Chapter Soul Mates
Evila smiled and took in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and listened passively to the sounds of the vaporizing room as it called out to her. The capacitor tank and hum-idifying tubes were beginning to quiet down. The hydraulic pressure inside the reservoir was starting to subside into nothingness. In the distance was heard a dull clanking noise as gas gauges and titanium pipes cooled down and contracted. Steam and smoke whistled softly from the metal valves and nozzles. Soon the room would be still.
Evila stretched out her tired and fatigued limbs. She began to twirl gracefully in place and looked up at the ceiling. She sucked in some air and tried to relax. Her tight muscles began to loosen up and unknot with each revolution. She had done it. She had taken a risk and had succeeded in accomplishing her grand design. In due time, the whole academy would know she was the one who had come up with the marvelous formula. The Tenatian embassy would praise her for her bravery and genius. She would go down in history as one of the greats; as the one who helped save their people from extinction.
“Salvation has come, and my people are free,” she whispered to the cool, moist air that rushed passed her pointed ears. Her thoughts turned quickly to the red headed Dean and his frantic words. He had sounded like a scared child. She could almost picture him fidgeting around uneasily as he tried to explain himself to the whole academy. He must have looked like a fool.
Evila stopped spinning. She opened her eyes slowly and turned her thoughts to Tone’i; she smiled and wondered where he was. She expanded her tender feelings out-ward and began to search for her soul mate among the many Decks and floors. She could feel his presence vaguely on the upper Decks. She finally pinpointed him on Deck -D-. He was nervous and worried about her being alone. She tried to calm him and let him know that everything was all right. She could feel he was coming to her now; she felt he wanted to be with her more than anything else in this universe. Their link was becoming stronger with more and more time. Soon they would be one. Soon they would have but to think something and understand each other perfectly.
Evila smiled and withdrew her tender senses. She wanted to be with him just as much as he wanted to be with her. She turned quickly and looked at the exit. She would run to him and embrace him. She would never let him go!
She headed for the door and was about to leave when something strange caught the corner of her eyes. Evila turned and gazed over to the reservoir hatch resting in the steel wall. Something was missing in the room; something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She had done everything she needed to do. The machine was turning off and the pipes were quiet now. What was wrong?
Evila’s eyes shifted to the floor. Her soul filled with horror as she suddenly identified the problem. Professor Denvil was gone.
There was a loud electrical explosion on the other side of the vaporizing machinery. Evila jumped as sparks flew everywhere. The lights in the long room dimmed and got dark. Coldness began to fill the cabin almost instantly. The sound of soft footfalls echoed off the walls like two drums. He was getting closer.
Evila’s breathing became more frantic. She reached for the paneling on the side of the door and pushed the “open” button. The blast doors slid away from the wall and let her through. Light from the hallway flooded into the room. Evila backed out of the vaporizing cabin slowly. She stopped as her back hit the pipes behind her in the hallway. From the darkness appeared two bright neon green eyes. They studied her closely and cautiously. They watched her frantic movements with delight.
“Why are you so scared, Evi? Aren’t you happy to see your old Professor?”
Evila slid her slender hands over the wall behind her. She searched quickly for anything she could use as a weapon to defend herself. She found nothing. The wall was completely clear, “It’s over, Professor Denvil. You and Dean Redder have been exposed. The humans have been changed!”
“It’s not over yet!” laughed Professor Denvil. He stopped just before the dark threshold and let out a breath of hot air. His black nails slid out from his fingertips like switchblades. “The humans might be like us now, but I doubt you will live to see your success spread. I highly doubt it.”
Evila felt her hearts sink at this. She tried to prolong the conversation. Maybe Tone’i would come in time. Maybe he could save her if she did. “Why are you doing this? You’re smarter than the Dean. Why did you help him?”
“Do you love the human hybrid?”
Evila looked shocked and confused at the blatant question asked her. She scooted a little bit further down the hallway. She spoke in soft tones, “Do I love Tone’i? What does that have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with what I am going to do to you. Which is why I asked if you loved him. I heard you two speaking to each other a while back. He expressed that he loved you. Is that true?”
