Book II: Brinus Helios - From Criminal to Hero

Dale rose from the curb. He winced at the pain as his skin felt numb, but his left arm, where Brinus hit him with the lightning, was like his nerves were on fire. He screamed in pain from the injury to his arm and held it, and headed to a pharmacy, walked through the ruins, and smiled. He thought people would hate Brinus for the devastation he caused. It was all Brinus's fault, everything that happened. He won. He wanted the galaxy to know it was him. For now, though, morphine and first aid were needed.

Down the street and saw the pharmacy. He saw its doors and windows blown out. Broken bits of glass and concrete littered the ground as buildings had their glass windows destroyed, and the street was rubble.

Dale walked into a pharmacy and saw two paramedics and a hologram of Marci.

"Hello, Dale. My name is Marchella Von Blankenship. I am inviting you to join the rebellion. If you accept, we can provide you with medical care, magic training, and a new arm. We can also smuggle you out of the city to any rebel cell of your choice. If you refuse, good luck to you. The police have taken the medical supplies in every pharmacy on the block because of potential looting. Do you accept this offer?"

"I would rather die than betray my honor," snarled Dale the Whale.

"And that's your final answer?"

Dale nodded and groaned because of the burns on his neck.

"Harry, George. Leave the area. He can fend for himself."

The hologram vanished, and the two medics walked away as Marci's hologram followed.

Harry sighed and put his bag down. "I feel like he would be a good asset to the rebellion. We should at least give him an option."

"I never said we would give up. If you recall, I said he can fend for himself. We will have him before sunset."

Dale looked through the pharmacy, rummaging for medication and medical supplies. The two medics came back and watched from a distance. The loss of plasma from his burns led to a growing thirst and physical weakness.

He finally snapped, "Don't you guys have something to do?"

"We want to help. Let us help you," said George.

Dale walked into the Bathroom and saw toilet paper, soap, and a first aid kit. He opened it, and inside was a dermal regenerator, bandages, headache medicine, and antiseptics. He took the dermal regenerator and began running it over the worst of his burns.

Dale moaned with relief as the regenerator began to heal his injuries. "What is the rebellion?"

Harry stepped forward, snatched the regenerator out of Dale's hand, adjusted the settings, and began running over the same burns. "Many soldiers are unhappy with having their enlistment extended, so some have deserted; some people in the occupied territories want to be left alone and see the Confederacy as Federation 2.0; a few of us are die-hard Pattabanists, but we want to rebuild a new Federation."

Dale sat on the toilet as the medic healed Dale. George started an IV with sterile saline. "And what are you two?"

George began wrapping Dale's arm in a gauze bandage after pushing morphine into the IV. Harry continued, "We want our freedom. We lost family, friends, and colleagues during the war, and the Confederacy is building Navy and Army Trooper bases on our homeworld. They just want to continue the fighting and bring more death to our planet."

Dale looked the medics in the eyes. "How do I know you aren't going to betray me?"

Harry smiled as he finished the last of his regeneration. "We're rebels, not traitors."

"I guess I don't have a choice."

The medics helped Dale up and then lifted him onto a stretcher outside. They put him in an ambulance and then began wrapping him head to toe in gauze. "We're going to have to disguise you for the checkpoints and then we're going to take you to a vet clinic we use for treatment of our members. The hardest part of this will be avoiding the AI surveillance cameras. Sorry, but I am going to have to put you under."

Dale was knocked unconscious with a large dose of Ativan and then the ambulance drove off.

A stretcher with Brinus on it burst through the ambulance entrance. A paramedic straddled his waist while doing chest compressions, and another medic was doing rescue breaths with a respirator. He pushed oxygenated air through the tube Brinus was incubated in.

Two trauma surgeons came running down the hall with scrubs. "Take him to OR room one NOW!"

Brinus suddenly woke up in a forest. The sunlight was bright but not blinding. He felt no pain and no hunger. He also noticed the forest went on forever. There were mountains in the distance and the ridges. A slight fog hung in the air. Suddenly, he turned and saw a creature with wings and eyes.

"Hello, human. It looks like you're someone's darling you had to kill. We don't get too many people out here. Why are you not at the school with your soul group?" Brinus looked at the angel who moved one of his six wings. He'd seen these creatures before, so he wasn't scared. "I see this isn't your first time seeing one of us. You aren't supposed to be dead, so why are you here?"

