[Kalli]

The Psion screeched and gurgled, collapsing to the floor, clawing at its blood-stained, vomit-soaked face as 48 advanced. The sudden pain was excruciating, overwhelming. It couldn’t really hear 48’s words over the hissing inside its ears, or the sounds of its own agony. Its body twitched and writhed, but death would not come fast enough. No, this game was not fun, not at all. But then, none of the games had ever been fun in the true sense. They had simply been all the Psion knew. In some twisted way, it was a true innocent, knowing nothing of good or bad, of kindness or mercy, because it had only ever known pain.

Behind 48, the boy felt his mind suddenly snap back to awareness, and he staggered up, gasping for breath. Hearing screams of agony, he looked through the arch of 48’s wing and winced. The noise from the Psion was unbearable, but he couldn’t look away from what was happening. It was too horrible. In spite of what the Psion had tried to do to him, that seemed as nothing to what 48 was doing now. 48 had saved the young man behind him, had protected him, but now the young man was forcibly reminded of just how dangerous 48 was. Not only that, but it seemed to be prolonging the Psion’s pain for the sake of it. The young man couldn’t be sure, but that thought made his heart sink. Maybe all the talk of benevolence was closer to his core than he thought. The young man had never liked the idea of torture, even if he hated someone, but that seemed to be exactly what 48 was doing. Maybe he was wrong, but the young man couldn’t bear that idea, or the thought that 48 was more a monster than the young man had been hoping. The young man started to look around for his gun. He had to end this…

Several feet away, the Psion’s mouth dribbled blood and sputum, but it was not yet dead. Even unable to focus its powers, it could still project its own pain onto the beings around itself. Waves of agony burst from its tortured form, but they were weak and sporadic, not enough to fell the young man behind 48. Said young man was looking for his gun still, but the water the Psion had been trying to control earlier had flooded its banks, and now spread around them, tainted with pink blood and dislodged dirt and plants, turning to sticky mud. The young man’s frantic search brought about no results, and the Psion’s screams resonated in his head and around the walls. How he could have pity for such a creature was even beyond him, but he couldn’t help feeling it.

At last, in desperation, the young man shouted out to 48, “Please! just end it…it’s suffered enough!” Not that he thought 48 could hear him over the Psion’s wails, which was why he reached out and grasped 48’s long tail, just so there was some contact. Maybe it was a dangerous thing to do, but he couldn’t stand to think of 48 that way. Killing was one thing, but this?

[Whatsyourface]

48’s mouth clamped shut and it’s stare snapped towards the boy sharply and quickly. Without looking at the creature and it’s eyes on the boy. It dropped the gun from it’s tail and then it’s 3 digit tail grabs the Psion around the neck and lifts into the air with ease as if the thing was a doll.

“Why?” 48 said to the boy as it held the thing in the air, ready to break it’s neck at a moments notice. Whether it was good or evil did not really matter to 48. It knew nothing of it’s thoughts. Only the thing’s actions. And the thing irritated and provoked 48. It didn’t understand why the boy would defend this creature that harmed him. “Does suffering not entail suffering?” 48 leaned to the boy. “Is this not the point of your law enforcement?” 48 knew everything it heard only from listening to people. It’s how it learned human language. However, it was 48’s to interpret as it’s brain developed and grew independently while being altered.

“Why do you defend this malevolent creature?”

[Kalli]

The boy had to pause, even though his mouth had opened partway to give 48 an answer. Even though the bat-winged creature now loomed over him, the boy felt he had to stand his ground, but he couldn’t think of how to articulate his reasons, his fears. Besides, what 48 was saying was true, in a way. The Psion had hurt him, and it was a dangerous thing to let live. Yet, seeing the pale, blood-covered creature wrapped in 48’s tail, the boy felt a sick sensation in his stomach, and it had nothing to do with being squeamish over blood.

“Law enforcement….” he grunted, looking away. “Those bastards don’t enforce the actual law, unless they wanna repay an eye for an eye. But what kind of law is revenge?”

Not knowing exactly what he wanted to say, he reached down and picked up his discarded gun, holding it loosely in one hand. Slowly, his eyes went from the Psion to 48’s strange, yellow ones. Part of his felt afraid that his own insides would be melted the next moment, but at the same time, 48 seemed to genuinely want to know.

“I don’t know where you learned about being benevolent, or malevolent, but sometimes there are things in this world that aren’t either. Maybe that thing doesn’t understand the difference. Maybe it never learned.” He nodded to the Psion, who wheezed and spat out blood. “You were just trying to defend yourself, and me… and I’m grateful for that. You have to defend yourself, but… I was afraid you might start to like causing pain just for its own sake. After how nice you’ve been to me, I…I guess I couldn’t handle that.”