“I don’t see how any of that is your business.”
Professor Denvil stepped out into the hallway. Quicksilver blood was running down his steep forehead. The droplets accumulated at the bass of his chin and dripped off. Evila backed away from him and slowly extended her claws.
“I think you do love him. I think you two are soul mates. What a special thing it is to be a soul mate. It’s very rare in our society to see such a thing take place. The joining together of two souls is very sacred and amazing. Once the tender bond is made, you two share everything. Heck, even the procreation is better.”
“What do you want from me?”
Professor Denvil took a step forward and gritted his teeth. His face looked calm and grotesque all at once. His voice sounded distant, “I had a friend once who found his soul mate. They did everything together. They were so happy together. As a young man I would invite him over to my house for dinner. He would come and bring his adorable little wife with him. I could hardly stand seeing them together in such a happy state of mind; seeing them together all the time practically killed me. It killed me every day to see them with each other.” Professor Denvil took a step forward. Evila took a step back.
“What are you talking about?” asked Evila.
“I finally asked him to come over without his little woman. I told him that we should do something together just the both of us. You know, leave the wife behind and have a guy’s night out.”
“You’re crazy,” said Evila.
“He said okay, and we went out to play some neodymium ball down at the local square. Do you know what he talked about the whole time we were there? Do you know what he raved on about while we battled back and forth? Do you?”
Evila shook her head.
“He talked about her. He talked about how wonderful she was. How amazing she was to be around. He talked about the joy he felt every morning when he woke up and gazed at her. He talked about the new baby that was on the way. He talked and talked and talked until I couldn’t take it any more.”
“What did you do to him?” asked Evila. Tears were beginning to show in her slanted green eyes. She almost dreaded hearing the answer.
“I learned something new that day. Do you want to know what that was?”
Evila didn’t answer. A cold chill ran down her spine.
“I learned that soul mates share everything… even death!”
“How could you do such a thing?” Her face wrinkled with disgust. Tears started running down her cheeks freely. She lifted a hand and quickly brushed them away. “They were going to have a baby!”
“It was easy to do. I just said it was an accident. Tir’i didn’t have his helmet on and those neodymium balls are pretty hard, or at least that’s what I told the officers that came to inspect the whole scene. They just cited it as an accident and I was off the hook.” Professor Denvil reached over and scratched his claws on the walls. An ear piercing screech sang out from the metal.
“They found the wife’s body later on that day. She had died of a broken heart. She had known when he had died, and couldn’t live any longer herself!” The professor looked at Evila and smiled a big crooked smiled. “Do you know what you and this story have in common, Evila? Do you?”
“You’re horrible! How could you do such a thing? They had happiness and you ruined it. You were jealous!”
The professor stopped. Rage and bitter passion was now swelling in his evil hearts. His face got harder and firm. “I was supposed to be the one who fell in love with her. It was supposed to be me! She was my soul mate!”
Evila swallowed the knot forming in her throat.
“Opportunities like those only come once…” Professor Denvil faded into thought, and whispered, “I shall never see her again!”
“You don’t deserve her,” barked Evila.
Professor Denvil growled at this. “And you don’t deserve the hybrid. Once you’re gone…Tony will have no reason to live any more!” Suddenly he lunged forward. Evila saw it coming and dodged the assault. She turned and started running frantically for the exit. She was about halfway there when professor Denvil came up from behind her and slashed her viciously across the back. Blood splattered on the walls as Evila let out a cry of pain and toppled over. She struggled to crawl away but was violently turned over and slammed against the ground.
“I am going to enjoy watching you die, Evi,” He said as he jumped on top of her and gripped her by the throat. Evila struggled under his enormous weight. She clawed at his arms and hands. She gasped desperately for breath.
“It’s a shame Tony can’t be here for this.”
Evila’s neon green eyes started to water. She struggled even harder to throw him off of her.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter if he’s here or not, you’re both going into the darkness beyond together. Just like Tir’i and his wonderful little wife went. You know what, you’re the first one I have ever told this story to, and I am afraid you’re going to be the last as well, Evi.”
