Fenris Perrywinkle: The Great Galactic Duel
Chapter 9: Bleeding on the Porch

Apparently I’m not dead yet. That’s my first thought as I awaken. My second thought is that I’m on fire. Like… burning fire. I guess it won’t be long now.

“Don’t die on me, boy,” Amanda’s father growls as he addresses the wound in my chest. “Keep him alive, she said. So that’s what I aim to do.”

I scream as best I can, only to replace a thick piece of leather has been placed in my mouth. Is this crazy old man using a wire brush to clean my chest wound or something?

“Bite down, boy. You just bite down. I ain’t cleaned up someone this bad since Desert Storm – but don’t worry, this old sawbones has still got it!”

Strangely, I don’t replace any comfort in his words. I think I might just pass out again.

Apparently I’m not dead yet. I’m still on the porch though. That old fart wasn’t kidding when he said this is where I’d stay until I told him about his ‘Manda’.

Something is sticking out of my arm. My vision is a little hazy, but it appears that I’ve got a saline drip stuck in me. This is the most bizarre thing ever.

I feel the old man’s boots stomping toward me again. What’s he going to do to me this time I wonder?

He stoops down beside me and sticks a straw in my mouth. “Drink, boy!” he commands. A green liquid that stinks of desert cacti and road kill starts trickling down my throat. I cough in protest, but I’m too weak to fight him off.

“This ’ill grease the wheels down there right good. Fight off infection too, I reckon.”

“Daddy… what are you… oh no. Not Cactus Surprise, Daddy!”

My heart skips a couple of beats. Please don’t let this be some sort of auditory illusion.

Amanda descends into view and looks down at us.

“Mandy!” her father exclaims, “I’m just doing what ya told me to, baby girl. Now why are ya flying like some sort of alien?”

She drops to the porch and hugs her father. “You wouldn’t understand if I told you. Just know that I’m doing something very important and it’s going to bless many, many people from the stars.”

Her father hugs her as hard as he can. “I wish your momma was still with us to see this. Our baby girl… helping people from the stars. Maybe she would understand all this.”

“Maybe she would have,” Amanda says and kisses her daddy on the cheek. “But let’s not dwell on something that can’t be known. The people from the stars gave me some of their power. It lets me do things like fly.”

Her father steps back and looks her up and down. “Are you sure it’s not the government tryin ta trick ya? Why don’t you put on something a little more modest? You’re going to give this boy the wrong idea.”

She smiles and kneels at my side.

I hope my eyes convey how sorry I am.

“The boy is still alive, just like you asked.”

She nods and places her hand on my wound.

“Have you learned your lesson yet, Fenris?” she whispers.

My lesson? What lesson? Don’t agree to defend an alien race unless I actually intend to do so? Sure, why not?

I manage to nod my head a little.

She smiles a little, then looks to her father again. “You just had to give him Cactus Surprise, didn’t you?”

The old man looks a little miffed. “It’s kept me alive hasn’t it? I swear I’m going to bottle it and make me a fortune. You’ll see little miss.”

Amanda nods. “I look forward to that day.”

She turns back to me and looks me up and down. “Let me show you something that I’ve learned, Fenris.”

Her alien powered veins begin to shine brightly and her eyes gain an otherworldly glow. Suddenly my whole body begins to vibrate a little.

“What are you doing to that boy?” her father asks as he takes a few steps back.

“He’s been exposed to the same star energy that I have. I’m just reminding his body of that.”

I feel myself start to levitate off the porch. A kaleidoscope of colors fills my vision. The sounds of the cosmos fills my ears. Images of the people of Everbright fill my mind. And then just as quickly as it comes, it leaves. I’m surprised to replace myself standing nose to nose with Amanda.

She presses her lips to mine. They are soft, warm and inviting.

She takes a step back and looks me up and down with a grin. “How’s that? Feeling better now?”

I look down at myself to see the wound in my chest completely healed. I nod enthusiastically.

Amanda’s father peaks around the corner of his desert hovel. “What in the nine hells was I just witness to? This ain’t right. That boy was on death’s doorstep! This is witchcraft!”

Amanda looks a little displeased. “Actually, daddy, it’s science. It’s much more advanced science from my friends in the stars than you see here on earth, but believe me – it’s science. Don’t you start with your witchcraft accusations!”

He bristles a little bit. “Now you watch how you talk to your old daddy, little miss! You’re not so big that I can’t still put you over my knee!”

“Did you restore my powers?” I ask hoping to derail their little argument.

Amanda shakes her head. “No, you’re not channeling star power any longer – I just gave you a little boost so your body could regenerate.”

