a noob's first attempt at literature

[Reply #120 on:]

hey guys, just thought Id let you know that I'm still alive.  Ive been neck deep in school work this week, so I havent had time to edit the next section.  Hopefully I'll get it up by the end of this weekend...

[Reply #121 on:]

That's ok... i was out myself yesterday night... well, actually most of the whole day.. just a few hours in, and that was from 2:30-5:30pm central time..

[Reply #122 on:]

here's a long overdue update.  Thanks to Leo for catching some really bad errors in it :-)  And thanks to Arkan for noticing that there were STILL some really bad errors in it!  (It helps to post the right draft)

part 3:
Chapter 5

Leela emerged from her tent before anyone else, three hours before sun-up.  She had not been able to get any sleep, and had spent the whole night thinking about the argument she had had with Fry.  She was still angry at the delivery boy, but vowed to keep that emotion buried.  There would be time for that if they survived the next twenty four hours.  The cyclops just hoped that Fry would do the same.  Leela had everything packed by the time Fry crawled out from his tent.  Bender emerged from Fry’s tent a short time later, already humming.  The PE captain caught Fry’s eye, and the delivery boy smiled.  Things would be ok for now.

The trio packed everything up and hid their backpacks in the crevasse between two large boulders.  Carrying bulky camping gear into battle was a suicidal idea, but throwing it away was equally as stupid.  Whether by fault of Fry or otherwise, the PE crew was used to running for their lives.  If today were to become just one more such occasion, the gear could be easily found again.

Bender led his companions to the compound he had spotted the night before.  Leela kept her eye out for any sign of guards hidden in the boulder strewn landscape, but no one could be seen.  Everything was quiet except for the call of a few night insects. 

The two humans and the robot topped a steep slope and suddenly found themselves at their destination.  Leela lay down on her stomach and gestured for her friends to do the same.  With everyone safely hidden from view of what lay on the other side of the hill, Leela wormed her way over the top and gazed at what lay beyond.  A hundred yards ahead was their target.  The ‘compound’  was little more than a dozen rundown buildings surrounding hangar containing the silhouette of one of the now familiar stingray craft.  A couple of heavily armed guards patrolled the perimeter.  So much for the ‘giant death fortress’ and ‘millions of cronies’ that Bender had attested to the night before.    This was going to be easy.

One of the guards passed within fifty feet of the PE crew’s hiding place, and Leela took the opportunity.  She waited for the bored looking man to pass by her hiding place and then slowly crept up on him from behind.  The man sensed that something was amiss at the last minute.  He didn’t even have time to turn around before he was unconscious.  Fry and Bender ran up to help Leela drag the injured man out of sight.  A nearby dumpster made a convenient body disposal unit.  It would be no good letting one of his friends see him lying on the ground.  Fry grabbed the man’s laser.  The idea was to not kill anyone, but it was always a good idea to have a backup plan.

Leela waited for the other guard to pass by, and quickly made sure he met the fate of his compatriot.  She used her wrist laser to fuse the lid of the dumpster shut.  When the two guards woke up they wouldn’t be going anywhere.  Now it was time to hunt for the doomsday devices.  The PE crew made a quick search of the complex.  They came across no obvious surveillance, but hadn’t expected any.  Technology was deeply engrained into the lifestyle of the people of the 31st century.  It would not occur to Ivan that invaders would approach his base without the aid of some kind of flying machinery.  There were probably surface to air missiles hidden somewhere in the area for unlucky vehicles that happened nearby, but no need was seen for defenses or surveillance on the ground.   What the three friends had expected to see however, was some sign of their missing cargo, but it was nowhere to be found.  Building after building turned up empty and deserted.  The entire base was a ghost town.  The only sign that Fry, Leela, and Bender had come to the right place was the stingray shaped starship crouched in the hanger.

