Spirit Box

The Job Rushen-Fox looked over the wintry wasteland he called a home. It was always cold; especially this high on the mountains where he liked to rocket sled. It was the kind of coldness that turned one’s nose hairs into icicles. Though he was not old enough to have nose hair, he heard the worst stories. The layer of thick ice that covered this planet made it a temptation to use the rocket sled at the highest speed. His small black mitten steadied the swift red rocket sled, while his other mitten surfaced from his corduroy sweatshirt pocket. He brought down his hood over his white hair; he liked the feeling of the frosted air in his face. With his dark rubbery boots he ground his toe in the ice, put the rocket sled down on the edge and felt the electrified butterflies in his stomach start to circle. Dart crawled over his right shoulder beeping in his inquisitive tone. He could see what was going to happen and didn’t even need the focusing lens or the antennae to decipher the environment. He merely just beeped, drew in his red tentacles and clamped his clawed toes into Rushen’s corduroy sleeve. He wasn’t going to fall off again. Rushen sat down in the metal seat wrapping his legs around the safety nub. He flicked his deep green goggles and prepared himself for the descent. It wasn’t the highest mountain in Taros-Avros, but the thrill of the fall still gave him a boyish smile. With a swift push and a small jubilated scream, Rushen took the rocket sled airborne. There was a burst of silence exploding with the blast engine fire and the crunchy sound of the rocket blades treading on the ice. He felt all his organs rush toward his neck as the sled came hurtling down. It would bounce on the hills and he would wonder for a split second if he would crash to his doom. Then it would follow gracefully to the ice and he would have control of the sled again. The sides were curved so he could shift his weight and avoid the trees that would blur past him. If he couldn’t see a tree, Dart would give a sonar screech that alerted him. They were a good team on the sled. Not to mention, Rushen also enjoyed Dart’s fear of sledding so he didn’t feel so alone when he was afraid. The sled began to wobble near the edge of the mountain. Rushen felt it losing balance and he knew had to dive off soon. Dart beeped in agreement and they both bailed off the sled leaving it to crash into a snow bank. The sled skittered off into a chunk of ice disabling the engine. Rushen and Dart let themselves roll in the soft powdery snow until they flailed into an adjacent snow bank. Rushen yelped in pain as he splayed out into the bank. He laid there for a moment just letting their adrenaline soak in evenly through. First checking to see if any of his bones had broken, he then took off his corduroy jacket. There was a fresh gash on his shoulder. He looked angrily over at Dart. “Dart, what did I tell you about digging your talons into my shoulder? You gave me a nasty gash.” Dart moved his mushroom frame over to Rushen, climbing up his legs with his tentacles and focusing his optical lens on Rushen’s gash. Within seconds, Dart had a medical scan of what Rushen sustained. Dart beeped in succession. “I don’t care if it will take 2.75 days for me to heal. You still really hurt me. We need to have your feet talons filed.” Dart gave a sympathetic beep making Rushen smile. “I know you’re sorry. No hard feelings. I can never stay angry at you.” After Rushen had recovered the red rocket sled he spent the rest of the mountain walking down it with Dart. Dart stayed close by his side knowing that Rushen would soon need him. It was a Spider Child’s job to know their master’s routine. And sure enough, Rushen began coughing violently, followed by gasps for air. His arms thrashed and he fell to the ground waving his arms toward Dart. Dart sprung into action with his red tentacles protruding. A tiny syringe struck into Rushen’s arm followed by some beeping and scanning on Dart’s part. It only took a moment, but Rushen was back on his feet breathing normally. He glanced over to Dart who looked very professional when it came to the injections. “Rocket sledding does take a lot out of me,” Rushen said laughing nervously. Dart earned his seat back on Rushen’s shoulder and they continued walking down the mountain. About two miles away from the mountains, was the building Rushen called his job. It was also a place he called home. It was the only message service in the great cold wasteland of Taros-Avros. They tried many businesses out here, but none of them could overcome the obvious handicap. Taros-Avros was so cold that nobody wanted to construct their import shop, tobacco lounge, or holographic picture center. For about three days a rival messenger service was erected only two miles away from Rushen’s. They had a delivery man of their own to do Rushen’s job. They sent out the young man to deliver some pearls to a nice elderly lady. Sadly, the man is still missing today. Rushen walked up to the snow covered building hanging his sled on the side. It had dark brown boards with two windows and icicles that hung from the roof since forever. Dart beeped again piercing his lens onto a small hole on the carbo-wood frame of the building. “Yes, they still haven’t fixed that hole,” Rushen said noticing that the carbo-wood on this building wasn’t as nice as some of the other houses. He had come to the early realization that his lifestyle couldn’t afford the latest synthetic carbo-wood. The newer stuff wouldn’t let the cold eat it away so fast. Luckily, Dart was sharp enough to catch such incidents. Rushen entered the brown building feeling a barrier of heat melt his frozen exterior. He hung his coat on a metal hook, put his mittens in his pockets, took his goggles off and wiped his boots on the dry mat below. The office was looking cozy with its visual fireplace 3.0 and heating A.I. Carrey-Hearth looked up from her desk work and smiled warmly. She noticed Rushen’s rosy boyish cheeks and would not hesitate to snicker at them. She was a sweet middle-aged lady who never got a good handle on the great outdoors. It seemed that she was one with the dust in the building, but she didn’t seem to mind. “I see you’ve been sledding again, Fox,” Carrey commented smiling. Her Spider Child never left the desk either. It always stood right next to the filing cabinet ready to staple important documents. Rushen often wondered if her Spider Child, Minx, could ever do more than just stapling. “Griffon is ready to see you now,” She said never leaving her warm smile. As Rushen was leaving, Minx gave a happy harmonious beep to Rushen. Dart answered back with a harmonious beep of welcome. Griffon’s office was not much bigger than Carrey’s office. It was a place where Rushen received all his assignments, instructions and warnings. They would be jacked into Dart’s memory and both of them would be sent on a journey to the outskirts of Taros-Avros. He had been to milky glaciers of the far east to the snow community that lived near the hot springs. Almost everyone in Taros-Avros knew Rushen’s young rosy-red face with his cheerful Spider Child resting on his shoulder. He was their refuge from the deep capitalism of Capitolinus. Rushen had never been to Capitolinus, but he had heard many stories about the kind of people that lived there. “Rich, spoiled, braggarts that don’t know the difference between a good day’s wino from an ice hole in the ground,” Griffon would say and that would be the general consensus of the city. Judging from people’s stories, Rushen was afraid of Capitolinus. It was a place where wicked people got rich on winos and thieves made a living. It was also the headquarters for every Spider Child ever conceived, housing tons of mainframe buildings that could hold a whole city. Rushen entered Griffon’s office not knowing what kind of mood he was in. Griffon was in h