"Ruch, do you think one can see from here that my gun isn't loaded?" Blop asked excitedly.
Ruchi turned to his friend and looked at him with such a tired and irritated look that Blop immediately turned away and took a step toward the generator, in whose shade the heat was less intense. It was noon, and the moisture was rising from the lake, so much so that the fat man had wanted to throw off all his armor and clothes and just dive down the wall into the water, despite the possible court-martial.
"You know, if you keep standing against protocol, they're sure to notice you haven't loaded your gun," Ruchi replied and smiled, pleased with his joke.
Blop took a step to the edge and peered down at the verdant surface of the artificial lake.
"When do you think the reinforcement will end, Ruchi?" he asked, estimating how long it would take to swim to the stairs that led up to the generator.
"When you stop asking," the tall one muttered back.
"This headache makes it hard for me even to ask," mumbled the fat man.
Not knowing what to do with himself, he leaned against the wall of the generator, which hummed and vibrated, making his metal cuirass jingle like the bells on a leper's neck.
"Oh, brigantine!" Blop exclaimed, squinting his dark blue eyes, swollen with bruises from Zara's punches.
Indeed, the ship was descending toward the Central Prison, braking and speeding up the water with its engines, which made the platforms of the dock shake. It opened its solar sails as it descended, so it covered the ridiculous pose in which the giant mechanical robot was frozen as it plunged its arm into the prison building.
"I wonder who that is?" Blop said thoughtfully. "Maybe the Chief of Police?"
"No," said Ruchi, putting his hand to his eyes, "There are no identifying marks. So it could be anyone."
"I wish we could fly one of those, Ruchi, eh? That would be great!" the fat man rejoiced in his dreams.
"What would you do then? Fly it to market?" the tall guard smiled again at his joke. "Blop, your life is meaningless, what do you need a ship for? You'll wreck it on the very first day."
"Not true, not true, Ruchi. I'm going to keep it safe, and I'm not going to fly to the market. I'll... I'll only use it on holidays, on the most important dates. That's it," Blop said huffily, and leaned his chin on the muzzle of his gun.
Ruchi turned and kicked the gun so that the fat man almost lost his balance and fell off the wall.
"Why would you do that?" Blop whined. "It's not even loaded! Look!"
And he pulled the trigger. The gun went off with a clang, and the sound echoed through the well of the lake and into the surrounding houses, so much so that it seemed to attract everyone's attention. Several figures in Cult robes appeared from behind the brigantine, one of them holding a small spyglass to his eyes and looking in the direction of the guards. Blop all squirmed with his eyes bulged, shifting from foot to foot, making one incongruous movement after another with his hand, trying to explain what had happened to all the faces pointed in their direction. Ruchi stood with his face purple and slowly clenched his fists as if he were trying to squeeze the steam out of his ears from the boiling water that was walking around inside his body.
A few minutes later they were already standing in front of the Drill, who was studying through the spyglass the spotlights on the robot's head and its open bucket, as if in surprise, while the gray robes were collecting evidence and taking an inventory of the damage. The Chief of the Cult's Special Assignments Department turned as if only noticing the guards being delivered, folded the tube in one motion, like a magician's, which immediately disappeared from his hands, and, with a smile on his thin lips, he spoke:
YOU ARE READING
Heart's tale
FantasyA long time ago, there was a planet on the surface of which a real living Heart was beating. Each of its beat gave life to many wonderful creatures, and humans were no exception. Once, during a mountain collapse, they became afraid that something m...
