ABngineering

“You’re going back!?” Mabel complained as she discontentedly fried some veggies in her kitchen. “I’m not happy with you going back there,”

“Mom, I told you,” Ronan calmly replied. “It’s a great opportunity, this is what i want to do with my life.”

“Whatever you’re doing there is definitely not doing any good for you, Roni. I would agree if I saw you were happy but every time you come back, you look more tired. Now you have as many wrinkles as I do,” Mabel said while she shook the frying pan. “Your brother is traveling the world. You’re just twenty-four, Ronan. You should be enjoying life a little more.”

“Well, Mom, there might not be a world to enjoy life in if someone doesn’t do something about it.” Ronan impatiently cut. “Yes, it’s tough work but Pi Corp is a superb enterprise. One that finally cares about doing things right!”

Mabel put her hands in her pockets, unable to reply against her son’s admirable motivations. She just didn’t like the way that job seemed to be sucking the kid she raised away from his eyes, the way his confident stance had slouched and his shiny hair had receded.

“You’re just my baby,” She said with a broken voice.

He looked at his mother kindly, stood, left the frying pan on the stove, and hugged her.

“You know, I’ve been saving and the farm we used to go to when I was younger is for sale,” Ronan said smiling. “Maybe we could get a horse, build a stable and you could finally apply your knowledge on vaulting.”

“You know I don’t need that, Ronan,” Mabel replied. “This isn’t about me.”

“Come on Mom just agree with me once,” he hastily interrupted, sighed, and turned Mother with a mischievous look. “I know you still practice every night.”

“Well, it’s good exercise!” Mabel argued, turning back to see the caring glance of his son. She thought, “Next time I’m going to convince him to quit.”

“Then we better get a pretty horse,” Mabel responded resignedly. “What’s that smell…” They turned to the stove to see the flaming pan, “My asparagus!”

She hurriedly took the flaming pan and extinguished it under the faucet. They stood looking at the carbonized asparagus.

“They say activated charcoal is great for your health,” Ronan said, containing his giggles.

“Shut up!” Mabel replied laughing.

“Anybody! Copy!” Captain Khan impatiently called from Mabel’s earpiece. “Anybody, copy! Please respond!”

Mabel unwillingly opened her eyes to the canyon of giant red stakes above her and sat down realizing she landed in one.

“Ow!” She rubbed her afflicted back and voiced, “Mabel, reporting.”

“Finally!” Khan sighed. “Is there anybody else with you?”

“Oliver…” Mabel murmured, looking around for any signs of him. Nothing. She lowered her gaze and found him lying unconscious over a patch of sand and carefully climbed down from her stake.

“Oliver!” she called shaking his shoulder, he jolted awake. “You’re fine, breathe.”

“Mabel, report!” Captain Khan urged.

“It’s just Oliver Greenwood and me, Captain,” Mabel informed. “We’re bruised but functional.”

“Glad to hear that,” Khan replied. “KeyWee, summarize the current situation.”

“For sure! A C1 coral zkwich gobbled up the C1 sand zkwich the ZH squad was working on, which resulted in it turning into a C2,” KeyWee briefed. “We’ve been able to contact just two members of the squad. Zkwichs interfere with transmissions which, I presume, is the reason we’re not able to contact the rest of the squad.”

“They must be further inside,” Khan ended.

“They were almost at the nucleus when I split from them,” Mabel added. “They could be trapped.”

“Zkwichs take longer to assimilate the nucleus of their prey,” Khan muttered. “In that case, you’re all alone with the newbie to save the squad, Mabel. Copied?”

“Copied,” Mabel responded and the transmission cut off.

“Did i hear that right?” Oliver questioned standing up. “How are we supposed to do it just the two of us?!”

Mabel looked at Oliver with a mischievous face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?!” Oliver said.

Mabel hushed him as she urged him to follow her into a nearby cavity.

“So, you’re basically an AB magnet right now, isn’t it?” Mabel questioned.

“I suppose,” Oliver worriedly replied.

