It was a cloudy day in Sixton. A bit dour, a bit gray. The winds were kind of chilly for this time of year. Didn't stop the factories though. They kept pumping out the steam as they worked along. Pretty interesting stuff really, for a young lad of Phil's age, as he looked out the window of his school.
The teacher droned on in front, covering algebra of all things. Kinda boring really.
Thankfully there wasn't much time left on the clock, as the school bell rang, signaling the end of school for the day. He was free~!
Dracos
Phil eagerly joined in with the rush of students leaving the classroom. With the rather dark day outside it looked like he wouldn't be working outside too much, but he would still have plenty to do indoors. He started on his way back towards home, distracted by thoughts of what he could put together next...
So many nifty ideas...
But hey...wait, wasn't tonight when that big meteor shower was supposed to happen? It'd be pretty cool to watch. Those don't happen all the time.
Dracos
Phil grinned at the recollection - meteor showers were fairly rare, but fun to go and watch. And there was always the slim hope that a meteor might land nearby. Who knows what he could actually do with something from outer space? A wide grin settled on his face at the thought.
And his folks wouldn't be home 'til late anyhow.
Plenty of time to get his telescope setup if he hurried back to his home.
A few blocks away, he could spot his house now.
Dracos
Phil hurried the last few yards to home, quickly going to rummage in his room for his telescope - his ENHANCED telescope, of course. Checking it to make sure that all the attachments and fittings were still working properly, he bundled the telescope up, deciding to take it out to Lookout Hill to get the best view. His decision made, he took care of his afternoon business, grabbing some early dinner before heading out to the hill to get set up.
"Hey, Kid." A few of the larger punks from school crossed his path as he headed out. "Where ya goin'?"
Dracos
"Huh?" Phil looked up, startled. "Um... nowhere in particular, really." He shifted the pack on his back, doing his best to push on past the group of toughs.
Uh oh, one of the local toughs from his high school is with 'em.
"Hey, it's shrimpy. What you doin' heading out this late?"
Dracos
Phil looked a little nervous, but tried to put a smile on. "There's a meteor shower tonight, I'm just going out so I can see it better," he replied.
"Aww, isn't that cute. Shrimpy's a regular...what's it called...Astrologist? You tell fortunes too, huh Shrimpy?" The tough grinned.
Dracos
Phil sighed. "That would be an astronomer," he said, shaking his head. "And no, I don't tell fortunes." He tried to move around the roadblock. "I need to get going, or I'm going to miss it."
"Huh...well, that's well and good...but it doesn't get us much of anything. You know how things go shrimpy. You help me...I help you... Got to pay the tolls and all. It helps us keep these roads safe from riff raff and all! So whadyasay?"
Dracos
"I don't have any money on me," Phil replies.
"Huh... No cash huh. That's a right pity."
One of the other kids grabbed his telescope. "This looks like it'd be worth something. Ya? You can go shrimpy."
The toughs laughed.
Dracos
"Hey! Give that back!" Phil shouts, lunging for the optical device.
The tough hauled it over his head. "Make me shrimpy." The others laughed as he pushed Phil back onto his rear. "Gonna cry for your momma?"
Dracos
Phil scowled, quickly scrambling back to his feet. Taking a moment to rummage in his backpack, he produced a curious-looking device - looking like a cross between a fishhook, a backscratcher, and a clothesline, all connected to a toy car tire. A good pull freed up the clothesline, and Phil hurled the hooked end at his wayward telescope, aiming to pull it right out of the bully's grasp!
He got the telescope back, the fishhook catching it and pulling it to him.
Unfortunately the other bullies were still nearby as they turned on him.
"Ooh, two toys?"
Dracos
Phil tucks the telescope and the makeshift grappling hook under his arm, making a break for the nearest opening between two of the larger boys as fast as he can manage.
And off he went, the toughs following swiftly behind, their larger strides catching up!
Dracos
Phil quickly reached into his backpack - it looked like Lookout Hill was out of the question, with this mob following him. Grabbing a handful of marbles from a jar in his backpack, he scattered them across the road behind him. It might not get rid of ALL of the bullies, but hopefully it would at least slow them down for a few minutes.
He hears some shouts of surprise behind him, followed by a few painful sounding thuds.
Dracos
He risks a glance back to see how much of the pursuit he's managed to eliminate.
There's four of 'em chasing him!
