The Atlantic Locket

I attempt to dig the balls of my feet into the core of the planet with every stride, knowing that each one could be my last. A quick blip of red on my right lets me know the blast is coming, dipping my head to the left, the flash of light whizzes past my head, almost greeting me as it passes by. The heart-shaped grooves of the locket fit snug in the divots of my hand. As my foot finds soil, a small contraption is released from my heel. For a moment it sits, waiting. My pursuers set off the sensor and a wall of spindling electricity erupts out of the tiny tri-starred device, subduing the lead three. More beams of light flash by my torso and helmet. If it weren’t for the uncertainty of the terrain’s dips and dances, I might’ve been hit by now. The ground’s playful movement makes it hard to be precise, like that of the effect of a zebra’s stripes it aids my dodges in the dash. Peeking behind, I land a shot on the furthest left, right below the shoulder. With another trick sparking from my heel, it scatters the particles of the ground below, leaving one of my assailants to fall into the cavernous underworld. The other noticed the discoloration in the nick of time, jumping over the slight blue tint. He’s gaining on me. A shot tears through my suit’s fabric and my ribs. With a hushed wail, I fall to the ground. He stands ten feet away, gun trained on my head, a smile on his face. The shot rings out, a static echo filling the air. I open my eyes, thanking God I made it to my ship. The charge from its blasters winds down as my attempted killer falls to the ground with a deep crevice in his chest. I catch a glimpse inside, willing myself to look away, I now know their insides are blue.

With a grunt, I lifted myself to my feet and painstakingly edged towards my all-black cruiser. Lacking the grooves and whirls of the air outside, the inside is calming. Its light-grey interior soothing my racing heart, the quiet inside reassuring that I may once again be alone. Ironic, I haven’t had a friend since earth dissipated, yet I’m happy to be alone again. Probably because those last guys were attempting to blow a hole in my heart.

Now, what the heck is in this locket?

About three inches in diameter, I’m now able to focus on the essence of it. A humble ring emanates from the locket, beckoning me. With a flick of my thumb, it opens, taking full space of its quarters, a small black lump sits inside. An ear or antenna rises from the top of the head as the creature’s one eye opens, an intricate ocean of blue looking back at me. It stands, a sausage body with four, disproportionately small legs popping out. With its resonation growing, it floats all the way up to my eye-line. I’m frozen, entranced by the minute alien. He gives me a big smile and riggles his way into my breast pocket. A content tiny head looking up at me.

Atlantic I decided, looking at him, his name is Atlantic. I missed the beautiful oceans of earth ever so dearly and it was as if I was staring at them through a micro-portal.

“Well, no rest for the wicked there, buddy.” And we were off to deliver the crystal that I’d found levitating below my new friend, undoubtedly the source of his mystics. I’d only grabbed the locket because it’d reminded me of my mother, and was I ever glad I had.

Alone no more. His eye trained on me.

The next few days went by far faster than pre-conceived. The little guy swimming around my ship, doing swirls around my head distracted me from the ever-expanding darkness that constantly loomed ahead. The re-construction gel was holding up well on my ribs. Now it only hurt when I moved, which, in keeping up with Atlantic was too often.

I pulled into a refuel station a three days journey from my buyer. Atlantic nestled into his locket on my dashboard and I went to restock on supplies and fill my fuel tank. Atlantic didn’t seem to take to food but enjoying his locket seemed to be his only requisite of energy. I came back in, my ship full of fuel and my stomach as well. The locket was empty. I didn’t know he’d been able to open it himself. I strolled through my ship, locket in hand. Expecting to find Atlantic around the next corner, I did, but he wasn’t alone. The native of the planet I’d found Atlantic on looked back at me. He was a mess. Attire torn to shreds, wounds proliferated everywhere, bloodied and grime on his every inch. Atlantic in his left hand with an innocent smile and a blaster in the other.

“That was a neat trick there.” A blood vessel had popped in his eye, making it sink into his flesh.

“I didn’t even see it coming, one moment I’m aiming my blaster at your punk head and the next the ground no longer exists.” He took a step closer, a hobble evident in his mangled legs.

“Who knows how long I fell, not me, that’s for sure.” He laughed something sinister, a crack in his voice and he coughed up more blue fluid, grabbing his rib in pain he looked at me with hatred.

“Maybe the creatures down there knew, but they didn’t want to talk to me, woke up to one rootin’ through the crack in my ribs.” Dried blood covered the side of his stomach.

“At least I had my plasma sword, cut those bastards in half, but they just kept coming!” Another hysterical laughed, followed suit by the repercussions, his face showed how fast he was reminded of the pain.

“Hackin’ back and forth, back and forth, back and forth!!” Aside from the bones, something had broken deep within him down in those caverns.

“Those damned caverns!! Scratched and clawed my way out, just to do this.” He smiled and shot. The pulse ripped straight below my shoulder. Sharp tendrils of pain splintered down my arm and through my chest. On the ground, the scene in front of me blurred and swayed. Atlantic’s smile curved opposite in the wink of an eye, and even faster, he flew straight through the intruder’s left eye. As the nerves of his body lit aflame, their last wave of commands from the brain sporadic, two more shots were sent through my ship. One hit the wall, another into my thigh. The burn, deep. I felt it in my bone, but not for long. My eyes closing, staring at my adversary, his face blank and Atlantic’s face, filled with uncertainty and fear fluttering in front of my own.

My employer wasn’t ecstatic at my tardiness, but once he heard my reasoning, he cut me some slack. I was gifted a bonus for my troubles and continue to roam the stars with my new best friend.