Hugh S

The Vortex

By Hugh Smith

The Prologue

Ben Charles is a bounty hunter and he became a bounty hunter at the age of ten when his parents died. His motive was to avenge his parents, even though they would not like it to happen like this, but he did it anyway. Before the death of his parents Ben was taught at Bill Gates Institute for Children where he learnt to build technology out of scrap and much more. In the future he used his acquired knowledge and skills to survive. Minutes after the death of his parents he stowed away on a cargo shuttle heading to planet Xebulon where once he had arrived, he hid in a little abandoned shack at Lake Gizorpazorp. In that shack he built his new best friend, Bobby the burger bot, to make him burgers and it was armed to take down the man who killed his parents. From then on Ben has been living in that little shack with Bobby, slowly by surely expanding it and continuing to make inventions like the auto scratcher which can be strapped on and can scratch your back. The new modified version can even give you massages.

Chapter One: The Presents

Every May, June and September Ben would receive sinister presents that tried to kill him such as a bomb, a boxing glove with spikes and even a mutant rat on steroids. They were always from an unknown person, probably the family of the people Ben and Bobby were called to take out. Fortunately, Bobby always managed to stop the problem like shooting a giant burger out the door distracting the rat and booting the bomb into the sky. Sometimes their inventions were destroyed like Zak the Quack-o-Tron 3000 was completely obliterated and even their pet, Bob Moose, who was a crossed ninja dog and moose had died.

This time it was something much more different than the others. Ben and Bobby were destroying a faulty Pac Man Pinball machine when all of a sudden a present dropped from their mail deposit onto Ben’s head. He was certain it wasn’t dangerous as it looked different from the others and it was sparkling from the inside but Bobby wasn’t willing to take that risk as he new something was fishy but it was too late. Ben was already lifting up the lid and something was stirring up in that box. It was like time had stopped for a minute and Ben was already regretting not listening to Bobby.

Chapter Two: The Vortex

“Vroooomp!” The box tore apart and a giant blue swirly vortex sucked in its surroundings including Ben and Bobby and some of their house too.

All of a sudden they appeared in a barren clock land greeted by aggressive cuckoo birds and some of grandfather’s clock sky scraper and zooming analogue clock cars. Ben realised that they appeared in the busiest part of that world. They were on top of the Big Ben which nearly reached space but in the distance they could spot another vortex, so they had to find a way to get to it.

Bobby remembered that he had a paraglider built but Ben had no way to get down and Bobby was only small but so they risked it. Ben rode Bobby down to the surface when they heard a massive screeeeeeeaaaacccchhhhh! Ben was thrown off Bobby and was falling to his death. Ben spotted a nearby building so he clutched his grappling hook off his belt and swung it over to the building but he was coming in to fast and he was going to break his legs. At the last second a cuckoo bird swooped by and took him to safety. At last they could get to the vortex and travel back home but when they entered it was not their home they were brought to. When they stepped through they were brought to a strange world, perhaps a universe full of lemons.

Splash, splash, splash. The rain poured down from a lemon cloud and Ben was fascinated by that sight but he glanced a second too long as the cloud was drawing near and his eyes where penetrated by a sourness. His mouth and eyes were stinging but Bobby couldn’t feel a thing (since he has no eyes or mouth). After feeling such pain Ben ran for shelter as Bobby pranced around like the rain was a massage. Ben, not knowing where he was, panicked. After minutes of freaking out he hid in a gigantic lemony hull object which turned out to be the hull of a lemon ship sailing through the sour seas.

“Land ho!” screamed an abnormal lemon with a captain’s hat on top of it. In the distance there was a giant lemon with smaller lemons and lemon creatures on top of it. It was a giant lemon island. Once they had arrived on the island they explored it, praying to find another vortex. They found: lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons, baby lemons, lemons, lemons, big lemons, lemons, lemons and more lemons but no vortex. All of a sudden Ben discovered a perch so he climbed up there to find something but there was no vortex to be seen. Just as Ben had given up hope, Bobby spotted a smaller island in the distance which most definitely had a vortex on it. Ben and Bobby crept over to the ship and sailed over to the island.

