Ch 7: A Clarity of Ray

842 42 137
                                        

"It's pronounced Jole." Clarity told Zari who'd just mispronounced Billy Joel's name. The team having used the waverider to jump forwards a day, Ray and Zari currently in Ray's childhood home. The glitch sitting atop the console edge near Sara listening in over coms. "The e is silent."

"No time to waltz down memory lane, Ray

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

"No time to waltz down memory lane, Ray." Sara objected over the coms as Ray and Zari were getting off task talking about Billy Joel's record, and how Ray and his brother used to fight over videogames. "Find the Dominator and get out of there before anyone sees you all grown up."

"Dude, I didn't know you were a Billy Joel fan." Nate chimed in through the coms where he sat across the street in a car with Amaya. "What's your favorite album? Everyone says "The Stranger," but for my money, "Nylon Curtain," his Beatles tribute album, is super ambitious."

"Let us know when you're heading out." Amaya interrupted, the last thing they needed was Nate distracting Ray.  "We're ready for retrieval."

"Whoa. I never thought I'd be back in my room. Guys, we're in my room." Ray informed the group sounding excited.

"Is it just like you remembered? Everything right where you left it?" Clarity quizzed swinging her legs.

"Yeah, except for the baby dominator in my closet." Ray replied as Zari and him heard some chattering baby noises from inside.
"Okay, no sudden movements."

"Ew," Zari looked disgusted by the sight of the alien buried amongst Ray's stuffed animals. "leave it to young you to see the best in that thing."

"I think you mean to say Aww." Clarity corrected Zari over coms. "Just because it's an alien doesn't mean it's not an adorable baby."

"Uh, yeah, it kind of does." Zari frowned at the baby alien. "That thing looks gross."

"Zari, don't be like that. You'll give the poor thing self esteem issues. It's telepathic. It could know what your thinking. I'm sure the dominator is the cutest baby out of all the other baby dominators. You can't compare it to our species beauty standards. They're going to grow up to be the greatest most beautiful dominator that they can be. Just think the baby's smart, and kind, and brave, and talented, and-"

Zari switched off her com. Not wanting to listen to Clarity rattle on about the baby alien. Zari couldn't comprehend how Clarity thought the thing was cute. Kid Ray she could understand, he was a little boy, they tended to be fascinated by gross things like bugs. Some of Ray's stuffed animals on the other hand those were cute, and boy did he have a lot of them. So many in fact that Zari couldn't help but comment on it.

"How many stuffed toys does one kid need before they decide to bring home a live one?" Zari wondered as she looked in the closet.
"Though you were pretty lonely."

"What? I wasn't lonely." Ray protested. "I was just choosing to focus on my studies. This is probably just my scientific curiosity getting the better of me..."

Glitching to Fix Time {Poor Execution, Rewrite occurring in diff book}Where stories live. Discover now