~ five

An alien watches the team attempting repairs, scavenging parts from likewise ships in the heaps.

Soldier Story - "How long ?"

Space Lady - "Too long."

Alien - "We have a ship."

They turn with a draw.

Alien - "We've been scrapping it."

Actor - "Who are you people ?"

Co-star - "How do you know our language."

Alien - "People ?"  Walks out from the shadows, "We do not know your language, we speak our own, you hear your own."

Soldier - "Psychic ?"

Alien - Turns it's head to him abruptly.  "You ... are ... you speak in many voices."

Soldier - "Nah."  Smiles, "You just hear that many."

Alien - Smiles back intrigued, then to all.  "We have a ship.  It's an exit we need."

Actor - "And who ... are you people ... ?"

Alien - "Oh.  My apologies.  We are ... "

Space Lady - "Descendants of those whose ships he's devoured over time.  They hear his voice at night echoing these halls as he muses.  They worship him now."

Aliens - "The elders worship him.  The worship the flame.  But the children ... "

Actor - "You're a child ?"

Aliens - "Yes, in the relative sense.  Our varied species have mingled where they can, in time evolving into something immune to these surroundings, their effects on the mind."

Actor - "What effects on the mind."

Aliens - "He talks in his sleep."
________________

Dr Zhivago -  Awakens in his cell, eye suddenly opening wide.  "You ... "

Agent Immortal - "My old Nemesis ... let's talk."
________

Agent Immortal - With Frankentom, Dog Soldier leading Dr Zhivago cuffed and manacled on a leash, they pass the checkpoint.  "Thank you warden, that will be all."

Warden - Watches him leave with a shake of the head amid hoots and whistles from the prisoners ... "I hate that guy."  Then to the guard next to him, what the hell's gotten into them ?"  A thumb gesture to the whistling inmates.

Guard - "No idea."

Turns to the cell showing the sign on his back ~ 'looking for daddy'.  One guard snickers to the other.
________

Zhivago - Examining his dusty old laboratory, "Oh ... how desperate you must be, to ... "

Immortal - "Oh shut up."  He pulls a window blind cord to open it, it falls.  A squirrel about to eat a nut looks at them sideways, then the nut, then them.

Backs away slowly from view.

Immortal - "Wait !"  Goes to the other side of the room and pulls a cord, the blinds fall, Orson Welles in the sky ... "There we go.  Only to the west for a little while."

Snaps his fingers and Zhivago's restraints fall off.

Immortal - "Wanna live ?"

Zhivago - Approaching the window, "Huh.  That's ... "

Immortal - "Yep."

Zhivago - "I see ... well that's us about fucked then.  Thanks for allowing my last moments in freedom, nemesis !  I shall certainly enjoy it." 

Heads for the door, Frankentom locks it, Dog Soldier growls.

Immortal - "Not good enough."

Zhivago - "Fine.  I will save the world for you, but I keep my freedom."

Immortal - "Absolutely."

Zhivago turns again for the window with a sign on his back 'totally going back'.
____________

Alien - "There are many power cores distributed near surface to enable his jointed networks, many redundancies.  The will do little overall harm, but some few may make a breech."

Actor - "And then what ?  Our world ... "

Alien - "To live."

...

The communicator crackles on, a distant voice in the static.

Immortal - "Hey !  Can you hear me !?"  The sound of a comm knocking in a counter, "Hey !"

Actor - "We hear you Agent Immortal.  Did you warn the General ?"

Immortal - "I did."

Actor - "What's his plan ?"

Immortal - "Stupid."
____

General - Lowers his binoculars, "Fire everything."

The nukes launch from around the world.  He lifts his binoculars watching ... waiting ...

Sergeant Major - "Um.  Sir ?"

     ~ They drink coffee playing cards ...

He's back on the field nearing sunset looking through the binoculars.  The explosion.

     ~ In space Orson Welles pummels through a lot of missiles, his chest now glowing a bit but completely unfazed.

Sergeant Major - Lowers his binoculars.  "Now he's irradiated ... "

General - Still looking through the glass, "Brig."