There had to be something that they were missing.  Leela refused to believe that they had spent five grueling days only to come up against a dead end.  She waved Fry and Bender over from their search through a bunch of empty cardboard boxes.  What they expected to find there, Leela had no idea.  “Fry, Bender, let's go through all the buildings again.  Double check every nook and cranny, make sure we didn’t miss anything.”  The delivery boy nodded and he and the robot followed his captain from structure to structure.  At first, nothing turned up, but just as Fry, Leela, and Bender were giving up hope they got a break.  Fry was walking across a throw rug in one of the empty buildings and tripped over a raised area hidden underneath.  When Bender slid away the carpeting a manhole became visible.  There was something underground.  The delivery boy slid the cover off of the new found hole in the floor, and the three friends found themselves looking into a some kind of shaft.  A ladder disappeared into the gloom after the first few feet.  A faint light could just barely be seen at what Leela assumed to be the bottom of the shaft.  Fry caught Leela’s eye and gave her a questioning look.  Leela replied with a nod and sat down on the edge.  She rolled over on her stomach and slid into the hole until her boots made contact with the ladder’s top rung.  She started descending, and was soon nothing more than a vague shadow.  Bender started down next.  That just left Fry.  The delivery boy stared down into the depths and gulped.  He waited a few moments for Bender to get a little farther down the ladder, and slid into the hole.  Leela looked up just in time to see the delivery boy haul the manhole cover back into place.  The dim light of dawn went out with a clang.

When Fry reached the end of the ladder he found himself in a square room slightly larger than a broom closet.  A metal door and a faint florescent light were the only signs that the delivery boy had not wandered into some abandoned well.  Fry flattened himself against the wall opposite the ladder so that his friends would have room to stand.

When all three of them were safely on the ground Fry worked his way back to the door and started turning the wheel attached to its surface.  The lock popped open with an audible thunk, and Fry leaned out into the space beyond.  A lit corridor led in both directions from the PE crew’s current location.  There were two green arrows painted on the wall facing Fry.  One pointed to the left and was accompanied by the words ‘Armory and Storeroom”.  The other arrow pointed out the location of the kitchen and dormitories.

Fry signaled the all clear to his companions.  Leela took the lead at this point and started off in the direction of the storeroom.  Bender followed, with the delivery boy taking up the rear with his confiscated laser at the ready.

Leela led her friends down twisting corridors, always following the green arrows toward their destination.  Fry found himself getting disoriented after only a few minutes.  He just hoped that they wouldn’t miss any turns on the way back out.  From time to time Fry thought he heard voices down adjacent hallways, but he and his friends were lucky enough to only find one person directly in their path of travel.    Fortunately Leela had seen the man’s shadow before he had been able to walk around a corner and spot them.  Fry, Leela, and Bender had dashed into a nearby abandoned room to avoid detection.

Corridor after corridor passed by at regular intervals.  Fry began to wonder if they had been going in circles, but eventually the delivery boy and his companions reached the storeroom.  Small red letters painted on an ordinary wooden door read ‘storeroom.’  Leela pushed open the door and a broad smile broke out on her face.  She had found the crates.

The three friends went from box to box examining the contents.  Every one of the professor’s doomsday devices lay untouched in their packaging.  Best of all, a way existed to get them out of the compound.  The roof of the storeroom was in actuality two monstrous doors.  When opened, a starship could land in the storeroom just as if it were a terrestrial garage.  There was currently a small one man ship occupying the far corner of the  room.

“Hey Leela I think we should…”, Fry began, but he was cut off before he could finish his thought.  The sound of footsteps could be heard outside in the hallway.

Fry, Leela, and Bender bolted for the shelter of some boxes that were lying in the corner.  They were just in time.  Six men walked into the room just seconds after Bender’s head disappeared behind the boxes.  Four of the men brandished pulse rifles.  The other two carried holstered laspistols and were in the process of having some sort of argument.  One of the arguers wore a green jacket and was unfamiliar.  The other one was Ivan.

The Cyclops was certain that she had once again been caught in a trap, but the men seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they had company.  Ivan and green jacket walked over to the spaceship and continued their verbal battle.  The other four men gave each other bored expressions and sat down on the crates. 