Dracos
Phil thinks quickly. Four is too many to try standing off against, but perhaps he can improve the odds a bit more. Once more fishing in his pack, he pulls out a large spray can, aiming the nozzle behind him and covering his nose as he releases a massively foul stench into the air behind him.
The toughs stopped at that, loud and vulgar curses filling the air as they tried to get away from the skunk-like odor.
Dracos
Phil darted around the nearest corner, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and the bullies before they decided to hold their noses and tough the stink cloud out. Not really paying attention to where he was going, he darted around several corners, trying to find a good place to stop and rest.
Hey, the local soda shop!
Dracos
The young boy pushed open the door of the shop, still breathing rather heavily. This looked like as good a place as any to get himself back together - hey, maybe he could even still make it back out to the hill before the meteor shower started!
He saw some of the other kids from the school here, along with some adults. Freddy the soda man was behind the counter, mixing up drinks.
Dracos
Phil smiled a bit, heading over to the counter.
"Can I get a root beer float?"
"Sure thing, kid. That'll be Fifty cents." Freddy always was a good chap.
Dracos
Phil fishes in his pocket for two quarters, which he plunks down on the counter with a grin. "Thanks a ton, Freddy!"
Freddy whipped up a quick root beer float, giving it to Phil.
Dracos
The brown-haired boy took the drink gratefully, heading towards a table near the back to keep an eye on the door. Still a chance those older boys might come in here, so best to keep out of sight.
Sipping at his float, he cast a look at the sky outside, trying to judge whether he could make it out to the hill before the shower was supposed to start.
It was getting kinda late. The sky was definitely dark by now.
He probably could make it if he hurried though.
Dracos
Finishing off the last of his float - OW, BRAIN FREEZE! - Phil waved goodbye to Freddy, heading out of the soda shop and out towards the hill as fast as he could. Not too many other people in town really cared about astronomy or anything, but he didn't want to miss any of the shower, and so he needed to find a really good spot on the hill to watch from.
The shower was just beginning as he got setup.
It was really something, stars flaring as far as the eye could see.
Dracos
Phil watched in awe, a broad grin on his face as he watched the heavens pour down fire. Definitely worth the trouble it took to get out here and get a good view.
He spotted something that seemed a bit different in his telescope.
Dracos
Quickly moving the telescope around to face the oddity, Phil zoomed in as far as he could to try to figure out what was wrong.
That wasn't a star! It was made of metal!
Dracos
"What the..." Making sure not to lose the strange object, Phil followed it with his telescope, trying to trace the metallic shape's movements.
The thing seemed to be heading for the mountains, hiding among the star shower.
Dracos
With nothing else he can do at the moment, Phil tracks the descending object, trying to get as exact a fix as he can on where it lands.
Well, it is somewhere in those mountains. He should be able to find the general location with a map.
Though it is getting kind of late out here.
Dracos
Doing his best to fix the location in mind, Phil turns towards home. Tomorrow was DEFINITELY a day to head for the mountains...
And so Phil awoke to a new day in Sixton, his parents downstairs preparing breakfast...
Dracos
Phil heads downstairs with his backpack packed, map and first aid supplies at the ready (it wouldn't be the first time he'd climbed the mountain, and skinned knees weren't too unlikely.) Settling in at the table with a grin, he announced his find to his parents, and his intention to go see what the strange object was. "I've never seen anything from outer space before!"
"That's...nice son. Remember to get to school on time." His father responded distractedly.
Dracos
"Oh, er... right Dad, of course!" Phil blushes a bit, having completely forgotten about school in his exuberance. But his plans remain unchanged - this is way too cool to skip out on because of school, and he's already ahead, so why not take a day off? Besides, with everyone else in school there'd be no chance that anyone else would be following him to cause trouble like last night.
Breakfast was swiftly served, followed by his mom making sure he got ready for school and kissing him goodbye for the day.
Dracos
Phil makes a face at the kiss, waving to his parents before heading out into the bright sunshine beyond. Taking just a few moments to refer to his map, he strikes out for the mountains!
Heading out to the mountains, he found it a rather chilly day. Maybe it'd be good to sneak back in and get his coat and a lunch before heading out.
Dracos
Phil checked his lunch from his mom at that thought, making sure he DID remember to bring it, before heading back for home at a jog to grab a jacket.