* * *
Tony was heading to the elevator when a sudden burning shot through his whole back side. He cringed with pain and yelled out. He swung his hands around his torso and gripped this lower midsection tightly. Tears filled his eyes as he dropped to his knees and gritted his teeth. His mind was on fire with a thousand pungent thoughts and emotions; each one seemed to come in and out at a rapid pace. Evila was in trouble. She was being hurt, he could feel it. His hearts started racing at a hundred miles an hour. His breathing became more restricted and rough as if the air were being sucked from the room. Tony fell over onto the ground and started dry heaving violently. His claws sprang from his finger tips and dug deep into the hard, metal, floor.
Purple spots started dancing across his vision like stars in the heavens. His mind felt weighted and slow as if he were moving through honey, or mud, or something. The Tenatians who had followed him to the elevator stopped and stared at him with concern. They asked him questions and touched his back sympathetically to try and find out what was wrong with him. Their voices sounded as if they were berried in a swimming pool full of water. Tony knew at that moment that he was dying… that Evila was dying. That they both were soon going to be dead.
Haunting words started to come to his mind. A voice spoke out from the darkness, one that he recognized as being his own voice. It was his future self. He was repeated his message over and over again, “Don’t you let her die. Don’t you let her die!”
“Help me!” yelled Tony from the confines of his mind, “save me!”
“Save her, save her, save Evila!”
“How do I save her? I can’t even save myself!”
“Go to her!”
“How? She is way below the ship’s Decks,” said Tony as he collapsed flat on the ground and started gasping. His mind was swimming now in a dream-like state. He gazed at all the Tenatian feet around his head. Things began to get fuzzy.
“Go to her!”
Tony’s mind gave way to hallucinations and weird shapes. He could see Evila now. She was dressed in a beautiful red silk gown. She was calling for him to come. She looked gorgeous and amazing. He smiled at her and ran to her with open arms. When he got close he embraced her tightly and twirled with her for what seemed like eternity. She laughed her angelic laughter and gazed deep into his eyes. They stopped spinning and she pulled away from him. Tony noticed her dress had changed to a pure white satin. He was going to compliment her when a sudden breeze picked up. The harsh wind began to blow her away into nothingness. She began to dissolve and slip through his fingers. Tears came to his eyes as she vanished completely from his life. He knew deep down in his hearts he would never see her again. He knew this would be the last time.
“Stay with me,” cried Tony. “Don’t go!”
His thoughts got darker and darker until nothing could bee seen or heard. Sadness and remorse clouded around Tony’s subconscious like a thick blanket. A damning fire began to burn within his immortal soul. He could feel it explode from the center of his chest and spread outward like a rushing wind. Determination and rage began to take his senses by storm. He would not lose her. He would get her back. Blue sparks began to spring from his fingertips. His neon blue eyes filled with fire.
He whispered to the darkness, “I am coming.”
His soul rushed forward to find the one he loved. He would save her. He would revive her, and he would change her life forever.
* * *
Professor Denvil watched as Evila’s eye lids began to close. Her hands suddenly dropped away from his arms liked two dead worms. Her body became deathly still and motionless. She slowly faded into the nothingness.
“So long, Evila Gonthina. Consider this payback for stunning me in the cloning lab,” said the professor as he let go of her slender neck and straightened up. He pushed himself off the ground and walked over to the exit.
“Now it’s time to find a way to get off of this ship. I need to hide.” He was about to leave when her heard a light tapping noise from behind. It sounded like the footfalls of another person. It sounded like they were close. Professor Denvil turned slowly and looked behind him at all the pipes and fixtures. Quiet whispering began to fill the air. The sound was unreadable and distant.
“Who’s there?” asked the Professor. He took a few steps forward. More footfalls were heard in the hallway.
“Come out this instant,” demanded the Professor. He looked down at Evila’s lifeless body. His eyes grew wide as he saw something strange happening. Blue sparks where now springing from her lips and fingers. She let out a low groan.
“Impossible,” whispered professor Denvil. “This can’t be happening.”
