Iron and Rust Chapter 10
#10 of Iron and Rust
Getting close to the end now. I'd like to thank all my readers for the awesome feedback. The comments and the vote and faves are always appreciated.
Proofread by Wolf Seeker
"Maybe if I try _this..._no, wrong loop...let's try assigning a private variable...no, if I do that, it can't access the module..."
The blue husky's fingers danced excitedly over the keyboard while his eyes remained glued to the luminescent screen. He occasionally took a sip of coffee while he muttered under his breath. He had gotten up a little earlier before school so that he could work on his code.
Four days. Russ had been working almost nonstop on his GPS program for four days and it was now nearing completion. He had integrated an algorithm within the code to navigate the ship a small distance away from Earth and remain in orbit unless he killed the process. He only needed to fix an issue concerning the stasis module and it would be ready for use. It would need to be tested on the ship of course, but that wouldn't take long.
Regardless, he needed the code finished very soon. Today was Friday, and according to his calculations, his pickup date fell on late Wednesday evening. That left him only five days to be ready...
A loud knock on the door. "Russ, are you ready? The bus will be here any minute!"
Russ glanced at the clock. Shit! He was going to be late!
"Yeah, I'm coming!" The husky quickly saved his work, grabbed his bag, and bolted out the door.
.......................
Russ and Scott chatted idly as they prepared for their first class of the day. The husky had barely caught the bus on time before it left, something he was thankful for. He didn't want to have to ask Abigail for a ride to school.
Russ was laughing at a joke his friend had made when his locker door was slammed hard on his paw. He howled in pain and jerked his paw back. Thankfully, there was no serious damage.
"Better watch what you're doing, nerd!" Rod laughed uproariously. He walked by flanked by two friends as usual. "Don't want to hurt yourself because of -"
_"Fuck off!" _
Rod halted in his tracks and turned back toward the husky, his expression one of extreme shock.
"What the fuck did you just say to me?" He growled as he moved in closer.
Russ stood firm with his arms crossed. "You heard me." The entire hall had stopped what they were doing to observe the commotion. "I'm tired of your shit. If you've got aggression to get rid of, take it out on the field. Don't mess with the other students just because you can't validate yourself."
Rod was visibly angry at this point, his intense glare boring into the husky's. "You need me to teach you another lesson? Because I'd be glad to -"
"Do what you want," Russ interjected again. "But don't harass me, and don't harass the other students. You have nothing to gain from putting everyone else down just because you're a dumb jock with an overinflated ego. So take my advice..." he leaned in closer. "...and _fuck off." _
The bulky bear looked about ready to punch his muzzle in. He was being stood up to in front of the entire floor at this point, and he trembled with fury. "You're in for a whole world of pain if you think you can mess with me, _fag." _
Some students gasped at the bear's blasphemy, but Russ held his narrowed gaze, seemingly unperturbed. "I'll be ready."
With that, the husky grabbed his books and began walking to his first class. Before he left, he glanced back at the completely still crowd that had formed. The members of his audience either looked shocked or appeared pitiful of the husky's prospective fate. Rod just looked pissed.
Pleased with the reactions, he offered a final confident smirk and continued on his way.
................................
"You, my dude, have a serious death wish."
"Not as bad as yours. Ha! Gotcha!"
"Hey, no fair!"
Russ and Scott were back at the bear's house for another night of gaming. Their selection tonight had been a collection of FPS games, at which Russ proved to be quite adept. Scott was no novice at the genre either, and both furs had a fair bit of competition to keep things interesting.
"But seriously, dude," Scott said as they played. "Challenging Rod like that? That's just asking for trouble. No one messes with Rod."
Russ shrugged, thumbs fiddling with his controller. "What can I say, I'm a rebel. Got you again!"
The bear shook his head in disbelief as his character was once again sniped in the head. "Jeez, you're good at this, dude. Have you ever played an MMO?"
"Nope. They take too much of my time."
"Aw, that's a shame. They're really fun!" Scott opined. "I play this one game that..."
Russ wasn't fully listening to the bear anymore. His friend's original comment had sparked another idea within his mind. What would it take to get back at Rod for his antics? The paint incident had been quite degrading, and Russ wasn't sure how he could match that without getting into serious trouble...
"Hello? Earth to Russ?"
A brown paw waving in his face brought him out of his reverie. He had completely missed what his friend had been saying.
"Sorry, what?"
Scott chuckled. "I said you should try out this game that I play. It's fantasy-based, so I think you'd enjoy it."