“Then we’re going to use it to our advantage,” Mabel mischievously said as she pushed Oliver outside the cavity behind two patrolling ABs.

Oliver waited for them to turn and attack immediately, but the ABs just continued their way.

Oliver and Mabel exchanged confused expressions.

Oliver waved his arms. Nothing. He impatiently jigged the floor with his foot. And the ABs kept walking.

“What’s going on?” Mabel whispered from the cavity.

Oliver shrugged.

“They haven’t been reactive to him for a while,” KeyWee notified.

“Since when, KeyWee?” Mabel asked.

“Since he fell on a pool full of zkwich broth,” KeyWee informed.

“Oh, great! You fell inside a pool of zkwich broth?!” Mabel exclaimed, getting out of the cavity. “Hope you survive!”

“Thanks?” Oliver tried to hush Mabel.

“Now I have to make a whole new brilliant plan!” Mabel complained.

“Watch out!” Oliver warned as Mabel barely dodged the blow of one of the ABs.

“Oh, you dirty bunch of coral!” Mabel said, rolling on the sand and sinking her pickaxe under the AB’s right foot. She pulled her pickaxe upwards and the AB crumbled.

Oliver intercepted the other AB before it tackled Mabel. The impulse threw it to the ground. Oliver twisted on top of the AB with his pickaxe ready but it crumbled before he could reach the exposed nerve.

“Hey!” Oliver complained as Mabel smugly twisted her pickaxe.

“Sorry, kid. Too slow,” Mabel grinned.

Oliver picked the picorium nodes on top of each bunch of coral and tied them to his belt.

“Well done, but we’re going to need more of those,” Mabel added as four ABs joined the scene. She charged against the first one, screaming, “I hate doing overtime!”

…

“Do you think they’ll be enough?” Oliver whispered, peeking from the coral ledge.

“Trust the experience, kid!” Mabel responded offended.

“How many times have you done this?” Oliver said, inquisitively looking at her.

“Like…zero,” Mabel replied, gazing down at their project. “But it worked when you did it, it’ll work again. Now fix your shoes, we don’t want to get cut with that sharp coral.”

Oliver checked the laces that tied their makeshift coral shoes when rumble came in their project’s direction.

“Get ready,” Oliver urged as the pile of picorium nodes disappeared under a whirlpool of sand and red coral.

“I wonder what it would be!” Mabel exclaimed expectantly. “Wooooow!”

Oliver had to hush her enthusiastic celebration so the emerging creature wouldn't notice them.

“Now!” Mabel indicated as the AB passed by their ledge.

They jumped on top of the evolved multiped’s back, the shoes proved to be useful since it was covered in coral spikes. Oliver climbed up the shell of the angry AB, hit it with his pickaxe, and pulled the nerve out of it.

“Ready!” Oliver informed, steading his grip on the handle.

“Excellent grip!” Mabel complimented, holding to the pickaxe as she joined him. “We’re going to follow the flow of the sand, that’s our best bet to where the stomach is, and hopefully the other zkwich’s nucleus.”

They followed a stream of sand to a nearby tunnel, their new creation ran over any AB in the way.

“What’s its name?” Oliver asked as they advanced through the tunnel.

“Mmmm…” Mabel reflected, looking at the creature. “Spiky?”

Oliver laughed, “Spiky!”

“What?! I’m in overtime, I’m not as creative!” Mabel complained before the tunnel drastically slopped. “AAAAAAHHH!”

Their rollercoaster ride ended when Spiky reached a large hollowing. Several coral stakes held a dark ball of flesh attached to one wall of the place.

“Nucleus, localized!” Mabel reported, pointing at the ball.

“And now what?” Oliver asked, looking at the approaching ABs.

Mabel agilely slid down from one of Spiky’s not-so-spiky sides.

“Keep any AB away. I’ll get the squad out,” Mabel shouted. “Keep it running, cowboy!”

“Be safe.”

“Yeehaw!” Oliver replied, going over some unprepared ABs.