Story: Wordspace, XIII

(Part I , XII , XIV)

In a world populated by words, Humour often found itself at the back of the queue as portentous characters like Redemption and Deliberation hogged the spotlight. Maybe the more ambiguous characters like Mystery and Revelation would keep it in the loop from time to time but ultimately it was sidelined. Not so then, in the survivor camp, as Pantomime and Humour entertained the small mass of Words, the mini-lexicon that was clustered around in the grand sheltering crater provided by Earth. Earth itself found the whole thing rather tedious but was relieved to feel the general stress level decline a little, even as he monitored the horizons beyond his mass for the destructive force that had scattered the population in their smaller groups.

Mystery watched Pantomime and Humour and let part of its mind drift with the performance. He wondered what had happened to its old friend and mentor Truth, in its solitary sanctuary, and then for the first time it thought about its other mentor Lies. It had been inevitable that Lies would be exiled in its destructiveness but it still hurt. But for the small amount of good will it had earned at the time, Mystery might have found itself trapped in the Zone with the other destructives. The Zone where all their greatest horrors had been imprisoned...

Humour twisted his syllables in a spectacular vault and landed standing atop Pantomime to resounding applause before falling off almost instantly in one of the most ridiculous pratfalls ever witnessed. The crowd began tittering as it dusted itself off. A shadow passed over the ground as something soared overhead, and the crowd looked up curiously and worriedly, ready to bolt. The Sky was shrouding in mist and Earth gathered himself up as if for a blow, flattening out for a moment to give them a view of the horizon. A great figure was approaching and fracturing the ground and its foundations with every step. Mystery was astounded by the scale and then rolled over in the quakes of Earth making speed for parts unknown.

"Earth!" He called out to their great elemental friend, "We must make for the Zone, and quickly!" The ground beneath them shifted and Earth completed a surprisingly swift turn and run, heading directly for the threatening figure. "Good Lord! What in the Space are you doing?"

"Must go faster..." Was all he heard from their friendly Behemoth, and they did indeed pick up speed. "To the Zone we go." The massive figure looked stunned as the whole of mighty Earth torpedoed him at ground level and he tumbled down behind them as they passed by. Looking back and holding on for grim life, Mystery saw the figure of the invader sprawled and then awkwardly getting his feet back under him as Earth sped over the horizon and made a deflection in his course toward the Zone. Never had anyone suspected such speed in their benefactor.

They sped onward toward the Zone, where Mystery knew they would have to open what we know as Pandora's Box, but would they be able to close the contents back in again afterwards? If there was an afterwards.

To be continued...