Leela looked at her options.  There were two things that she could do.  The first and most agreeable option was to grab Fry’s laser gun and start blasting.  Unfortunately the chances of knocking out all six men before someone managed to pick her off were practically nil.  With one gun the PE crew just didn’t have much of a chance.  Leela had her wrist laser true, but it wasn’t powerful enough to seriously injure anything much larger than the desert lizards she had zapped with it earlier.  The only viable option then was to wait the situation out.  Hopefully the men would simply go away before detecting the cyclops and her friends.

Violence was impossible so the mutant, the human, and the robot sat and waited for their adversaries to walk out the door.  It was working too.  The four guards were finding the argument between their boss and his underling to be quite entertaining, and so they never got bored enough to wander around the storeroom.  Fry tried to hear what Ivan and green jacket were saying to each other, but all he could make out from his position was something about needing more potatoes.  “Wow, we’re going to get through this,” thought the delivery boy.  “All we have to do is not make any noise for the next few minutes and…”  Fry’s winced as his thought was drowned out by the hiss of static, and then a loud female voice.

“Hello?  Is anyone there?  Hello?  If anyone can hear this please…”

Fry’s head whirled around to find the source of the voice.  It was Leela’s wristband.  The Cyclops was desperately swatting at it, and eventually managed to turn it off.  It was, of course, much too late.  Within moments Fry found himself eye to eye with the business end of a pulserifle.

[Reply #123 on:]

Good story, now that Leela has screwed up and got them captured (I'll assume that she didn't turn the tranceiver option of her wristo-lojackomater off), will she be a little more forgiving to Fry and not be as hard on him?

I eagarly await more chapters.

[Reply #124 on:]

EEEEEEE!! *hides* I can't take the suspense!

[Reply #125 on:]

she didnt screw up.  she had no reason to think anyone would call.  Plus, maybe it doesnt turn off unless you shut off the whole armband.

Venus: just wait, it gets even more tense!

[Reply #126 on:]

*sobs* Happy place...go to your happy place...AAAHHH! There are spiders in the happy place! *runs*

[Reply #127 on:]

Another great update, soylentO. I can't wait to find out what happens - great cliffhanger!  There were just a few little mistakes I noticed, so if you don't mind a little nitpicking...

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
The ‘compound’  was little more that

little more than

 

“Fry, Bender, lets go through

missed apostrophe in let's

 

Bender followed, with the delivery boy took up the rear

probably should be "with the delivery boy taking up the rear" or "and the delivery boy took up the rear"

 

From time to time Fry though he heard voices

Fry thought

 

The three friends Bender went from box to box

 

Bit of a random Bender! 

 

the mutant, the human, and the robot sat and waited for there adversaries

their adversaries

 

It was working to.

 

too

 

Fry’s winced as his thought was drowned out

unnecessary 's.

I'm really sorry if I'm annoying you but I just have to point out little things like that. Keep up the great work! 

[Reply #128 on:]

Awesome... [Bender]damn the suspense![/Bender]

[Reply #129 on:]

umm, my brain has died apparently.  I posted an old, error ridden version of my fic.  one sec while I fix that... 

Nope Arkan, you arent being annoying.  Keep on nitpicking!  No one likes to read a story filled with spelling mistakes. 

[Reply #130 on:]

Thanks soylentO. But I'm sorry that all that nitpicking was unnecessary.

[Reply #131 on:]

Hooray! You took note of a couple of my suggestions!

I was a little miffed when I first read this new post as it did look like an old, error ridden version of your fic. I'm glad you changed the bit where Fry goes down the ladder first to Leela keeping the lead, as that just didn't fit with their character.

Arkan, do keep on nitpicking - if I don't do my job properly then please carry on cleaning up after me.

IMO the best part so far is coming up!

[Reply #132 on:]

Cool, can't wait! Soon, I hope?

[Reply #133 on:]

I'll leave that to soylentO.