"Oh," Russ said. "Maybe. I probably shouldn't though. I need to focus on school...and other things." He added, remembering the nearly completed spaceship he had hidden near the junkyard.
Scott raised an eyebrow. "Other things? This isn't about Rod, is it?"
Russ tore his gaze from the screen momentarily. "What?"
"I've just noticed he seems to be picking on you a lot. Like a lot." Scott paused the game while he spoke. "I mean, he's a jerk to everyone, but he seems to hate you in particular."
Russ shrugged again. "It's because I'm gay. He absolutely _hates_me for it. I'll never understand why."
Scott sighed. "I told you not to tell him, dude."
"It still shouldn't be a big deal! And besides, I didn't actually tell him anything. I accidentally let it slip to Tyler, and then he told Rod." The husky motioned for his friend to continue the game, and they resumed playing. "But don't worry. I'll get him back. I've got a plan."
Scott whistled appreciatively. "A plan. Knowing you, it's gonna be something epic. What have you got in mind?"
Russ allowed a devious grin. "You'll see."
.............................
Monday at lunchtime. That was when his plan would come into fruition. Russ had carefully planned this out, even spent an entire night thinking of the possibilities. The plan was relatively simple, but he wanted to make sure that everything worked out perfectly. However, having "borrowed" a certain item from Scott and took something else from a medicine cabinet at the house, Russ was almost certain that this would be a moment to remember.
Russ had purposely hung back a little so that he was one of the last people in the lunch line. His plan would be most effective if the rest of the students were all settled at their tables. He wanted the entire cafeteria to witness what was about to happen.
In his paw, he held a large portable cup full of a vegetable smoothie that he had made earlier and kept cold in a fridge in the teachers' lounge. To everyone but him, it appeared to be an alternate drink that he decided to bring instead of paying, but the husky knew better. This was the key element to his scheme.
It took a while for the line to shorten, but he eventually payed for his food and emerged back into the main chamber of the cafeteria. Scott was waiting for him at their table, but Russ deliberately went the long way, circling around the room and back. The jocks' table was straight ahead as he approached closer.
Target acquired.
The jocks didn't seem to notice him approaching, only laughing loudly as they talked animatedly about some unknown topic. With one paw still holding his tray, Russ popped open the lid of his cup and began taking a long sip.
Preparing cannons...
As he passed, Russ' foot caught one of the legs of the table the jocks sat at. This caused him to stumble and lose his balance, clumsily spilling his food and half the smoothie over one unsuspecting bear.
Fire!
"Fuck!" A surprised Rod exclaimed, leaping from his seat. He desperately tried to wipe the mess off his football jacket, but the damage was done. The food and smoothie had already stained the fabric and ruined the white sections of the jacket. The bear looked up and saw the husky standing there, and his expression of shock instantly transformed to rage.
"I'm going to fucking _kill you!" _
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Russ cried as the bear seized the front of his shirt. The entire cafeteria had become quiet as the watched the scene.
"I'll make you fucking sorry!" The bear roared. His eyes burned with anger. "You fucking ruined my jacket!"
"I know! I'm sorry!" Russ repeated, struggling in the bear's grip. He still held his now empty tray and half a smoothie in his paws. The bully noticed this and viciously swiped the cup away from him.
"Hey, that's mine!"
"Too fucking bad, fag," Rod snapped. "Call it payment for fucking up my day!"
Rod released the husky and began chugging the smoothie in loud gulps. Meanwhile, Russ stepped back and wiped the back of his paw over his lips, removing a bit of red substance from when he had pretended to drink. The residue left behind a very familiar burning sensation, a precursor to what would happen next.
Rod seemed to be experiencing some discomfort even before he had finished the drink. The cup was empty in record time, the bear lowering the cup and smacking his lips with a cocky grin, though a frown was beginning to show through.
Russ caught onto the crack in his façade immediately. "Something wrong, Rod?" He said with a grin.
The bear didn't answer. Something seemed very wrong indeed, his eyes beginning to water and his paws clenched into trembling fists. He was fighting very hard to maintain his composure, but rapidly failing.
"You sure you're okay, Rod?" Russ taunted, grin growing wider now. "Can't handle the _heat?" _
Rod was now forced to start panting in an effort to lessen the burning in his mouth, but it did nothing. The heat seemed to become more intense as more saliva gathered in his maw. "What the fuck did you put in that drink?!" He panted.
Russ shrugged, casually inspecting his claws. "Oh, nothing special. Just some carrots, celery, tomato sauce..." His vengeful blue eyes flicked upward to meet the bear's. "Ghost peppers..."
