Roy Rocket - Beyond infinity

Vacations on Dreamkey

Faster! I've got to run faster or I'm gonna die... damn it!

I can't carry on, the air here isn't fit to breathe, my feet keep sinking in the mud and that damn thing following me is already too close! Anfry! Anfry help me, c'mon do something! Hurry up!

«Keep running, Roy! Quickly! It's gaining ground! »

Great help you are, I gathered that myself! I'm out of breath and I don't think I can... AAAH!

It's nearly got me, it's ripped my t-shirt, it's claws are gonna tear me apart! I can feel the warmth and stench of its breath, how can it run so goddamn fast on this scorching earth? I...

AAARGH!

It's hit me! It's burning like crazy, the pain is immense! I'm gonna faint, it's all over, this is it! I don't want to die! My life can't just end like this, help!

Help me, Anfry, help! Anfryyy!

«A-Anfry? »

«Morning, young man, » greeted the hare «looks like you've had one phenomenal nightmare, or that's how it seemed; you were screaming your head off! I suggest you go freshen up, you're drenched in sweat. »

«A-A nightmare?!» Roy, confused and blinded by the light that filtered intensely through the blinds, took a few seconds more than usual to become aware of his surroundings.

With his heart still beating rapidly, he leapt out of bed accompanied by the sound of Wendi's smug laughter as she appeared in the doorway behind Anfry.

«Ha ha ha! Roy had a nightmare! He must've heard the story you told me last night before going to bed, you know, the one about the hideous monster from the world of fire, and it scared him! »

Roy couldn't stand her when she acted like this. To be honest he couldn't stand her most of the time, even though he cared about her, but this was fairly normal due to their age difference. From the height of his nearly fourteen years of age he considered himself already an adult; he certainly couldn't allow himself to be laughed at by a six-year-old little girl, especially if she was his sister.

«Pack it in! Those stupid trashy little tales that your beloved Anfry tells you certainly don't frighten me! »

Two comical but unrelenting stern eyes hovered between him and Wendi, staring at him with clear disapproval.

«Hey young man, moderate your tone of voice! At your age you should give a good example and be more tolerant. That's enough now, get yourself ready and come down, it's breakfast time! »

There it was again, another one of the things that made Roy furious: to be told off by a stupid and fastidious mechanical hare who was now giving him the once-over as well.

Anfry, in reality, was a unique, one of a kind automaton: an animatronic technology prototype entirely high tech. Moses Baldassar, Roy e Wendi's grandfather, had built him a few years earlier to take care of his grandchildren just like a real baby sitter, a task that the hare carried out professionally with dedication.

Obviously the robot was the little girl's joy and delight, she was passionate about her little friend who followed her everywhere, gliding silently across the floor with the help of some powerful air cushions hidden under the hare's big back paws.

Roy on the other hand, even if none of the brand spanking new eighties technology could possibly come anywhere close to having Anfry's unique qualities, didn't find him quite so fascinating lately.

The teenager already felt launched towards adulthood and he didn't feel at all interested in listening to the countless captivating adventurous and fantastic stories, that the robot conserved in his memory and knew how to tell with great enthusiasm: kid's stuff, Roy thought. His dislike for Anfry was fueled by the hare's ability to genuinely interact with people, as an equal. Moses had equipped him with a strong and well defined personality and that smartass dummy didn't miss a chance to scold the youth just like a strict old human governess would have done! No, Roy really could not tolerate it.