He walked back over to her and examined her resting position. Evila turned her head slightly and moved her feet from side to side. Her chest was now pumping up and down with her deep breathing. Professor Denvil knelt down beside her. His hearts were pounding in his chest. He had never seen this before. Reanimation of a dead object was completely unheard of in the scientific world.
“What’s going on?” He reached out and grabbed her wrist firmly. Her pulse was flowing normally in her veins. He pulled his hand back and watched as blue electricity danced from his fingers and nails. His eyes widened as he watched his former cloning student change. She was evolving into something. Her hair started turning blue and green. It began to sparkle wildly in the hall light. Her body took on a slightly different muscle structure. Her skin got light and more refined. Electricity was now coursing through her appendages.
Evila opened her eyes slowly and looked over at him. Her irises took on a deep neon blue appearance. With lightning speed she reached out and gripped his arm tightly. A smiled crossed her face as she spoke. “Did you miss me?”
Professor Denvil was in shock. “How did you—”
Evila cut him off. “My soul mate is different.”
Professor Denvil tried to pull his arm away but found it impossible. Evila was now incredibly strong.
“I have a gift for you,” she said with half closed eyes. The professor could feel a sudden burst of electricity tear through his whole body. He gritted his teeth and let out a loud cry. Evila’s grip got tighter and tighter. The skin around his arm crackled loudly and began to burn and incinerate away. It was disgusting to see. Electricity ripped through his organs and caused them to swell and burst. The lights in the hall began to flicker and then exploded from the surge of energy. Hot sparks went flying everywhere.
The Professor let out a bleeding cry. His eyes began to water and his mouth became dry. He had never felt so much pain in his life. Evila sent one last surge of energy through him and then let go.
Professor Denvil collapsed onto the ground in a smoking heap. A slight gurgle escaped his lips and then he was silenced forever. Evila watched him for a minute. She pushed herself up off the ground and stepped back. The hall had filled with the smell of burnt flesh. She gagged and held her nose. Lightning was still jumping from her frame and licking the walls around her.
“Evila, are you all right?” A voice spoke suddenly from inside her mind. She recognized it as Tone’i’s.
“I am all right, where are you?”
“I am still up on -D- Deck, but I am coming to you right now.”
Evila looked at Professor Denvils lifeless body one last time. When she was satisfied that he was not getting up she turned and started for the exit. She wanted to be with Tone’i right now, “I’ll meet you at the elevator.”
“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
Evila called out to him suddenly. She wanted to know a few things, “Wait! Don’t go yet, I need to ask you a question.”
“What do you need to ask me?”
“I need to know how you did that.”
“How I did what?” asked Tony in confusion.
“How did you bring me back?”
Tender emotions started to flood her senses; it was all coming from Tony. It was almost too overwhelming. She wanted to be with him, so back now!
“I couldn’t lose you, Evila. I came to you in spirit and breathed life back into your bones. I entered your mind and changed you.”
Evila looked down at her new appearance. She could feel a new power flowing through her body now. It felt weird. It felt strange. She absolutely loved it!
“I hope you’re not mad,” said Tony sheepishly.
Evila laughed. “I am not mad. You did the right thing.”
“I guess we match now!”
Evila laughed harder. “I guess we do. This is going to make experimenting on us a little easer. I still want to run test” she rounded a corner and ducked under a low pipe. She was getting closer to the exit.
“Evila, can I ask you something?”
“Yes you may”
“Can we get something to eat now; I am hungry.”
Evila shook her head with amusement. Tone’i had been feeling hungry through out the whole mission. She could finally help him out with it now, “Yes, Tone’i. Now we can get something to eat. I’ll meet you by the elevator.”
“Is there anything good here on this ship?”
“Yes, there is a lot of good stuff. We can eat a Seeter Beetle together. It will be great. There so good! I haven’t had one in like eons!”
Tony sounded reluctant about this. The name was not appealing at all, “A Seeter beetle? What is that? I want to eat something that at least sounds good? What do you people eat that isn’t an insect?”
“I’ll tell you when I get there.” Evila exited another hall and walked into the loud engine room. She was on her way.