"I was in a fight with Dale the Whale. Last thing I remember…"

The angle flapped two of his wings. "Oh, that. Yes. We have had a lot of people die from that today. Dale will be held accountable, but you're not to blame."

Brinus stepped forward. "What happened? Is this heaven?"

"You're in the spirit realm. More particularly, the forest continent. You seem to have redeemed yourself in the eyes of the supreme creator, or you would be in hell." The angle shifted four of his wings and then moved back. "We get this sometimes. People die before they learn their lesson in life, so we have to send them back into their bodies. Questions before I send you back?"

Brinus crossed his arms in front of his chest and snorted. "So I'm dead? This here is the weirdest near-death experience ever if I ain't. I heard humans relive their life moments, but not this."

The eyes on the wings blinked. "That's because you aren't having a near-death experience. You are dead and your soul is in the spirit realm, and I have orders to send back any human who aren't in the school because it isn't their time. We have had a lot of humans today. I'm sorry you got your ass kicked by Dale the Whale. Believe me, it wasn't a skill issue, it wasn't a fair fight. Try again soon."

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The angel flapped his wings, and then the room went black, and Brinus could hear the mechanical clicking of the OR respirator.

"AGAIN!!"

"Wait! We have a heartbeat! 74 beats per minute!" yelled the anesthesiologist."

The doctor pulled the paddles, which touched his heart. Brinus's chest was cracked open, exposing his now-beating heart.

"Nurse, push the Nanites. I am going to close up his chest. We'll start regeneration in a moment."

The OR waiting room was cold with white marble floors, ornately paneled walls, and baroque-style chairs. There were mirrors inside the wood panels. People talked amongst themselves, and others cried hysterically. Occasionally, someone would leave when called back. The VIP room was filled with people hysterically checking the news and various social media apps. Mother comforted daughters, and sons comforted fathers as they waited for news about loved ones.

Akmal, Tangent, Simmie, and Captain Plato were in a VIP Waiting room of the OR. Akmal put a cigarette in his mouth as he lit the other end in order to relax. He inhaled deeply and smiled. Tangent swung her legs back and forth as she scrolled through the news about Brinus. The last update was ten minutes ago, which said that his condition was stable and he was under regeneration in the OR. Simmie paced anxiously back and forth, muttering to himself. Captain Plato sat in a chair in the lounge, reading a datapad and filling paperwork.

Simmie finally looked at Captain Plato and yelled, "What the fuck is your problem! How are you so fucking calm!?"

Captain Plato looked at Simmie, who had tears in his eyes. Plato put the datapad down on the end table next to him and said, getting into his face, "I am calm because I am a captain in the Navy. We do not succumb to fear or emotions. Now, go outside and take a walk. That's an order."

"Sir…"

Captain Plato hissed a cat hiss and dilated his pupils. As Simmie walked out of the lounge, Plato growled, "The cigarette vending machine is down the hall to the left by the bathrooms."

Simmie went outside and saw a crying couple. He tuned into the conversation. "I can't believe what Dale the Whale did! He's a terrorist!"

"And to try and kill Woodstack Helios?! The man gives millions to help kids. Because of his donations, our nephew, Hellboy, was able to get treatment for his Bliss addiction and graduate with a certificate in welding. You don't hear about Brinus in any controversy."

The woman hugged her husband. "Usually when you do it's pissing off rich people like paying one thousand people's parking tickets. It pissed off the lord mayor because he was counting on the court costs to fund a new school so Brinus set up a grant for the school."

"What will happen to our daughter?"

The man embraced his wife as she sobbed in his arms. "She will have brain damage, according to the doctor. They can't give her nanities because she doesn't have the insurance for it."

As more ambulances arrived from downtown, Akmal came out onto the patio and offered Simmie a cigarette. Simmie took it, and Akmal lit it. He took a greedy inhale and felt more at ease. However, he began coughing violently, as he had the lungs of a never-smoker.

"You know, Dale the Whale is likely in the arms of the rebellion by now, right?" asked Simmie.

Akmal patted Simmie on the back, "The rebels will pay for this. You know, Dale the Whale won't be allowed back into society."

Simmie finished his coughing fit and took a second draw. He tilted his head back. He said, letting the smoke fall from his lips, "No, he is a terrorist."

Akmal sighed and took a look at his internal chronometer. "It's 22:04 and I finally understand what good and evil are."

Simmie nodded and shook some ash in the ashtray on the patio. "Yep, good is doing the right thing for the right reasons, regardless of the consequences, and evil is doing the wrong thing out of self-interest."

