A[U]CTOR

Genre - Rust

Green Blood?

No, that can't be right.

Julia wipes the blood away with a hand towel.

There must be something wrong with the engine.

She checked the rusty screws notices that the screws need to be replaced.

Julia looked at the corner of her desk to pick the rust solvent from the floor and sprayed it on the engine. It would take a while for the solvent to take effect.

She picked the phone from her pocket to call a friend of hers. Speedy, her former college buddy, used to work at Pep Boys for two years before getting fired. One wrongly tight screw cost him his job. Then he tested his luck on working on an auto part store a few months later. Surprisingly, knowing his enemy landed him on a job that he actually liked. She dialed his number and heard the Auto Parts Galore jingle.

🎵 Do do do do ding ding 🎵
Thank you for calling Auto Parts Galore
We got nuts, bolts, screws and more
Come get the parts you need at your local auto parts store
Get the parts you need at the right price
If you have a low budget we make do
If you don't like what we got
Well boo-hoo
🎶 Screw you 🎶

Then Speedy answered the phone.

"Sup!"

Julia asked Speedy about the screws, he interrogated about the shape, size and model of the screw. Speedy nodded and found the screw she was looking for. Business aside, Speedy asked her about the jingle. In her opinion, it was tacky at best.

As the jingle says, boo-hoo screw you.

"I also think that there is a leak on the engine." Julia says to him. She also commented that she might have mistaken the coolent for green blood, but there was no coolent on the rusty screw.

After their little chat she ordered the for the screws to be delivered to her workshop by morning.

Julia couldn't sleep that night, thinking about the pick up truck.

"John, I called to inform you that the screws need to be replaced. The engine is fine, but I also noticed that there is a leak near the gas tank." Julia responded over the phone.

"Oh, that. My uncle Joe used to be the one in charge of givin' it maintenance. He used to drive for miles on the road, there were times that we weren't able to contact him. He would disappear for days. Ever since he passed away, there was no one that we could trust with the repairs." John commented.

"About that, did the truck have any trace of green fluid that I should know about?" She asked.

"Not that I know of, did ya find somethin'?" John asked her with his southern accent.

"Just checking if it has any old coolant that could be dried up or clustered." Julia looked at her injury.

"Nope. I cleaned the motor before sendin' it to ya." John replied.

Julia squinted at the scar in her hand.

Speedy delivered the screws right at Julia's workshop. He looked at the back of the pick up truck and on the license plate, GR33N-1.

Then he saw Julia wrapping her right hand with a blanket, small splotches of lime green on it.

Probably some aloe vera or hand lotion.

Psshh! Women.

"Delivery for a purty little lady!" He hollered. Julia stood from her work station.

"About damn time!" She hollered back, running up to him.

"Screw you! It's only 5:55!" A.M. to be exact. She opened the box of screws. "And what about my tip." He asked, albeit annoyed.

"My tip for you is that you lose some fat." Speedy scowled at her commentary. As if being fat is considered a crime. "I'm kidding!", Julia pulled the money from her pocket, "Don't worry! I got it right here."

Speedy took at least 25 bucks in total.

"Damn, that truck is old." Speedy commented. "Is older than my grandma."

"That's why I ordered these screws."

"You're lucky that they still make 'em."

"Yeah, some things never go out of style." Julia tightens the screw. "Do you mind turning on the engine while you're at it?"

"Don't mind if I do." Speedy borrowed the keys to open the door. He looked at the steering wheel and voila! He found the keyhole and turned on the engine.

The humming of the engine was heard, the puff of smoke blew up on her face.

Julia coughed.

The scar on her hand had a bioluminescent glow and waved the puff of smoke from her sight.

"Works like a charm!" Speedy turned on the front lights, then turned them off. He got off the truck and return the keys to her. "See ya around, Jul."

"Screw you, Speedy!" She cursed, then coughed while he walked away whistling the jingle.

Julia muffled her coughing by using one arm to cover her nose and mouth while she texted John. "The engine is fixed. When are you going to get the truck?"

"By 9." John texted.

Julia ate her cereal for breakfast, then surfed the web to find anything related to green fluid or green blood. She looked at the images related to flammable chemicals, gangrene, and neon. None so far. She looked at the truck, then back at her phone again.

Radium.

Now why did that word popped into her head?

She tpyed it. The bioluminescent chemical has a silvery white appearance when it is inactive, and the coolant exposed the green hue. That explains it. Was John's uncle transporting Radium?

Clank.

Julia flinched, before she saw a shadow peeking out on the side of the truck. She grabbed a sledgehammer.

To her relief, it was John.

"Sorry, Julia. Did I scare you?"

She let down a sledgehammer.

"No no, you just surprised me. That's all."

Julia got close to John to return the keys and he saw the green splotches on her hand through a poorly wrapped blanket.

"Julia, you really need to get that checked."

I know.

John paid her for the job, then got unto the pick up truck and turned on the engine. He drove in reverse before parking the pick up truck next door.