Fooded and Jacketed, Phil was ready for absolutely anything.
"Hey, its shrimp!"
Except that.
Definitely not that.
Maybe they'd go away if he didn't look?
Dracos
Phil DOESN'T look, simply making tracks as fast as his feet will carry him. As he goes, he rummages in his backpack yet again, finally withdrawing his best chance of getting away in one piece... Dropping the skateboard on the street in front of him, he jumped aboard, propelling it forward as fast as he possibly can...
He made his escape, by skateboard! Whoa! They chased after him, but he quickly gained the lead with the skateboard, getting ahead and slipping around town, free!
Dracos
Sticking to the skateboard while still on paved roads, Phil started on his journey out to the mountains...
It was mid-afternoon when he arrived in the hilly mountains behind Sixton, all manners of furry animals crawling around, but not noticing him. He was probably a little hungry by now, so it was good he brought a lunch. The place was quite peaceful. Almost a little too peaceful really.
Dracos
The young boy sat down to start in on his lunch, pulling out his map of the area as he tried to figure out the best way to get to where he thought the metallic object came down.
There were really only two routes.
He could try the underground caves...
Or he could try climbing around the peaks.
Dracos
The young boy considered for a moment before deciding on the caves. Exploring the caves was fun all by itself, but now he had a real reason to do so.
The caves it is then. Beautiful caves indeed! This time of year, the caves had dozens of beautiful rock formations showing as he traveled through. He'd have to be careful though, it was quite slippery. The journey was mostly peaceful, the caves not having many animals in them. He spotted a few squirrels running away, but nothing too odd.
Dracos
Phil tied a long line at the entrance to the cave, having done a bit of spelunking here before - no sense in getting lost. With flashlight in one hand and the string paying out of his pack, he began his descent into the depths of the cave.
Phil's preparations were sure to serve him well, carefully documenting his path behind him.
It was many hours before he came to the outside, seeing the full moon shining down through the cave opening.
Dracos
Phil wiped his brow with his arm. While the caves were cool, they were also kinda humid - nice to get out for a breath of fresh air. Taking a moment to look around, he tried to get his bearings in relation to where the strange metallic object should have come down.
It couldn't be far now. He'd walked quite a ways under the mountains.
Dracos
Phil headed for the nearest height to take a good look around. Whatever that thing was, it should have left SOME kind of indication that it was here - even just something like a crater.
Looking around...he heard a strange humming noise comming from the valley nearby.
Dracos
The young boy blinked in surprise - what around here could be humming? While the idea that the strange metallic object could be a UFO, he hadn't really taken the thought seriously, until now. Moving cautiously, he approached the source of the strange noise...
Heading closer, he could vaguely see down into the valley...but he could clearly hear sounds of some construction happening here.
Dracos
Phil kept on, wondering what anyone - even aliens! - could be building up here. These mountains were miles from anywhere. Maybe a secret base? He grinned at the thought, but what if that's REALLY what it was?
He came across some piles of junk... well, not junk persay, but discarded equipment. Lots of nifty looking stuff.
Dracos
"Awesome!" Phil's eyes gleamed as he began to pick through the piles of stuff, packing away all of the useful looking junk in his backpack.
Lots of it looked useful. Does he go through it now or just stuff it in his backpack for later?
Dracos
Phil took a short time to pick out the choicest items, resolving to come back later for a closer look when he had time. With his pack a bit fuller, he headed onward, towards the source of the construction noises.
Construction noises it was...
He came over a hill and could see....
Ships.
Hundreds of ships being built. Ships of all shapes and sizes. A small robot army putting them together piece by piece.
Dracos
Phil gazed at the panorama wide-eyed. "What in the world..."
The young boy watched the activity below with a mixture of awe, fear, and outright desire. So... many... toys...
The ground rumbled slightly as a giant dog creature came out of the ground, surveying the work that would lay waste to the pitiful human world.
He walked up towards the only structure in the area that was remotely tall (they were building low to avoid being seen apparently), examining some kind of radio tower.
Dracos
Phil dropped down low to avoid being seen... what were they planning to DO with all of these ships?
One way to find out. Waiting until he was sure the dog-thingy or any of the robots were looking his direction, he began to creep closer to the shipyard.
He got closer, the robots clicked and clanked but didn't seem to speak in any english language.
The ship he was hiding behind was really cool though. He couldn't quite figure it out.
