After suddenly remembering that everything around us was going to come to a decidedly fiery end very soon, I turned to Derek and said, "What is wrong with me?! This whole thing with Isabella showing up out of nowhere threw me for a complete loop."
"What are you babbling about over there?" Derek asked.
"The bomb!" I said, as if that answered everything.
"What about it?"
"It's going to blow up!"
"Yeah," Derek said with a shrug, "but I plan on being long gone by then, and you should too if you know what's good for you."
"Are you entirely lacking even a smidge of compassion?"
"Hey, I've got a smidge! But it's not like it's my planet or anything, I'm just visiting. I'm mean, it's got some nice beaches, and the weather is much nicer here than back home, but overall, not much to get all worked up about."
I just stared at him for a moment. What was I to do with that? How does one deal with that level of sheer apathy? Thankfully, I was a university professor, so I knew all about dealing with apathy, I can tell you.
I said, "But what about the people? What about the king? I thought the king was your friend?"
"Well..." he said, stroking his chin.
"Never mind, I'll take care of this myself. Where do you think he went?"
"Who?"
"The king, man! Where do I find him?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe the castle?" Derek said, pointing up the road to the rather large and kingly looking edifice perched atop the hill above us. "He's probably still on his way up the hill. He's not exactly the fit type, if you know what I mean."
"Right, we're off then," I said as I roughly pulled him after me and up the road toward the castle.
YOU ARE READING
The Ill-mannered Door (humorous sci-fi)
Science FictionWhat would you do if you woke to find a door in your room? No, not an ordinary, well-behaved door that stays in the wall where it belongs, but one standing near the side of your bed that leads to another world. That is precisely what happens to Thom...