[Reply #134 on:]

 

Originally posted by Leo:
I was a little miffed when I first read this new post as it did look like an old, error ridden version of your fic.

yeah sorry to do that to you.  Your suggestions were really helpful, and I tried to incorporate as many of them as I could. 

[Reply #135 on:]

Hey! Soylent, nice work on that last part!

Keep it up man!

[Reply #136 on:]

part 3
chapter 6

Once again Leela found herself locked in a small room with her two closest friends, only this time she was shackled to a wall.  Ivan stood three feet away, gun in hand.

“So let me get this straight,” said Ivan.  “You three followed me all the way to Talora from where I marooned your ship in deep space, discovered the location of my hideout, and walked 60 miles through the desert to get here, and then invaded my compound with the hopes of getting back your cargo?”  Bender spoke up.  “That’s right, and we would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for your meddling guards.”  Leela rolled her eye.  And nodded affirmative to Ivan’s question.  She figured it would be smart not to clarify how she had followed Ivan to Talora.  If she was lucky enough she might be able to bluff her way into making Ivan think she had backup of some kind. 

Ivan ignored the robot and concentrated on Leela.  It occurred to Fry that he had done the same thing during the last occasion that they had met.  In fact, Ivan had ignored the rest of the PE crew as well, only acknowledging their existence when asked a direct question.  “Why is Leela so important?”, Fry wondered to himself.  “Is it just because she’s captain?”  Not that Fry minded being ignored by this particular maniac. 

“That was very brave of you, Leela.” Ivan was saying.  “But it was also incredibly foolish.  How did you ever expect to get away?  Even if you had managed to steal a ship, I would have shot you down before you made it a quarter mile.”  That thought had of course occurred to Leela on many occasions.  She had hoped that by flying vertically at max speed she would be out of Talora’s atmosphere before any defenses could catch up with her.  Once she was in space Leela was confident that she could handle anything short of an entire fleet of ships.

Ivan continued his monologue.  “Now here you are, strapped to a wall in the middle of an army of my men, with no hope of escape.  Oh, and don’t think I’ll be a good sport and just let you go again.  You three have proven to be quite an irritant to me.”

Fry piped in from somewhere to Leela’s left, but head restraints prevented the cyclops from turning her head far enough to see him.  “What are you going to do with us?”, asked the delivery boy nervously.  As soon as he said it he realized he didn’t want to know the answer.

Ivan turned to look directly at the delivery boy.  “Why, its quite simple,” replied Ivan.  “The three of you will be led up to the surface at dawn tomorrow.  Once there, I will shoot each one of you in the head.  Leela, you will be the last to die so you can watch what happens to your friends.”

Although the two human captives were terrified, Bender was closer to incredulous.  “Hey chump,” addressed the robot to his captor, “how do you expect to kill me with a gun?”  I’m a robot, not some pile of meat like these two chumps”  Bender tried to gesture toward his two friends but then remembered he was riveted to a wall..  Shooting me in the head isn’t gonna do much more than hurt slightly.”

The scarred man chuckled.  “Oh don’t worry my metal friend.  I’m sure I can plug you full enough of holes that it does more than ‘hurt slightly’.”  Bender scoffed.  “Oh please, like that’s even possible.”  Ivan smiled mirthlessly: “Well, we’ll just have to wait and see wont we?”

It seemed like an eternity passed before the next dawn arrived.  The three captives remained strapped to the wall for the duration of their imprisonment, and they were not allowed to speak to each other.  Fry had been meaning to apologize to Leela for the way he had acted the night before, but had not had a chance.  Now, as he was being led up a ladder into early morning sunlight, he realized with despair that he was never going to have the chance.

Fry, Leela, and Bender were led one after the other to the side of the empty buildings that the three friends had first seen when stumbling upon Ivan’s base.  Men with laser guns motioned for the trio to line up with their backs facing the wall.  Ivan stepped out from the throng of armed cronies armed with an antique projectile weapon in his right hand.  The scarred man looked at each one of the PE crewmembers once in the eyes.

