Mark McGinnis - The Simpleton

Cuddy Perkins stopped suddenly in his tracks and stared blankly at the tall line of trees before him. He tried to recall how hed gotten there, but knew his forgetfulness was not out of the ordinarynothing to be concerned about. He continued on, reveling in the enveloping coolness of the forest. Hed entered his favorite place in the whole world. A magical place. It made sense nowthat hed be here. He continued forward, allowing his hands to slide across the rough bark on two opposing stout tree trunks. Trees he neither knew the names of, nor particularly cared to know.

Though he knew deep down hed walked there many times before, still, something strange was going on. He turned his attention to his feet. As he steppedfirst with his left foot, then with his righthe carefully watched his size 13 Keds. Yup they felt funny. He made a facetightened his lips while squeezing his eyelids tightly shut. It was his Im so stupid face. Bending over, Cuddy used his thumb to rub off some caked-on mud to expose the section of rubber where his toes were. He rubbed some more but the arrow still wasnt there. Then, using the same thumb, he wiped the other shoe and, sure enough, there it was! The arrow Momma had drawn with a Sharpie. Hed put his shoes on the wrong feet again. Weighing the hassle of taking them off then putting them on the right foot it would be way too much trouble.

Cuddy continued on, walking ever deeper into the woods, still feeling somewhat out of sorts. He briefly wondered if he were dreaming. His dreams, so vivid, often seemed more real than when he was wide awake. And where is Rufus? Glancing back, he already knew he wouldnt see his dog there. Rufus! he called out anyway into the shadows behind him.

The sound of trickling water helped orient him to his present whereabouts. Hurrying up his pace, Cuddy caught the glimmering reflection of the sun in the little creek ahead. When he leapt over the water, landing on the opposite bank, his shoes sunk into the mud and gave a sucking sound when he pulled them free. As he continued walking alongside the winding brook, he was mostly content with life.

For the second time that day, Cuddy stopped suddenly in his tracks, uncertain if he was awake or dreaming. In any event, he was pretty certain that what he was seeing, sitting there up on a rock, was indeed an angel. The fact that this particular brightly glowing spectacle wasnt wearing any clothes did seem quite odd, but, there again, he wasnt sure what angels were supposed to wearor look like.

A breeze cooled Cuddys face, carrying along with it the musky fragrance coming off the nearby brook. Momma had talked about such things in the past, sometimes when she read to him before bedtime. Things like heaven. And angels. Sometimes Cuddy would dream of the things shed read to him about.

Standing up, the angel was nearly as tall as Cuddy wasover six feet tall. Cuddy remained perfectly stillhe held his breath. Suddenly, the angel looked around, as if hed detected another presence. A rabbit ran into view and just as quickly disappeared into a nearby thicket. The angel stared after the critter for a whilethen, slowly he walked awaygoing deeper into the woods.

Cuddy felt a chill run up and down his back. He wished hed worn his sweatshirt and that hed wake up from this strange dream.

More and more of late, Tow had a tendency to be cynical. He already knew that. It wasnt news to him. Sowengs dying words, two months past, had told him as much. Shed said, Dont you see the irony, Tow? Of those who still see the promise of things to come a future for our kind one that is better than the past it is you who will become, after everything weve endured together, the one the final torch holder. She coughed and blood appeared at the corners of her mouth. Her smile was genuine and her eyes mistyher fate so tragically sealed many months before. As Tow held her in his arms, she reached up a hand and gently touched the side of his face. stay the course take us home.

She died then. Not five minutes later, or two minutes later, but right then. Tow wondered if shed known how he felt about her? That hed loved her ever since the first time he watched her walk, more like glide, onto the Evermores bridge, three years ago.

An audible alarm tone began to reverberate throughout the ship. Were being shadowed, Captain Tow, the AI orb said. It is one of the three Howsh vessels.

His gaze snapped away from the forward observation window and the view out to open space. He looked expectantly to the empty captains chair. With renewed urgency, he strode to the other side of the bridge to check the helmsman readings. His heart sank; this was not how it was supposed to bethe captain dead, the helmsman dead. Everyone dead. Loneliness pressed in around himan avalanche of lonely despair. How could he continue on alone? He wondered, for the hundredth time, if he was up to the taskits sheer enormity weighing on him.

Back at the forward station, he found his drink and brought the half-filled cup of xicachan nervously up to his lips. A good portion of the lukewarm stimulant sloshed down his chin and onto the controls in front of him. He badly needed to relieve himself. Attempting to stand, he instantly was reminded his left leg was injured during his most recent clash with the Howsh.

White-hot searing pain shot up his legspikes starting in his foot and ending in his upper thigh. Pounding on his leg with a clenched fist wasnt helping any, so he waited a moment for the pain to subside before awkwardly hobbling out from the oppressive bridge. Hesitating, something occurred to him: it just might work He glanced over to one of the unmanned consoles, mentally willing an environmental systems configuration menu to download, and it immediately popped into view, six feet away.

Tow raised a hand, distantly manipulating the virtual menu settings. Immediately, the ships gravity generators reconfigured, and he felt the heavy weight on his leg subside somewhat. Feeling new relief, he thought, why didnt I think to do that before?

Tow ceased limping his way toward the ships stern and turned back toward the bridge. How close are they? he asked, speaking aloud into the empty compartment.

Within seven hundred twenty million clicks, the anthropomorphic voice came back. The AI orb then appeared around a partial bulkhead. Seventeen inches long and eleven inches tall, the orb was shaped like an elongated sphere. Black as obsidian, the orb was the AIs singular outer connection with the physical world. It silently hovered nearby. At the spheres apex was a concave circular section, an aperture of sorts, from which a faint blue light emanatedthe orbs ever-watchful eye. Its opposing ends had two mechanical articulating armseach with four finger-like appendages.

Tow weighed his strong urge to urinate against saving an entire species from extinction. He grudgingly hobbled back toward the bridge. Hurrying, he miscalculated the effects from resetting the gravity generators and found himself bicycling his legsnow being nearly weightlesstwo feet off the deck.

Now seven hundred and five million clicks.

Tow didnt reply, waiting for his body to slowly drop down, and to again feel solid decking beneath his feet. By the time he reentered the bridge, taking the same seat hed extricated himself from only moments before, he could see the cloaked outline of the trailing vessel on the virtual