Free Minds

Chapter 23.

"Lower it in carefully please?" I leaned over his shoulder as he placed the propeller into the other completed parts of the drone.

"Nah, I'm just going to shove it in."

"Dorian!"

"Fine." He grunted, getting to it.

   It was finally done. Sure, it took nearly all day, but looking at the two completed Piccolissima replicas with their Camo Chameleon outer covering made everything worthwhile. Oddly enough, my junkyard tech merged with his from home had been able to work together and produce two, almost professional-like, drones.

   Who knew?

"I guess that's it, then?" Dorian asked, rising from the table he'd rested his both arms on.

   I scanned the messy table. "Well, we still have the remotes. But I think we can take one each for tonight?"

"Fine by me."

"Great."

   His eyes took in the garage like he was just noticing where he had been in hours for the first time. Not knowing what to do, I simply kept my stare on him, waiting for any reaction that was bound to arise.

"Huh." My gut curled into knots when his gaze finally rested on what had been uncovered by the hell-bound tarp that caused our earlier fall. "I didn't know you were, uh, really into comic books."

"Um, yeah," I mumbled, only now realising the tarp we'd fallen into was the one covering all my comic books. Yep, the comic shrine.

   There was no hiding the comic books I had collected into a pile over the years now anyway. Or my humiliated expression. This was one of the things I had taken extra-care to cover. Stupid tarp. I didn't dare think of kicking it again though.

   My still recovering butt wouldn't have even let me if I wanted to.

"May I?" He walked over to where the books had been laid.

"Sure." It's not like i could hide them now, anyway.

   Just my luck on whom my obsession would be revealed to.

   He reached to grab a handful of comic books splayed out on the tarp and took a seat on the floor.

"Oh, that's a good one." I joined him and glanced over his shoulder for a better look at the one top. "In this Seekers comic, the team has to stop a multidimensional wipeout of living beings. It does not end well. One of the rare occasions where they actually fail."

   I stayed silent for the next few minutes to allow him to flip the comic book's pages in peace but it was difficult holding my peace when he picked up and opened the pages of a different comic. Then another.

   What was that supposed to mean?

"I kind of get it." He looked up from his fourth comic with a smile. "Why you like them. They're actually interesting reads. Even though two whole pages of a particular one just had 'ZOONNNGGG!' written over it."

"Yeah." My body trembled with laughter at his terrible impression of the sound.

"So how come you've got so many?" Dorian questioned. "You must have spent forever collecting all these."

"Yeah, I've had them for as long as I can remember." I beamed. "I've been getting them from Mr. Shin, the old man you guys met the other day when we went to the store. Even though they're easier to get online nowadays, not going to his comic store at least once a week feels like all forms of wrong. And you know, it's cheaper."