“You three have dared to confront me after I honored you by saving your lives.  In doing so, you have earned my respect, as well as my contempt.  Leela, you have proven to be a worthy adversary.  As such, you cannot be allowed to live.  But first, you will be forced to endure the worst thing a captain could imagine: watching as the lives of your friends and crew are extinguished in front of you.”

Leela was desperate.  “Please…. Please don’t do this.  Please!”

Ivan just laughed.  The scarred man raised his weapon and pointed it at Fry.  This was the end, and Fry knew it.  The delivery boy watched Ivan’s finger close around the trigger.  Everything happened in slow motion.  Ivan’s finger squeezed.  There was a bang.  A tiny glistening cylinder of incarnate death accelerated through the barrel, propelled by a puff of expanding gas.  The bullet flew through the air at several times the speed of sound.    Fry felt something solid hit him in the chest, and an irresistible force hurtled the poor delivery boy to the ground.  Darkness began to close in, cutting Fry off from the world.  “Leela, I…”  He started to speak, but his body could no longer form the words.  It was shutting down. Somewhere far away somebody was screaming.  Fry was sinking… sinking…

[Reply #137 on:]

*whimpers* traumatized...

[Reply #138 on:]

Aw crap, a cliffhanger.

Pretty good effort; I applaud ye.

[Reply #139 on:]

What is it with all these cliffhangers?  Everybody's doing it lately, or they would if they'd update more often.

Faux indignation aside, this was another good update.  It wasn't quite as funny as some of the previous, but you've definitely kept the action and tension high.  Ivan seems to have broken from the villain stereotype by actually executing his enemies himself and doing so in a practical fashion.  The best part, by the way, was Bender's line, “That’s right, and we would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for your meddling guards.”  It's funny in an ironic way.

Good work.

[Reply #140 on:]

Great work soylentO. Short but sweet. Well, not exactly sweet. I liked what DrThunder mentioned, how Ivan didn't slip up and give them a chance to get away and was actually more pratical. That's what I'd do if I was a villain. And in a cruel, sick way I liked the part where Fry got shot. I was expecting someone or something to get in the way or something to happen but it didn't.

Looking forward to the next update!

[Reply #141 on:]

Hey man. I'm glad you kept Fry in character and Bender's line cracked me up - a good little addition and adds some humour in a rather dark update.

Yey! Cliffies!

[Reply #142 on:]

cliffhangers are what makes the world go round...

thanks for the comments guys.  I'm glad you liked it, and sorry to traumatize any of you.  Well, no not really.  I'll probably post the next section tommorow or saturday sometime. 

[Reply #143 on:]

Damn. I thought it was an update. When I saw the last one I was like "Yes! An end to the suspense!"

No such luck.

Your writing is really good, BTW. After reading this, I talk to my friends and am like -hey you guys remember that episode where Leela, Fry and Bender had to hide in a box?- Everyone thinks I'm crazy.

^That made no sense... <slurms>I'm gonna go lie down.</slurms>

[Reply #144 on:]

No, I shall leave you all in suspense for all eternity! whuahahaha!  *clears throat*  Umm, sorry about that, sometimes my evil side gets away from me for a moment...

Anywho, Im glad you like my writing parasite?.  I'll be computerless most of this weekend so I probably wont get a chance to update til sunday evening. 

[Reply #145 on:]

AAAAUUUGHGHGH!!!!!

May I join Venus in a *whimper*...?

[Reply #146 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
... sometimes my evil side gets away from me for a moment...

Y'know...

They have medications for that...

 

[Reply #147 on:]

I have read the first section of your story soylentOrange, but being the lazy person that i am i cant be bothered scrolling through all of those posts. Have you submitted it to the leela zone yet, because i wouldn't even hesitate to read it if you did. 

[Reply #148 on:]

This is fantastic SoylentOrange!  Can't wait for more!

[Reply #149 on:]

Great stuff SO!! More soon please!