Dracos
Phil stayed low, trying to stay out of the robots' notice as he looked for some way to get inside the ship.
Well, there was no entrance visible on this craft...but they were all slighly different, and maybe there was some trick to getting in?
Dracos
Still trying to stay out of sight, Phil keeps an eye on the robots and the other ships, trying to look for a way inside any of them. Number one to get a closer look - these looked really cool - and two, it would probably be easier to hide inside one of the ships rather than outside.
The place was getting steadily more crowded since the dog creature arrived. He found his way to another ship...but it had the same issue. No visible entryway. Darn.
Dracos
Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor - and that it would be a lot easier to investigate the ships with fewer robots around - Phil began to sneak back up to his hiding spot on the hill, still trying to stay out of sight of the robot drones.
Luck was with him as he managed to sneak back to the hill without being spotted.
Dracos
Phil crouched down in his hidey-hole, waiting for the activity below to die down a bit so he could get a closer look.
It didn't look like it was going to die down anytime soon with the dog creature hanging around. It seemed to be sniffing a bit around the ships.
Dracos
Phil dug in his pack, pulling out a camera. Making sure the flash wasn't turned on, he snapped a couple of pictures of the sight - there's no way ANYONE would believe this without some kind of proof. Heading back, he stopped for a few minutes at the junk piles, looking for anything that might be specifically from a spaceship.
With the last of his gleanings packed away, he headed back for the caves, and the route home.
He managed to get back safely. The moon was high in the sky when he arrived back in Sixton. The place seemed a bit quiet though.
Dracos
The young boy slipped back into his house quietly, wondering if his parents knew he'd skipped school that day. Taking a quick stop in the kitchen to grab some leftovers - it was a long hike back from the mountains - he headed up to his room to get a closer look at some of the junk he'd picked up.
His father was there.
But he seemed odd. Off a tad as he turned around, his eyes unfocused. "Guuuruuu..."
Dracos
Phil blinked in surprise. "Um.... Dad?"
His 'father' lifted his arms and stumbled at Phil zombie-like, clearly alive but obviously being rather weird.
Dracos
"Dad, what's wrong with you?" Phil exclaimed, backing away from his father. First aliens in the mountains, now his dad acting like a zombie? What's next, flying pizzas?
You know, it probably would be good to run while he still could, his 'dad' was getting awfully close, grabbing at him.
Only another "Guuuuruuuu" answered him from his father.
Dracos
Phil took off at a sprint. He was getting WAY too much exercise to be healthy, the last couple of days.
Way too much indeed. It was a good thing his dad wasn't moving fast as he got downstairs.
Dracos
Phil didn't hang around inside the house - there was no WAY he could fight his *dad*.
And so Phil headed out into the streets, alone with his backpack and some of his tools.
Where did he go from there though?
Dracos
Phil wandered aimlessly. With home being... like that, he had no idea where he could go from here. Just about everyone should be home in bed, and would the police really believe that his dad was acting like a zombie? Shaking his head, he trudged onward through the streets, no real destination in mind.
He noticed a few figures up ahead. Strange to see others out at night.
Dracos
Phil approached cautiously, not sure of what he was going to find.
He noticed...
The toughs.
They were in kind of the same shape though. And heck, where were their parents?
They didn't notice him, seeming to wander aimlessly around at the moment.
Dracos
Phil quickly put some distance between himself and the other boys. They were bad enough when they WEREN'T zombies... although they'd probably be slower now, at least.
Turning the corner, he decided to head for the center of town, keeping an eye out for more zombies along the way.
It took him a while, but eventually he found a place with the lights actually on.
City Hall in fact.
Dracos
Going carefully, Phil approached the large building. Lights on was a good sign, but there's no telling WHAT he'd find inside - it could be more zombies. He approached the main doors, trying to get a look inside before entering.
The windows were kind of boarded up. Light was visible from the top and through the cracks, but he couldn't see in very well.
Dracos
Deciding to take the risk - hey, boarded up windows would probably be a good sign if they were trying to keep the zombies out, right? - Phil braced himself and entered the town hall warily.
He found the door...locked. Strange. They never lock it.
Dracos
Hesitating only for a moment, Phil began to bang on the door.
"Hey! Is there anyone in there? There's something really weird going on out here! Heeeey!"
And so Phil moved to another thread....
We continue in A City of Stone.