Fenris Perrywinkle: The Great Galactic Duel

Chapter VI: Down to Business

Sparks rain down on us as I pull a beautiful woman behind me deeper into the woods. Bolts of energy strike the earth all around us and she screams. I cry out to her not to give up – not to be afraid. More energy bolts. Above our heads, two enormous alien space ships trade fire. Sirens sound in the distance and powerful spotlights illuminate in the small town in the valley. All at once, unmarked military craft swarm the air above us. The sounds and lights are overwhelming. The woman following behind me screams and is lifted into the air. I grip her hand as hard as I can, but she is torn from my grasp. I watch in horror as her silhouette is vacuumed up into one of the craft above.

I awake with a start. Machinery whirs to life in the darkness. There is something heavy on my chest. A moment later, the room becomes its usual fuzzy white. Amanda's head and chest lie on top of my own. Her tired eyes flutter open and we gaze into each other without speaking. They slowly close again and she softly moans.

"Fenris..."

I reach up and softly brush the hair from her face. I feel so happy right now.

"Why did you reject me last night?" she whispers.

I continue to stroke her hair, confused that she's still on the topic. I had been noble. I had been a gentleman. I thought I made this clear last night.

"When a girl offers, you're supposed to accept it," she continues and tugs at the collar of my shirt. "Are women not your thing? You constantly flirt with me, and then when I finally relent, you go cold shower on me? What did I do wrong?"

"No, it's not like that. I made you feel sorry for me. I didn't think you'd actually want to. I was just trying to tease..."

Amanda presses her lips to mine and I immediately forget what I was trying to say. Her lips are just as soft as I had always imagined them to be.

She breaks the kiss and raises up by pushing on my shoulders. The look in her eye tells me to shut up. I decide to do so. Everything goes slow motion as she straddles my waist and begins unbuttoning that blouse of hers.

The wall opens and Little Green floats in. "Good cycle, Champion Fenris! I trust you and your follower enjoyed your rejuvenation time together?"

I'm going to murder that fat-head-little-green-interrupter.

Little Green looks Amanda up and down. "Ah good, I see the two of you are just getting dressed. Please be swift as we have much to accomplish before the tournament in 8 of your earth hours!"

Red-faced, Amanda hops off my body and quickly does her blouse back up. Words cannot adequately describe the extreme depth of my savage disappointment.

Desperate to regain some composure, she clears her throat and tosses me my medication. "Take your pill, Fenris."

"Yes, by all means!" Little Green chimes in. "One final pill before we give you a jump start!"

The capsule gets stuck as my throat suddenly goes dry. "Jump... start?" I don't like the sound of that.

Little Green gives a sharp little clap. The wall behind me opens and a mechanical arm yanks me out of bed. The last thing I see is the panicked look on Amanda's face as the wall closes and I disappear into the darkness beyond.

I can't adequately describe what happens next. All I remember is floating in nothingness and being continually shocked by alien energies. I feel like I'm being turned inside out, cooked, and then turned right side in again. Rinse and repeat that process a hundred times, and you're coming close to understanding what I'm going through.