[Reply #150 on:]

*screams dramatically* [Bender]NOOO!!![/Bender] Damn you Soylent! It's so dramatically cliffhung I can't describe it, and technically, cliffhung isn't really in the right tense, but like I care. Anywho, awesome update! YOU have captured my attention.. Now I'll just casually enter the story and kill Ivan now.... *wistles off in a fake nonshalant way, bringing a nce killamajig behind my back*

[Reply #151 on:]

Hurry up and find a computer 

What episode is your avitar from, fryismyhero? It's driving me nuts...

[Reply #152 on:]

His avatar (I belive) is from Jurrasic Bark

[Reply #153 on:]

Ahhh, yes indeed it is. Thank you.

[Reply #154 on:]

muchly welcome. SoylentO, I hope you get some more of your story done soon.. it's killing me to not know what's going to happen next it is!

[Reply #155 on:]

hello all, I'm back!  Here's the update that I promised.

Shiny: yes. yes you may   

Spacecase: I dont need medication, I need people to do my bidding!

professy:  No, its not on the LeelaZone yet, but it probably will be at some point if you want to wait.

fryIsMyHero/OlCoot: thanks, glad you like it.

profZoidy: I thought about posting the next part like this, but decided I'd probably be lynched for it:  "Leela watched Fry fall.  The delivery boy's body collapsed in a heap, twitched once, and was still.  Then, out of nowhere, professor zoidy appears and slices Ivan's head clean off.  The end." 

parasite:  I tried.  I really did.  The only problem was that I couldnt find a power outlet for my pc.  *mimicks bender trying to plug a power cord into a tree*

--------------------------------------------

Part 3
chapter 7

Amy fired.  The little figures on the ground fizzled and sparked.  The intern hurtled vicious insults at her foes in Cantonese while she blasted them with the ship’s laser.  Hermes rolled the ship to the right to give his gunner a better shot at a couple of men who were busy assembling an air defense weapon.  Red bolts of death from the Planet Express ship cut the half finished gun to pieces.  A moment later the hangar came back into view.  The intern was relieved to see that Leela and Bender had dragged the fallen Fry into the shelter of a building.  It looked like they were going to be ok.

------------------------------------------

Fry awoke to the sensation of Leela slapping him repeatedly in the face.  “Wake up dammit!”, she was yelling. “We don’t have time for this!”

The delivery boy’s memories came back in an instant, and Fry surged to his feet.  “What, what’s going on?  Why am I still alive?”  He was standing in a small, empty building with his two companions, each of whom brandished laser rifles.

“Amy showed up at the last second,” explained Bender. “She used the professor’s spaceship to blow a hole in the dirt  twenty feet from that Ivan guy, right as he was shooting you.  You lucked out buddy.  The shockwave from the laser blast knocked off Ivan’s aim.  He missed ya.  Leela and me dragged your body into this shack here while all the bad guys were concentrating on shooting at Amy.  Oh, and we picked up these babies from a couple of dead guys that didn’t need ‘em anymore.”  The robot showed off his weapon.

“Oh, well that explains why I’m not dead.  But wait, then why did I feel the bullet?”

Leela explained hurriedly.  “You got knocked over by the shockwave and hit your head.  Now we need to stop talking and get out of here.  We’re still fighting Ivan.”  As if to prove the point, a laser beam blasted away a chunk of wall not two feet from Fry’s head.  Leela, in a casual motion, dropped the man standing in the doorway. 

“But where are we going?” asked Fry.  “Its probably safer in here.”

“Yes it probably is safe in here Fry.  That is, until someone finds out we’re in here and tries to kill us.  What we’re going to do is make our way into the desert.  Once we’re far enough away I’ll use my wristamajig to call Amy and tell her where we are.  Then we can get out of this awful place.  Now take this.”  Leela handed Fry the lasgun that had fallen by the body in the doorway.  “You ready?” Asked the cyclops.  Fry nodded.  It appeared that he didn’t have much choice.  Leela gave her two friends a long look, and ran out the door.  Fry and Bender were right behind her.