He looked down at his gun, something he only used for defense. It was dangerous, yes, but it had saved him more than once. “If you have to kill, make it quick and painless as possible. Otherwise….you become just like the people who try to hurt you.” He said this more to himself than 48. The boy still didn’t know if he was right, or if the Psion should be killed or set free. It was probably kinder to kill it now after the damage its body had endured.

[Whatsyourface]

48 stared at the boy. Blinking occasionally. Apparently 48 had two eye lids. One of then was actually armored. The other was more a thin transparent film. Like a frog. It didn’t say anything. Merely mulled and thought through what the boy said. Even if could process things. Philosophy was not like a math problem. Not like identifying an objects resonant frequency. It wasn’t linear.

48 pinned the thing to the ground and turned to it as it stood over it. Then it opened its mouth. Then Psions head exploded and it died instantly. Its pink blood and bits from it’s head all over the grass as now nothing much could be heard but the noise of the water for a moment. 48 then stepped past the Psion’s corpse and walked forward. The digits om it’s tail joining again to form the tail’s sharp, spike like end.

[Kalli]

The boy turned just in time, though the sound of bone and brain matter and blood bursting wetly in the close air, and raining down into the mud, was something he’d never forget. In spite of the fact that he wanted to vomit, the boy held it in, stumbling after 48 and trying not to see the mess of limbs and organs in the muddy water at his feet. Maybe it was merciful to end the Psion’s life, but it still made his stomach twist. At least its suffering was over.

The boy caught up with 48, but for a long while he didn’t say anything, not knowing what to say. They were almost above ground now, and the boy wasn’t sure what would happen then. On the one hand, he couldn’t quite shake the fear of the pale, bat-winged creature, especially after that display. If 48 saw the boy’s fear, he didn’t seem to understand it. At the same time, the boy recognized that 48 could have easily killed him, but he hadn’t yet. The outside world was not a kind one, and the boy knew very well what could happen to 48, and to those around him, if he was seen. That, and some part of him wanted to stay near 48, though he didn’t really understand why. Perhaps near-death experiences had made him weirdly fond of the creature.

At last they came to the front foyer, and saw the broken doors standing on their hinges. The boy was surprised to see moonlight spilling through the doors. Apparently he’d been there longer than he thought. That wasn’t the reason he hesitated, though, feeling afraid to leave the dreadful place behind him.

“Thanks.” he murmured, turning at last to 48 and looking at him. “Thanks for helping me. I would have died back there if it wasn’t for you. You’re…benevolent…to me.” The boy paused, fidgeting, unsure. “What…are your plans now? I mean, what will you do when you get out there?”

It suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t know if the creature ate or drank or slept. It also occurred to him that a ‘responsible’ citizen would report the escape of such a creature into the city, but he didn’t think it would do any good and only get lots of people killed. What should be done? Like he could stop 48 from going out there…

[Whatsyourface]

48 did not speak for a long time. When they were at the front doors. It walked outside and stopped. It looked towards the sky. Something it had never seen. And to the large celestial object above, which humans had deemed the moon.

48 seemed to make a high pitched noise imperceptible to humans. However. If there were dogs near by. They would be barking and whining. Such a vast world this was. 48 saw the world for around 30 miles. As the boy asked 48 what exactly it was going to do, 48 stretched its wings. Then curled them again. It actually had felt pleasant to it. It turned back to the boy finally actually answering his question.

“I wish to see this world.” 48 said. Then it turned around towards the boy. “…What are you called?”

[Kalli]

The boy followed 48 outside and pulled his hood up over his dark hair, shivering a bit. The moon always seemed so cold and distant to him, but beautiful in its own way. Being used to lots of noise from the nearby city, he didn’t even notice when distant barks and howls suddenly erupted in the darkness. There were other sounds too, beyond the silent dead zone that had surrounded this place since it was demolished- cars honking, people shouting, the occasional gunshot. It was not music to the boy’s ears, usually, but tonight he found the familiar sounds too beautiful to be real.

For a moment, he closed his eyes, feeling a bit faint from the realization that he could, indeed, have perished underground. No one would have come to look for him, either. He would just have been a nameless skeleton, or perhaps he would have turned into some hideous, shambling monstrosity. A shudder ran through him at the thought, so he watched 48 flex its wings instead, mesmerized by the way the moonlight shone off of them.

He was actually a bit startled by 48 asking his name. It seemed like an intimate question for such a logical creature. More than that, he was a little panicked at 48’s stated desire to ‘see this world’.

“I’m Jet.” the boy replied. That was the name he went by, anyway. “And…are you sure you want to do that? I mean…I understand, after being cooped up down there, but if anyone sees you it could cause a lot of problems. They might try to shoot you down or something, because they’d think you’re trying to eat their kids, or them. People out here…well, they’re just not that accepting of anything too different.”