"Is terrorism ever justified?"

Simmie laughed and then patted his back. "That is a question I cannot answer. Without terrorism, the Confederacy would not exist. We formed out of rebellion from the federation 200 years ago, but were an independent client state for 1800 years before then… But when terrorism is justified is the real question. What Dale and the rebellion did today was not justified."

Akmal tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms. "What's the difference between the bombing campaign two hundred years ago and today?"

Simmie looked at Akmal with an unreadable expression. "The difference is that the federation was abusing its power. They were doing unreasonable searches and breaking into people's homes in the middle of the night. They were expanding their bureaucracy into oblivion and crushing our rights to free expression and free speech. Hell, they set up a surveillance system and used it to arrest people for crimes before they happened. What have we done to the rebels?"

Akmal took a final drag from his cigarette, tilting his head back, blowing the smoke out, and crushed it in the ashtray. He then looked at Simmie. "Some would say the unilateral enlistment extension of soldiers and colonization of the worlds we conquered could be seen as a cause."

Brinus was wheeled into the regeneration room after his two-hour surgery concluded. He had just woken from the anesthesia, and a nurse stood at his bedside.

"Where's that sexy medic?"

The nurse made some adjustments to his regeneration chamber. "Do you need anything, your grace?"

Brinus yelled out, "My chest! It hurts! Where's my husband?! I want to see Simmie."

"I'll get you some pain meds. Hang tight. You will be released tonight into the recovery room in the morning, and then you can receive visitors."

Brinus grabbed the nurse's hand, "Have you seen the spirit realm? It's so pretty! It's beyond what you could comprehend."

The nurse gently eased her hand out of his. "You're grace, I need to get your pain meds. Just hang tight."

Brinus yelled at the nurse, "I want to see my husband!"

"You will see him tomorrow. Just be patient."

The nurse left the room, rolling her eyes in disgust and frustration.

Dale the Whale was putting on some blue jeans over his legs; he then slipped on a pair of cowboy boots, a white T-shirt, and a cowboy hat. He flexed his hand and groaned. His new skin felt weird, almost like baby skin– it was very sensitive, and the clothes felt heavy as they pressed against him. He had spent a day and a half at the vet because of how severe the burns were. He likely would have died from fluid loss in less than 12 hours if it weren't for the medics.

Dale realized that if Brinus wanted to, he could easily kill him with little to no effort. He came close to dying on the operating table, so maybe challenging Brinus to a head-on match wasn't the smartest idea. He needed a new plan for his rematch so he could be on even terms with his nemesis.

He flexed his arm again and groaned. "My arm feels stiff. Why?"

The vet washed his surgical tools in a chlorine and iodine rinse as he spoke, "Because it's a new arm. You need to exercise it and stretch it out. You have your old strength, but you just need the flexibility. Give it time, and you'll get your range of motion back."

Dale the Whale quietly rose from the surgery table. "Great news! Do I have any rebel cells interested in me?"

The vet nodded. "Yes, you are. You're with the golden-eagle squad on Sator Prime. Some deserters from the 44th Armored Battalion have set up camp there and raid army patrols in the wilderness. Hondo is trying to get a shuttle to transport you, but the police are looking hard for you, so you'll have to sit tight at my clinic. I can keep it closed for three more days without arousing suspicion. After that, you go to the Next safehouse."

Dale looked at his baby-soft hands as he sat in the breakroom. There were snacks in the fridge for him, a futon with a blanket and pillow laid out in the corner. He knew he needed to beat brinus. The reason for the downtown district being destroyed was so he could prove his worth. After Brinus defeated him in the ring by cheating using Ritalin. It was Brinus's fault for provoking him on the newscast. It was Brinus who chose to fight him in the downtown area, and yes, he would take down Brinus at some point in the future. However, it would be on his terms, and then the famous Dale the Whale would get his revenge.

There was a knock on his door as the vet tech came into the room and Brought Dale the Whale a pail of warm water to wash in and some dog shampoo. "You'll need to shower twice a day so your skin can get adequate moisture. I know this shampoo is for dogs, but dogs and humans have similar skin makeup. You will need to bathe in the next hour. A change of clothes will be provided upon request."

Dale nodded, and the vet tech left.

He pulled out a portable hologram of his mother, which was warped by heat. Unlike his father, who pushed him to excel in combat sports to the point he joined the military to get away from him, his mother understood him. That was why he was so angry at Brinus and the military. They took away his mother, the only woman in his life he really cared about.