A Fragment

Heather J. Kintyre

David had just finished packing the last of the freshly slaughtered human that was made into hamburger. It was the last of the meats for a while. As David walked into the walk in freezer he was reflecting on the two score human corpses he and Johnny had to use in another free charity dinner. With a sigh of relief, as David walked out, he made some Kenya AA coffee for himself and Johnny.

As David waited for the coffee to brew, he went over and took some human blood he kept stored in a refrigerator at body temperature. Some years before, Zeus struck David with a bolt of lightning with the belief that he killed David. Ever since David's recovery, he's been dependent upon human blood. Taking a pint, he drinks it up then rinses the cup as the coffee finishes brewing.

David pours a couple cups of coffee and goes into the laboratory where Johnny is still hard at work testing some more corpses for their bad meat, and restructuring the DNA so he can tan the human skins to be used in making various leather goods.

The laboratory was a large place. Against one wall were strange machines that could be used for torture, and probably were when Johnny's father was in control before his death.

Against another wall were some shackles on the ends of heavy duty chains, attached to pulleys. Blood stains could still be seen in long trails to the floor below. The floor was slightly tilted so the blood would flow into a drain. It then went below into a special acid that ate everything. Johnny still never told of how he was able to contain the dangerous substance.

As David looked up, he saw blood oozing down the ceiling above the cuffs embedded in the wall.

"Seems you have a leak in the ceiling." David put Johnny's cup of coffee down in front of Johnny as he spoke.

Johnny paused and looked where David indicated. "What can I say? She's an old ship. We've been through a lot of tyme eras together."

"Not to mention several universes."

"That also. I guess I'll have to store the corpses someplace else for a while as I make the repairs. A tyme lord's work is never done."

"Johnny, what will you do once you've explored all of the universes?"

"Go beyond and see what's outside of them all."

"You know such dangerous curiosity is risky and can kill you."

"Yes, but the satisfaction can bring me back."