CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE WITH THE JERRY BENNETT CH. 5 – The End
For a life-long pacifist, Jerry had been in plenty of fights. He remembered each one vividly, the exhilaration of an adrenaline-fueled punch, the awkward madness of combat, the sickening anger that made him shake for hours afterwards whether he’d won or lost. He despised fighting, the way it made him feel about himself and the way it made him fear the world.
The guardsman was young. His soft cheeks were red from the cold. He wasn’t struggling anymore, but hanging limp, exhausted resignation in his eyes. Jerry feared the air was too thin for him at such a high altitude. The young man reminded Jerry of so many others he’d met at comic book conventions, the eager fans hanging onto a slice of their childhood to insulate them from the cruelty of adulthood. Comics may be silly to some, but for the fans, it was something to believe in.
Even in all the gear, Jerry could see the man was short and thick-framed. Probably a Wolverine fan.
Jerry’s jet frame collapsed and folded, replaced by his robot form. Jet’s burned out of his feet, keeping Jerry aloft. He dipped, began listing again.
“Auto Pilot? YES/NO?” appeared in his mind.
“Oh, yes, thank God!” Jerry gasped as he felt his body correct, raising back up to face Tabitha.
He brought up the weapons list, glancing over the options. He thought of Robert Downey Jr. in the desert talking to military officers: “…the best weapon is one you never have to fire…” Intimidation.
Movement along his spine, more parts twisting and connecting. He reached over his shoulder, gripping metal that reached up to his fingertips. He pulled out a still forming broadsword that stretched longer than his own torso. When the last panels of metal folded into place, the broadsword glowed with sparking blue electricity.
“Wow,” Jerry gasped. He looked up at Tabitha, who was also stunned. Even the weakened guardsman found the strength to tilt his head up to watch. Jerry rose the sword above his head with one arm, thinking of Thundercats/He-Man. The sword sparked like a Tesla coil.
“Give him to me now!” Jerry growled, reaching out his other hand toward Tabitha.
She looked from the sword to Jerry.
“Take him.”
Tabitha dropped the guardsman. A red box fixed on the falling human. Jerry dove down, his jets engaging. The box grew as Jerry quickly approached. He reached and gripped the guardsman, swung the sword over his head and fixed it onto his back. He transformed into the jet, tucking the human into the cockpit as he changed, then sped back down to the base. Behind him, Tabitha was pursuing, but had not fired.
Jerry slowed as he reached the base, transformed and achieved a stumbling landing on the inside of the fence line. He gently lowered the guardsman to the ground, reached back for his sword, wielding it in front of him as he faced Tabitha while she landed just on the outside of the fence. The electricity from the sword leapt out and sparkled along the metal fence. Tabitha measured Jerry while Wrecking Ball and Inferno/Bandit joined at her side.
“You can’t stop us, Jerry,” Tabitha said. “Not all three of us. If we want to get on this base, we will get on this base. You stand in our way, we will kill every human inside too, just to make a point. And we aren’t the worst Jerry. The others out there won’t stop with the humans you protect, they will find your family and…”
“Shut up!” Jerry screamed, lunging forward, piercing the fence and slicing it in half. The steel fencing glowed red and melted. The posts split in half as if made of soft butter.
The three robots scrambled out of the way as electricity shot through their bodies. Their arms and faces twitched from the currents racing through their systems.
“Leave us alone!” Jerry growled. “We are done fighting. You will not threaten me again! You will not step one foot closer to these people or I will tear all three of you down.”
Jerry kicked the broken fence down and stepped through the gap.
“This world does not belong to us!” Jerry continued, the three robots backing away as he approached. “Whatever happened to us is a gift and I intend on using it to protect our people. All of humanity. You threaten any one of them, then you are threatening me too. Do you understand?”
Tabitha’s eyes were lowered away from Jerry.
“Do you understand?” Jerry shouted.
“Yes,” Tabitha said, the other two cowering behind her.
Jerry took a few moments to let his heart slow. He watched the three. They were lost, but they weren’t evil. He pitied them.
“There is a better way,” Jerry said, his voice softening. “If there is worse out there, then we can fight it together. We won’t fight over the humans, but for the humans. We can be heroes.”
Tabitha let out a weary laugh. “Yeah, whatever David Bowie.”
She looked to the others, then straightened. She walked to Jerry.
“I admire your conviction, brother,” Tabitha said. “The humans are lucky to have you, but you are wrong. This is not over.”
She turned. Her body twisted and transformed into a 1955 Cadillac DeVille. The other two followed suit, Wrecking Ball as a Scorpion Peacekeeper tank and Inferno/Bandit as a roaring 1973 Camaro. Jerry watched them speed away.
A terrible anxiety churned inside his mind. He had to get back to his wife. If there was worse out there, Jerry thought, then they could be destroying Oklahoma City.
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
Jerry turned toward the voice. The black-suited man stood behind him.
“It’s Sun Tzu,” the black-suited man said. “Read him for Officer Candidate School. Whatever happened to you, it wasn’t magic or God, it was an attack. You know that right?”
“Yes,” Jerry said, thinking of the visions.
“Something bigger is coming,” the black-suited man said. “Whoever changed our people into war machines knew that it would throw our world into chaos. They let us fight each other until we are exhausted, then they swoop in when we are too weak to defend ourselves. A brilliant strategy.”
Jerry was still thinking of his wife, remembering their safety plans for fire, tornadoes, thieves. She was probably in the hall closet, buried under the coats, knitting him another scarf.
“I’ve got to get home,” Jerry said. “I’ve got to get to my wife. I will still help however I can, but she comes first.”
The black-suited man looked back to a major standing just inside the fence line. The major nodded.
“Okay,” the black-suited man said, facing Jerry. “I am going to come calling and when I do, I need you to answer.”
“Yes, sir.”
The black-suited man smiled, turned, and walked back into the base. Jerry leapt into the air, transformed into a jet and blasted into the sky. For a moment, as he climbed into the atmosphere, he gazed beyond the blue, looking for what lay beyond.
Another flash of images. A robotic dinosaur. A red and blue semi-trailer truck. A low, rumbling, predatory laugh. Something bigger was coming and Jerry wouldn’t be able to face it alone. He was going to have to find help.
THE END
*If you are interested in participating in a Choose Your Own Adventure Commission, email charles@literatipressok.com for pricing and more information.
