give me a sitrep, now.” Barked the Chief Officer through the speakers of the miliguard soldiers. The large ship zoomed up at an impossible velocity, it’s view fading away in earths stratosphere. This ship moved too fast for a conventional human design. Living biological entities would never survive such abrasive acceleration. This technology bent the vortex of gravity and space giving the illusion of extreme speed. In Federal Ordinance, a miliguards’ voice came through the speakers in crystal clear clarity. “Sir, we lost them. They’ve left the atmosphere.” Every muscle in the Chef Officers body drained of energy, making it feel three times heavier than usual. Air deflated from his lungs without any control to let it out. His body collapsed under the weight of guilt and shock. “What do we do now, Sir?” Questioned the navigation officer. Behind him were screens of Presidents, Kings and Prime Ministers from countries around the world, all witness to this moment in history. The Chief Officer sank down onto the floor, sullen, staring with tunnel vision into oblivion, “It’s over. We’re living in the dark. Our planet is dead now.” The End.