Jet paused, scanning the shadows of the broken buildings around them. “I mean, maybe if you only traveled at night, and stayed away from people and lights.” The thought of 48 getting shot down, or rampaging through a crowd because they had attacked him, played in Jet’s mind like a bad horror movie. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to anyone if it could be helped, least of all the creature that had saved him.

[Whatsyourface]

“I see….” 48 replied. “And of places without people? I know they exist.” 48 asked the boy. 48 new well that though he was very powerful that people could do harm to him. Certainly not hand to hand. No ordinary human could harm 48 with just their bear hands. Perhaps throw it or dodge and evade. But it would not be wise to try and go toe to toe with something that had muscles more than 200x stronger then a humans. Still. Humans had devastating weaponry. Even though that firearm the boy held wouldn’t hurt 48. Something much heavier would be needed. A launcher or anti material rifle would do it. But 48 did not know how many of those lied around.

“Why do you not simply go where there are no people?”

[Kalli]

“Well…yeah, I guess…. Yeah. Places without people.” Jet felt stupid about that one. Of course not everywhere was populated.

Still, his face took on a concerned look, and he moved closer to 48, frowning deeply. “Do you know where those places are? I could show you, but I only know the ones outside the city. I’ve never been farther than that.” It was too dangerous to try and go anywhere where he wasn’t sure of resources.

Speaking of… “Do you need to eat or drink or sleep? I don’t know how you work, since I’ve never met anything like you. I have some food back at my place. I mean, it’s not much, but if you’re hungry maybe I can find a way to get it to you.” Not that he had much, but anyone living on the street would know that Jet was making the most generous offer he could. It wasn’t like he had anything else. Or anyone. Was he seriously trying to stall 48’s departure because he was so alone himself?

[Whatsyourface]

“I do not need food. Only water.” 48 stated. “It does not need to be clean or purified. Sewage is fine.” 48 further explains how it’s body works.

“I do possess a sort of digestive tract. I also have within me a very high energy output Thorium fuel cell. I can however go at least a decade without any outside sustenance. Most organic material function similarly to a self contained ecosystem. And therefore. I Seldom produce waste. Much of everything is used in some way. However. I function optimally with additional fuel. Excess waste heat is converted into light which feeds engineered photosynthetic organisms. Which can electrolyse the water, diffusing it into hydrogen and oxygen for further power and fuel for other functions for optimal muscle performance….as the fuel cell was made last a long time. However it does not have as high of an output of power for things beyond most movement.”

48 seemed to know exactly how it worked. Then it simply asked the human. “Are you not capable of producing your own food? Where does one obtain it?” 48 knew much. But only from what he heard scientists and staff say over a few years. Though it knowing this much from that was impressive in it’s own right.

“You are not too heavy for me to carry.” 48 said opening it’s wings for a moment.

[Kalli]

Whatever 48 said, Jet did not understand it…at all. Well, alright, he understood that basically 48 needed water, no food, and no sleep. That was about as far as the boy got. Talk of Thorium fuel cells and electrolyzing water and such made his head spin. Street smarts he had, and he was intelligent enough, but school had never been part of his life. Most of what he learned he got from books and other sources. Math and science tended to elude him.

“So…you’re…powered by nuclear fuel?” How the hell he was supposed to get more Thorium was beyond the streetrat’s abilities. He didn’t even know what it looked like, where to find it, or how not to poison himself in the process. Jet hoped that when 48 said he wouldn’t need ‘outside sustenance’ for ten years, that meant the Thorium, or whatever. He’d like to not get radiation sickness too young. There was still lots he hadn’t seen or done.

At 48’s question about how humans worked, Jet blinked in surprise. “I guess no one ever told you, huh? Humans make their own food, but…like…we don’t make it ourselves. I mean, not in our own bodies. We eat plants and animals and stuff. Food’s all over if you know where to look for it. Most of mine is stuff other people throw out, or what I can take without getting caught. Sometimes the local churches or ‘kids’ club’ have meals, and there are soup kitchens, but you have to be careful about those.”

He didn’t elaborate on this particular point, only shuddering a bit. Too many crazy homeless people in one place meant runts like him were vulnerable. He’d had enough of that kind of trouble to last a lifetime.

“The war made it harder for kids like me to find food, but we get it where we can. I used to hunt possums and squirrels in the suburbs until the fighting got too bad.”

Realizing he’d started to ramble, the boy was about to apologize, when he heard the sound of leathery wings unfurling, and looked at 48 in surprise. Part of him wanted to warn the creature that they could still be vulnerable from anti-aircraft fire, except planes flew overhead all teh time and no one was shooting at them anymore. More than that, though, was the thought of flying, which seemed to sink into Jet’s heart like a silent prayer answered. He had always wanted to be able to fly, and his blue eyes shown, making him look somewhat younger than his years.

