Walking Dollar Bills

Chapter 46 (2/2): The Last Pill (2/3)

At the second level of the stadium, Twister, Byrd, and Horatio watch the four friends celebrate their victory. Horatio's arms shake as he watches them with tears trickling down his face. Twister squeezes his sister tight and pumps his fist.

"This is the greatest day ever!" shouts Twister, "Write this moment down in the history books!"

"He's dead. They really killed the dictator," says Horatio, ignoring the tears that obstruct his vision of the heroes, "I never thought this day would come."

Byrd is unaffected by the exuberance of Twister and Horatio. She keeps her arms crossed and stares at the plot of sand the prototype dug into. Her eyes refuse to move from that spot as she digs her teeth into her lip.

"It can't be that easy," says Byrd. Her words slice through the balloon of elation carrying Twister and Horatio away. The two are now down-to-earth.

"It's over" counters Twister, "We saw the thing burn and take the Dictator with it!"

"It can't be that easy," repeats Byrd shaking her head.

Back on the ground level, the four continue to reminisce and applaud each other. Beneath their feet, grains of sand begin to move. They don't notice it at all.

Before anyone could react, the bladed-tail of the prototype rips out of the ground and stabs Gumbo in the stomach. His body flies up into the air and he slams into the ground as a pool of blood forms around him.

The tail flips towards Amara and aims for her chest, but Earl shoots his tail around Amara's ankle and pulls her on top of him. The prototype's attack stabs thin air and sinks back into the ground.

"How did I?" asks Amara looking down at her feet. She sees Earl's tail uncurl around her ankle, then she turns to him, "Your tail? You never use your tail."

Earl smirks, "A Viper told me I should use it more. I guess he was right."

"Oh no!" shouts Zala tearing into her soft cheeks with her nails, "Gumbo!"

She never has the chance to reach him. A figure rises from the ground and blocks her view of her injured friend. It is impossible to see the figure. Tons of sand pour around its body as it rises.

The girl retreats to Amara and Earl.

"We need to move" says Amara, she looks down at Earl and realizes the stupidity of her words. He doesn't have the same mobility from earlier in the fight. There's no way for them to escape.

The foul stench of burning wires and circuits overwhelms their noses. Yet, a worse smell follows. It is the smell of burning flesh and bubbling blood.

The rain of sand finally ends. The figure comes to view. Hybridization is complete.

The Hybrid has the same scorpion bottom half as the prototype. Its legs are still mangled and crushed. The humanoid upper half is also unchanged. Liquefied metal pours down the Hybrid's body and drips onto the ground beneath it creating a steaming black puddle. The head is where the change has occurred.

Instead of the featureless human head and blue scanner eyes, the Hybrid has a long neck that protrudes 24 inches away from its chest. And, it has Dictator Beneficence's face tilted up so that his chin faces forward, while his eyes stare up at the sky.

Amara throws a hand over her mouth, Earl grimaces, and Zala lets out a scream. The thing before them is a monster. A living, breathing, monster.

"Don't... be... afraid... of... me" says Dictator Beneficence. His voice sounds like he is speaking with a mouth full of water. His words lack the unification that transforms letters into words and words into sentences. Each word is independent and disconnected from the last.