Fry jumped from the safety of the building.  A near miss zipped over his head, nearly singing his hair.  The delivery boy’s instincts twisted his body around and fired his weapon before Fry was even conscious of it.  One of Ivan’s men fell to the ground surprised.  There was no time to pause and think about the death.  Two men and a woman raced around the corner to aid their fallen comrade, and Fry took off, shooting randomly in the direction that the lasers were coming from.  Leela, only a handful of paces in front of Fry, turned and picked off one of the men with a crack shot.  Bender was now in front.  He led the party through the war zone.  Amy had done a fantastic job of blowing holes in things.  In fact, she was still doing a fantastic job of blowing holes in things.  As Fry and his companions ran they could clearly make out the Planet Express ship flying back and forth while it picked out targets at its leisure.  Why there were no surface to air missiles being fired at the invading spacecraft, Fry had no idea.  “I just hope that Amy can tell the difference between us and the bad guys from that far away.”  Thought the delivery boy.

Fry zigged and zagged.  Lasers and plasma pulses came at him from all directions.  A searing line of photons came close enough for Fry to feel the heated air.  Periodic explosions were a constant reminder of the angered young Martian flying somewhere overhead.  A figure appeared in his line of sight, and Fry squeezed the trigger.  Two men emerged from a door to Leela’s right.  One of Leela’s fists connected with the first man’s forehead.  A blur of motion, which Fry assumed was Leela’s other fist, connected with the second man’s chest.  He went down with a plop.   
Moments later, Fry followed Bender behind a corner.  Leela was once again in front of Bender.  Someone opened fire at them from somewhere up ahead.  Bender let out a harsh laugh and pulled the trigger.  The incoming fire ceased abruptly.  The spaceship hanger that the three friends had seen when they first arrived at Ivan’s compound was currently to their right.  The hanger doors were still open, just like the day before.  As Leela, Bender, and Fry ran by the open doorway, things got suddenly worse.  A lone figure with a device similar to a radar dish stepped out of the hangar’s shadow just as the two humans and the robots ran by.  The man smiled cruelly and aimed the weapon at Bender’s back.  An electromagnetic pulse crackled through the air and struck the poor unsuspecting robot with a direct hit.  Completely paralyzed, Bender tipped forward and crashed into Fry.  The delivery boy ended up facedown in the dirt with his legs pinned down by the bulky robot.  Leela turned to assist her fallen friends, but a blow to the head sent her to the ground like a load of bricks.  Ivan laughed.

The scarred madman bent over and scooped Leela up in his arms.  Fry tried to reach his lasrifle, but it had flown out of his hand as he fell and was now beyond his reach.  He could only watch helplessly as his captain was carried into the hanger and into the starship that rested there.  Bender twitched.  It wasn’t much, but it was enough.  The shift in mass gave Fry the leverage he needed.  Apologizing to his metal friend, Fry shoved the robot.  Bender rolled just enough for Fry to extricate himself.  The delivery boy ran toward the ship as fast as he could.  He almost made it.  The ship powered up and blasted out of the hangar.  It raced skyward and was gone.

[Reply #156 on:]

Wow, tense stuff, soylentO. I liked the anti-climax of Fry not getting shot after all. Yay! He's alive! 

[Reply #157 on:]

GAAAAA!!!  Here I was thinking 'hooray!  closure!' Then you had to go and let Ivan abscond with Leela.

Great stuff- I won't be able to sleep till I know if she's gonna be ok...

<offtopic> My avy's from Jurassic Bark is it?  I had no idea...chose it cos I thought it was kinda cute (or dumb, depending on how you look at it)</offtopic>

[Reply #158 on:]

Hey, I should be the one mad at you. Now turn around...
Nice update. More cliffhangers.
I would write more, but I seem to have a jelly leak in my peanut butter & jelly sandwich...

[Reply #159 on:]

YES! I love that ending!.. Of course, the actual one's going to be just as good.. Just no killing off of anybody, exception being Ivan.  Nice update.