Rod's eyes went wide as he finally collapsed, crouching on the linoleum floor as he gasped hoarsely. Tears streamed from his eyes and he even began to slobber a bit on the floor. The other jocks stared in shock and horror, but didn't move to try and help. Russ grinned triumphantly as the shoe was now on the other foot.
"Try some water, Rod. I heard that helps."
The bear immediately fell for the trick. Not that it was necessarily hard to convince him; Rod couldn't have been thinking clearly at this point. Without a moment's notice, Rod whirled around and grabbed one of his teammates' water bottles. His friend protested and tried to stop him, but it was too late. Rod had already taken off the cap and was guzzling the water down. He only got a few gulps in before he sprayed it back out, panting harder as the burning intensified.
Without a word, Rod dropped the bottle and raced out of the cafeteria towards the nearest bathroom, a couple of his friends running after him. Following the bully's flight was a loud round of applause from the other students, to which Russ responded with a theatrical bow.
Russ confidently strode back to his table where Scott was waiting. He beamed as he sat down with his empty tray and cup. "So how was that for some payback?"
"Dude, that was awesome!" Scott said enthusiastically. "That was ingenious! I didn't even realize you took more peppers from the jar!"
"Yeah, I remembered what happened last time and thought it would be a nice prank. You got that sandwich I asked for?" Russ asked.
Scott handed him the extra peanut butter sandwich from his paper bag. "How many did you put in?"
"Two," Russ said with a grin. "A bit much, maybe, but I wanted to be a special surprise for him. And what a surprise it was!"
"Totally, dude," Scott replied. "I imagine that won't be nice coming out the other end either!"
His friend's comment made the husky grin mischievously as he bit into his sandwich. Scott picked up on this and quickly put two and two together. "Dude...you didn't put laxatives in there too, did you?"
His wide grin could have put the Joker to shame.
........................
After school, the husky was found walking through the streets again, trumpet case in paw. His deadline was only two days away now and everything was almost ready. All he had to do was connect with navigation module to the Bluetooth signal in the ship and make sure that the ship was fully functional, and he'd be ready. Russ was almost sure it would work. He was prepared to spend the entire two remaining days making changes if he had to.
Russ soon found himself walking through the junkyard again. He had long since figured out how to avoid attention from the workers there, and he had never been caught once. They weren't likely to notice the absence of spare parts or whole vehicle systems due to the vastness of the yard. Plus, the husky had found a remote location nearby where he could build the ship without being found.
Russ eventually reached the back of the lot, where another gate was located. He glanced back to make sure he wouldn't be spotted, then went through the gate quietly. He walked a little farther along to another clearing obscured by a patch of forest. It was there that his creation lay undisturbed.
His "spaceship" was not pretty or neat by any means. At first glance, it looked like a piece of junk. The vehicle was essentially a beaten up car that had been modified to suit his needs. The interior was completely intact, but the outside looked worn; the red paint on its exterior was faded and chipped.
Russ had managed to turn the car into an airtight container, something he needed in order to survive in outer space. He had needed to go in and seal up the air conditioning system, but it had been rather easy. The craft sat on four bare metal wheels without the rubber, and Russ had lined the bottom of the car with pairs of polarized magnets that were actually quite strong. He would ideally activate them with a single command, and further adjust their direction and power to provide steering functionality.
The front part of the interior was full of cables that twisted and coiled everywhere. He hadn't implemented much in the realm of cable management, but he could handle it. These cables provided power and data transfer between his stolen laptop and the console built into the vehicle.
Russ opened the driver's door and got in, pushing a few stray cables out of the way. Turning on the laptop, he grabbed a cable and plugged it into one of the ports. He then pulled up the startup program he had written and executed it. The ship roared to life and the lights came on.
Grinning in approval, he got ready to test the steering functionality of the vehicle. This would be what ultimately decided his fate.
"Please work, please work, please work..." he muttered, and entered the command to initiate the steering module. A static buzzing was heard underneath the vehicle. Russ took a deep breath and gently pressed on the gas pedal. The ship rattled in place for a moment...
...and went still as it began to levitate. The husky's heart leaped in joy as the ship slowly floated a few feet into the air. It was actually working! He reached over and adjusted the magnets a tiny bit, causing the ship to ascend faster. Before long, he had risen over the tops of the trees where he could see the city beyond, finally able to view the world from a familiar angle once again.
Beaming triumphantly, Russ brought the ship back down to the ground and powered it off. He sat back and began laughing to the point of tears, a mixture of joy, accomplishment, and relief washing over him as a single thought occupied his mind.
"I'm going home."