Sergeant Major - "aw"
____

Immortal - On comm, "So I improvised."

Zhivago - "Ello !"

Actor - "Curse you Dr Zhivago, you never get away with this."

...

Zhivago - "With what ?"

Actor - "Currently unknown.  But you won't.  What's your plan."
____

Actor - In the director's office waving the script, "Are you fucking kidding me ?  Are you Fucking kidding me !"

Co-star - Shakes her head pissed and looks out the window, "He's not fucking kidding you."  Lights a smoke to calm.

Director - Smiles and pulls a blunt, lights it.  "Now when are you kids gonna learn to trust me ?"  Grins wider.
____

Immortal - "So you really do need to get out of there.  Also the universe might end.  Or at least to us."

Actor - "So if we fail and the world ends, all of existence as we know it, and the universe itself may go with it ?"

Immortal - "Kinda !"

He looks around, everyone thinks about it a sec ... they shrug.

Alien - "I may care about that a little."  Thinks about it a sec.  Nods.  "A little."
____________

They lay on their cots outside the UFO wide eyed while Orson Welles drones on in his sleep about the meaning of the universe and its extensive history ...

"It was then that I realized the Plebeians were born this way, imagine my surprise ... when I ... "

     ~ They stare wide eyed at the booming intonations echoing all around ...

"The Sunsar Cluster was a glory in its prime.  Brimming with life and philosophy.  Indeed the first anthropoids to propose the cat in a box theory came from there."

     ~ Almost asleep then jolted awake ...

"And I was Torn !  Between appreciation of this infinite beauty before me, and the truest of hunger ... this was ... perhaps my most defining moment ... as an entity ... "

     ~ Almost there again ...

"He said to me, 'Great one', as I am, magnificent ... 'You will find the Fire there' ... "

As their eyes finally begin to close to the droning ~ "Where life is the moss which grows on Pandora's Box."
________

Space Actor's eyes open wide in the night, her head turns sharply to look at the digital clock on the bedside table. 

9:59 ... it goes off and she tears it from the wall with a crash and a leap from the bed.
________

Co-star - In the cafe with the Actor, "So what do you think ?"

Actor - "Well ... they all look clean on first look.  All of them.  As if intending to look like nothing.  Even sad.  But then one layer, just one layer beneath that nothing, there's something.  A connection to a thing.  A production with somebody else."

Co-star - "About whom we already know."

Actor - "And who would be a much louder hit."

...

Co-star laughs ...

Actor - "What ?"

Co-star - "B-movie serial killer."

Actor - A quick snicker, "Yeah.  That's what that amounts to.  Except serial killers are all about the attention.  This one's ... sending a message, but not to the police or the press.  And she's here now because she already cleaned our house.  Season one."

Co-star - "Fascinating.  Like she was nesting."

Actor - "Seems like that's why we've had such a trouble free production."

Co-star - "While everyone else is in the papers for bad ... but it makes no sense.  If she cleaned out the liabilities in season one, why would she only be here for the finale ?"

Actor - "That we know of."  He tosses some pictures of various cast and crew on the table.  "Each one worked sequentially, in different roles." 

Co-star - Picks the first one up, "Gabrielle ... from ... the diner.  But they look ... oh my God you're right.  She completely disappeared.  She was supposed to be here for ... "  She looks up at the smiling waitress about to pour more coffee.  "This scene."

Waitress - Pouring cheerfully, "He's a big fan of your renditions."
________

A little girl in the doorway - "Who are you ?"

Space Actor lets loos the garrote, dropping the body of her father cold.  Barely glance over her shoulder, hair black and heavy make-up.  "I'm sorry."

Girl - "Don't be.  Who are you ?  Did he ... "

Space - "No.  Not me.  But he did."

Girl - "He did."

...

Space - "Tell me first, what you are, so we can be friends.  I'm a Gemini.  How 'bout you ?"

The girl looks at her a second, then smiles.
________

Space Lady - Smiles at Soldier Story, shocked, "You'll die."

Soldier Story - "You'll live."

...

Actor - "We are not discussing this."

Soldier - "You're right.  There's no time."  He raises gun and walks.