“Really? You can carry me?” It wasn’t that he doubted 48’s strength, quite the contrary. Jet just hadn’t expected 48 to want him to come with. He stepped forward, hesitated, feeling suddenly shy. It probably meant nothing to 48, but to Jet, who had no one, the world suddenly felt a little less lonely. It wouldn’t last, he knew, but he’d cling to what he could while he could.

[Whatsyourface]

“That is not what I mean.” 48 says when the boy starts talking about how humans needed to eat. “Do you humans not simply grow your food from the ground?”

When the boy asked if 48 could carry him. “Yes. I can carry objects that way a maximum of approximately 250 kilograms. You do not weigh even half that.” The boy stepped forward and 48 asked. “Where do you think it would be best to go?” 48 wasn’t really worried about anti air craft fire. Even with the boy, it was much too small to be detected by radar and at such distance may be mistaken for a bird. It was only around 6 feet tall.

[Kalli]

“Well…yeah. At least, farmers do. The people in the city buy from the farmers, but that’s where veggies and fruit and stuff comes from- the earth. Meat we get from animals.”

Jet tried not to feel defensive about how little he weighed, even if he didn’t know what 250 kilograms meant in pounds. If you didn’t eat much, you tended to not weigh much. He’d been called a runt more than once, but whose fault was it he was a scrawny kid? Better not take it personally with 48, though.

Instead, Jet thought about where they could go for water where 48 wouldn’t be seen. For a moment, he frowned, standing before the creature like a silent statue. His mind went over some very detailed city maps he’d committed to memory, as well as outskirts.

“There’s the old water processing plant…if you say you can even drink the shitty stuff. No one’s likely to be down there but druggies and hobos, and no one believes them anyhow. I can show you where that is.” He tilted his head. “How are we going to do this, anyway? Do I get on your back, or what?”

Six feet or not, seeing 48 up close was terrifying, or should be. Jet found himself less and less perturbed by his companion’s appearance the longer he was with him. And yes, he was starting to think of 48 as a ‘him’ merely because the voice ‘he’ used was on a lower register. Human brains tended to compartmentalize things.

[Whatsyourface]

48 wrapped it’s tail around the boy and then picked the boy up. Then it looked up and jumped give or take 4 stories up onto a wall and it’s hands stuck to it as it climbed and then stood on a rooftop. Then walks with the boy as it prepares to get into a running position on all 4s. Then it gallops forward towards the edge of the roof top and jumps about 60 feet into the air 90 feet away as it spreads it wings and the switches the boy with it’s talons. Making sure not to cut him, as it’s feet grabs the boy it flaps it’s wings and flaps it’s powerful wings as it starts to fly.

THe boy is held under him as 48 flaps it’s powerful wings to gain height. It is actually flying over to the location he specified as it ascends about 500 feet into the air though not quite touching the clouds as it is about 800 feet in the air soon. On it’s way over to the power plant. 48 being very difficult to see at night, being much smaller then a plane. 48 by now was flapping it’s wings less, and gliding more. Riding the breeze, as it held the boy with it’s feet.

[Kalli]

Jet bit back a squawk of surprise as he was lifted up by the prehensile tail, and managed to keep himself from flailing like an idiot. 48 hadn’t dropped him before, in the elevator shaft, so although being held like this was somewhat frightening, he did his best to keep calm. Jet was even able to focus on 48’s amazing feat of scaling a relatively smooth surface, wondering how he managed it.

However, when he found himself dangling from his armpits over an 800 foot drop, with nothing but air under his tattered shoes, the boy started to panic. His whole body locked up, which kept him from screaming, but made it impossible to move his head from the downward position to which it had automatically snapped. His staring eyes wouldn’t even shut tightly like he wanted them to, as though they were fascinated with what could be his imminent death. The wind made his eyes water, which blinded him after a few minutes, which made things better in regards to his terror, but didn’t help much with locating the water plant from the air. Jet had to blink hard several times before he could get his bearings, and pretending he wasn’t that high up didn’t help. The sooner they landed, the better.

“The power plant’s over there, to your right…two o’ clock.” Did that make any sense? He hoped so. The plant wasn’t far, and pretty easily located by the smell, if you recognized it. A nearby dam used to feed the plant until the war broke out, and workers stopped the machines and stripped them for parts. Now, it was just a place full of stagnant and stinking pools, half-covered in overgrowth, not to mention a few recently-dead bodies of people and animals. Those never lasted too long out here. The place was mostly deserted, though a few dark lumps here and there indicated either hobos or animals were rooting around for garbage. 48 could easily land on the lip of one of the smaller reservoirs and drink fresh sewage. Jet was used to bad smells, but would probably still breathe into his shirt this close. Frankly, he would be glad to have his feet on the ground again; flying wasn’t what he’d thought it would be.