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 Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:33 pm
The Grand Gaian Train Station was immense, well-appointed, and... completely unnecessary. Public transportation was good enough if one didn't have a car, and most people who weren't afraid of flying took planes to the locales that were too far to drive to. The few Gaians left to rely on the railway system certainly might have made do with a smaller station. As it was, shops and museums and pint-size theme parks had sprung up around the site. Today, the place teemed with tourists, vendors, and families out for a cheap alternative to an actual vacation.
Archie was on his hands, knees and right cheek, peering down the astroturf straightaway at the 4th hole of the Chippy Checker Miniature Golf and Batting Range's kiddie course. The nearest family was two holes behind and engrossed in their own game, but this particular hole was near the outer fence, and several passersby were staring. He had felt The Itch again this morning, prompting him to get out of bed and follow his inner alarm to... this place, but the pod he assumed would have arrived by now hadn't come, leading to a solo golf game.
The brain tingle of a new child remained, so Archie continued staring at his red and white ball, lining up the perfect shot past the pirouetting panda that dominated the green.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:55 pm
Rusty had stepped off of the train earlier that day, his hat pulled down low over his eyes so that he wouldn't observe the sights around him. Such things could lead to temptation after all. He'd been off visiting the one relative he had left, as well as a quick trip to his good doctor.
As usual, the man had said that he was progressing well. Very well adjusted. However, he needed to 'get out and live a bit more'. Rusty didn't like that suggestion, politely argued with him, but in the end promised to go out and mingle with people a bit more.
So he looked up, surveying the various things around him. Ah, there were quite a few people at the mini-golf place. Families. No one that looked particularly frightening or strange. Rusty crossed over to Chippy Checker Miniature Golf establishment and soon found himself carefully putting.
All right. So, perhaps this 'mingling with people' thing wasn't so bad.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:09 pm
Having successfully whaled on Hole Four, Archie sped through the next two, a sand-trap-filled number that he deemed too difficult for any normal kid, and some sort of bumpy thing. Since he was playing alone, he cheated, writing in '3' for both.
Up ahead, Archie saw another man by himself. He quickly filled another three and a four into the proper spots on his scorecard and skipped ahead, anxious to talk to somebody. It had been a very boring morning.
"Hey," he said cheerfully. "What's your score?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:37 pm
Rusty looked up and blinked somewhat shyly. "Ah... Haven't been keeping it. Don't know much about golf." He said to the man, looking back down at his club. "I'm... yenno... Out. Apparently bein' alone can't be recommended by a doctor."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:46 pm
Archie shoved his scorecard into a pocket, suddenly finding it less important than he had a moment before. He stepped out of the way, allowing the man some room even while the former criminal continued to be bothersome. "Yeah, it's not all it's cracked up to be, being alone. Your doctor, like, ordered you to go out? How much time were you spending inside exactly?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:03 pm
"I go to church. To market. I keep to the farm a lot." Rusty said, putting his ball into the hole and looking up at Archie. He was pleasant enough, if shy.
"I'm not one for too many people around me. Like to be alone a lot. I have all the animal at home to watch for, anyway. But bein' alone apparently will make a doctor worry."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:34 pm
For an instant, the soft buzz that had occupied Archie's mind all day intensified to the point where he could no longer hear anything around him. He knew from the last time that no one else could hear what he did and that it wasn't coming from outside, but he pressed his fingers to his ear anyway, trying to read Rusty's lips until his hearing returned.
Apparently, despite his best efforts, Archie still could not actually read lips.
The other man's voice faded back in somewhere around another mention of his infamous doctor, and Archie had heard something about church and farms prior to his aural whiteout. With any luck, Rusty would think that what was about to happen was an act of God.
"I've got just the thing to keep you company," he said. "You won't even have to leave the house to hang out with it, if you don't want to." His gaze rose to the sky above Rusty's head, eyes fixing on a dark spot, a spot that was rapidly growing in size while remaining almost completely silent.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:59 pm
Not an act of God. He wasn't quite that religious. But a sign, perhaps. Rusty looked up when Archie did. He frowned, turning around and standing beside Archie.
"...A meteor?" He murmured, nibbling on a nail.
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 10:36 am
"Mmm," Archie said. "Maybe." He watched the pod until it appeared to be about an inch wide, then abruptly waved his golf club in a wide arc in front of him. "Everyone's going to need to move," he said. "Not you," he added, hoping Rusty would stay out of curiosity, even though the silent ship seemed to be headed right for them. His proclamation attracted the attention of a little boy who had approached while Rusty and Archie were talking, and was thankfully standing outside the reach of Archie's club.
"Whassit?" he asked.
"Aliens!" Archie replied, widening his eyes dramatically. The child's eyes went saucer-wide as well and he ran away, presumably to throw some sort of fit that would get his family off of the course. Mission accomplished.
Archie fake-coughed into his hand and dropped his club. "Ha! Aliens!" he said to Rusty. All this man needed to do was stick around a little longer...
The pod was getting closer by the second and was now accompanied by a mechanical whir. "We should get out of the way soon too. But not very far." He nodded.
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:14 pm
Rusty didn't run. No, it'd take more than a little thing falling from the sky to scare him. It wasn't the kind of man he was, running off at any little thing.
He'd turned to watch the child run, then back to the thing falling from the sky. Rusty tipped his hat back and frowned slightly, watching it come closer. "How near will it be before we run?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:12 pm
"Not too much nearer," Archie said. "And we won't have to run so much as just... move out of the way." As it was, the pod looked to be coming down at such an angle that it wouldn't hit them at all.
"Over here," he said, louder now as the ship's silence graduated to a dull roar that caused a nearby fiberglass dolphin to shimmy on its stand. Archie moved closer to the happy mammal, ready to duck behind it if the pod got off course.
Not too much longer now...
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:34 pm
Rusty followed, hands over his ears as the noise increased. "Thith happen often for you?" He called over the noise. He acted like it did. And, my, what an interesting life he must lead!
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 1:25 pm
"Uh..." How much to tell? Archie shrugged. This man was going to find out all about what was going on soon enough. "Yeah. Not often often, but often enough," he near-shouted, wincing a bit as the ship's parachute opened late, or at least late by Archie's estimation. "I'm Archie," he added, suddenly realizing that it might be nice to introduce himself to this potential new guardian.
The parachute's apparent lateness seemed to be no cause for concern. Not long after Archie introduced himself, the pod glided to a halt in the area he had cleared for it. The annoying loudness associated with it subsided, only to be replaced by the hiss of hot metal. Archie stepped out from behind the dolphin as the door on the side of the ship opened.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 2:51 pm
"Ruthty-" Rusty called back, hands over his ears and wincing as the thing came down. He followed Archie out, slowly drawing his hands down as the noise stopped. Well. Aliens. This was interesting.
He frowned further when he looked in. "Ith that... Ith that a baby?" He asked, brows furrowed and nibbling on his lower lip. Sure, it could be an adult alien, but the chub made him think baby.
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 9:39 am
"Mmm hmm. Should be." Archie peeked inside the ship too, but made no move to pick the child up. He would leave that to Rusty, and if he didn't do it Archie would find someone else who would. The kid had hooks. Nuh uh.
He debated telling Rusty what the baby actually was right away, but a second later he decided the time wasn't right. Maybe later.
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