“Witchcraft,” her father whispers and disappears back into his home.

“You didn’t weaken yourself, did you? You’re going to need all your power if you’re going to stand up to—“

She shakes her head. “No, like I said… we ‘channel’ star power. None of us are generating this power ourselves. Think of it like your average garden hose. They don’t generate water – they just direct it.”

Her words sink in and I feel my understanding deepen. Learning is fun, kids.

“But…” I stammer a little and look at my hands, “I can still… do it? I can still channel it? So why wouldn’t I still have my powers?”

Amanda shrugs a little. “I’ve only been learning about this for a day or two. I don’t have all the answers. I do know that when they bestowed the power on me, they had to artificially evolve my cells to be able to process cosmic energy. I think they devolved your cells to a certain extent when they stripped you of it.”

I hold up my arms and look at my chest again. “Looks like I processed star energy just fine.”

She nods. “Yes, I don’t think they could devolve your cells back to normal human again – not at the speed they stripped it away anyway. You might still have limited abilities. I don’t know.”

I look my lovely Amanda up and down a few times. She looks incredible in that bodysuit.

She reads my mind. “It amplifies my ability to absorb star power by multiple magnitudes. Only champions get to wear it.”

A little smile smears itself across my face as I continue to look her up and down.

She turns a little red and snaps her fingers a couple times. “Up here, buddy. You know I could snap you in half now, right?”

I stretch my arms out in front of me and zombie walk toward her.

She cocks an eyebrow as I wrap my arms around her slender little waist.

“Maybe I should listen to my daddy and put some other clothes on.”

“Mmmm but I like you in this,” I whisper pull her close. “Thank you for healing me.”

She holds me for a moment, then pushes me away. “So, tell me more about Jenn.”

Ugh. Talk about a show stopper. Why would she want to talk about her right now?

“You’re still in love with her, aren’t you?”

“W—what? N—no I’m… not.”

Amanda gives me a tired look. “Fenris, this isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve had lots of guys interested in me over the years. I mean… not to toot my own horn, but this body tends to bring all the boys to the yard...”

I can’t argue with the boys to the yard thing – and I’m pretty sure she knows that she is indeed tooting her own horn, but why would she think I’m still in love with my ex?

“…but Jenn is just as pretty as me. Hell, I think we’re probably even the same dress size. And you two were going to get married after all. And you refused to fight her, even though an entire alien civilization’s offspring was hanging in the balance – so, you still love her, don’t you?”

“I… uh…”

What am I supposed to say here? None of what Amanda just said is wrong.

“I guess I haven’t given it that much thought?”

“Well… think about it then, because one of us is going to die, and the other one is going to expect you to accept them.”

The wheels start turning in my head.

“Jenn doesn’t want me anymore. She thinks I betrayed the love we once shared.”

Amanda just smiles. “Trust me. She’s still in love with you.”

That thought weighs heavy on my mind and heart. How could she still be in love with me? I thought once a woman decided that it was over… that was it!

Amanda blows a stray hair from her face. “Anyway, I’m glad that star power infusion worked. I was pretty sure it would. You might want to take some of those pills that Nester prescribed a few days ago just to make sure that your body still needs to absorb star power. Don’t stop eating though – If anything, your body might need to absorb nutrients from both sources now.

In answer to that, I let out a loud belch. The scent of cactus and road kill fills the air.

The lovely brunette rolls her eyes. “And on that note… be well. I’ll try and check in on you over the next month in between training sessions.”

Before I can respond, she effortlessly lifts off the ground and streaks upward into the sky. A moment later, she is consumed by the clouds.

I stand looking up at where she disappeared from view and smile. That’s quite a woman I’ve got there. How could she think I would ever go back to my ex?

“Fenris!”

The familiar voice strikes something deep inside of me and I nearly jump out of my own skin. I turn to see Jenn hovering in the air behind me.

“We need to talk.”

We need to talk? About what? About us? About her forthcoming duel with my new girlfriend? Like hell we need to talk!

Thankfully Amanda’s old man makes another appearance, shotgun in hand. “Another one!? You best be getting off my property, young lady – unless you have a powerful hankering for a lead sandwich!”

Jenn basically ignores him.

“You and I are going to talk, Fenris. You owe me that much!”

The old man cocks the hammer on his old rusty firearm. “Maybe you’re hard of hearing!?”

“I hear you, old man!” she shouts back. “We were just leaving!”

In the blink of an eye, Jenn scoops me up by the underarms and rockets into the air with me. I kind of hope she lets go and just lets me fall to my end… but I don’t think I’m going to be that lucky.