The REM Trials

Chapter 33

It's deathly quiet as the creepy alien holds the wizard in the air and using his telepathy to suspend what look like long glass needles all around him. ARTI's long gone as we're now pretty far into space, and I'm all alone up here, trying to find a way to get the wizard out of this and to keep what I've learned is the time stone inside his necklace safe—and away from Thanos.

Something about the mere name makes me uneasy. The thought is shrouded in darkness, and not the comforting kind like my shadows. It's the dark that even normal people can feel the evil that's harbored inside. All the more reason to keep the infinity stone away from him.

I peer over from the edge where I'm at and watch as Strange slowly begins to wake. The gasp that escapes him makes Squidward's twin smile in the creepiest way I've ever seen. "In all the time I've served Thanos," he speaks as he takes smooth steps towards the suspended wizard, "I have never failed him."

"First time for everything, dude." I whisper to myself in the darkness.

Luckily, the both of them remain oblivious to my presence as Squidy continues, "If I were to reach our rendezvous on Titan with the time stone still attached to your vaguely irritating person, there would be—judgement."

There's a long silence as one of the glass needles begins to pierce his skin and emanate an eerie glow beneath his skin. I can practically feel the energy and pulsating as the wizards groans in pain. "Give me," Squidy pauses as he points a crooked finger to the necklace, "the stone."

The necklace glows with an intricately patterned orange light. I watch in worry and fascination as the magic works to protect the stone, but my attention is drawn away by the familiar sound of a charging blaster. It takes me a second to find the origin and follow it to the ledge above me.

My knees nearly buckle when I see my Dad—talking to a floating cloak. "Wow, you are seriously on loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?"

Another flash of movement catches my eye, and this time, my heart breaks at the sight of Peter, dropping down on a web. "Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty."

"What the—" Dad starts as he looks to Peter and myself when I enter his line of sight.

"I know what you're gonna say—" Peter tries to interject, but Dad finishes his sentence before the former can get another word out. I climb up to the landing where they are. There's a visible show of relief from my dad when he sees for himself I'm not down there with the wizard.

"You should not be here—either of you."

"I was gonna go home—"

"I don't wanna hear it."

"But it was such a long way down, and I just thought about you and Lia on the way."

"And now I gotta hear it." Dad sighs and shakes his head

Peter continues to explain his logic for being here, "And I kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way. So if anything, it's kind of your fault I'm here."

The comment makes me cover my eyes as Dad begins to get upset. "What did you just say?"

Peter begins to stutter as the nerves settle in and he takes back the statement altogether. "And now I'm here, in space."

"Yeah, right were I didn't want either of you to be." I can feel the frustration radiating off of Dad as he steps towards the both of us. "This isn't Coney Island. This isn't a field trip. This is a one-way ticket. You hear me? So don't pretend either of you thought things through."

"Personally, I didn't have much of a choice. It's not like they have exit signs posted." I retort and cross my arms. "But either way, I would have been here if you were."