As Ben and Bobby stepped through the vortex they found another universe ruled by monkeys in suits of robotic armory and some were flying in bananas, so they rushed to the vortex (which luckily was nearby). When they hopped through they found another universe exactly like this one except that they could see themselves from another universe sneezing and jumping around. Instead of going through a vortex exactly like the one they had they returned home instead. Sadly, as soon as they went through the vortex it disappeared and they had to search for another one. Instead of going to another universe they appeared in their universe and right next to it was another vortex. So they were automatically transported to another universe.

Chapter Three: Another Vortex?

They all of a sudden they appeared in a murky, grey, cloudy and damp cloud town. They were actually on top of a cloud except there was no vortex to be seen. As they were wondering around they spotted a small boy in a green Santa hat and a green tunic. Bobby thought to ask him for directions but all the boy did was swing his sword at pots and grunted when he rolled to go a tiny bit faster. The boy had a fairy like creature by his shoulder but it just ignored them even though it was giving the boy directions. As they kept searching the town they found another boy out in front of his house with a pink fluffy type writer and he was writing a story called “Atlantis and its troubles” and he just got up to chapter three, his dog small black fluffy cavoodle next to him on the floor just beginning with his book named “the kidnap” perhaps they are both famous authors in this universe “excuse me sir, have you seen a large blue swirly thing around here?” Asked Ben “How dare you interrupt the two most famous authors of all time Oliver Boyd and Ethan Procter, who is my dog!” screamed Oliver “but yes, yes I have, it’s down that alley.” And as soon as he said that they searched every alley in town but then they spotted it but in that very alley there was also an obese man with a wide green and red tattoo on his arm saying harry and he had short blonde hair and with pale blue eyes of a murderer in a steam roller. As he licked his lips he started the steam roller with another obese person in front screaming “noooo brother please do not do this to me” “I’m gunna eat your guuuuuuuuuuts little Toby boy and dey gonna taste like bacon! Muahahahahahahahahahahahha!” laughed Harry but after Ben stared in shock he pulled out a plasma rifle and shot it right through his head but the steam roller was still going and there was a brick on the accelerator. By the time the brick had been taken off Toby had already been half run over eating his last ever meal an extra extra extra extra extra extra extra extra extra extra colossal quadruple colossal mac. After Bobby stopped shaking in trauma they were just about to step through the blue spirally vortex when another fat person came but from the sky with a bright blue mask and a bulky red cape that say super sam the obese man and he landed on the other half of toby squashing him with only a tenth of his life left. Super Sam the obese man ran onto the road suddenly being hit by a car followed by his side kicks Zac, Julien and Seb with their thick red blood spraying all over Bobby, Ben and toby (who was suprisingly not dead yet even though he was half run over by a steam roller and squashed by large people) so ben and bobby quickly rushed to the vortex leaving Toby to suffer. After hours of vortex traveling they came to a stop as they appeared in prison.

Chapter Four: Escaping

“Let me out!” Ben screamed, they had been sitting there for hours waiting and waiting not knowing what to do. Bobby had gone into rest mode and he had been badly damaged. Ben’s cell was small and cramped with a weird kind of bed that looked like toffy just like Bobby’s and he was so tempted to eat it, in fact he thought everything was candy, he thought the bars were lickerish, bed was toffy, room was a large Oreo he even thought the guards were large red gummy bears with uniforms. Then Ben thought what if I tried eating it so he prayed that when he bit into that juicy bed that if would be toffy. Ben hesitated at first but then he plunged head first and he instantly knew it was toffy and rejoiced “hmmmmm, maybe prison won’t be so bad if I ration it out,” Ben whispered to himself. Meanwhile bobby was shutdown he could still hear things and face palmed internally and switched on to explain to Ben his plans. His plans were (obviously) to escape by eating the prison bars and guards. As soon as Bobby had explained the plan Ben was stuffing his face but Bobby sat sad in the corner as he couldn’t eat as he was a robot.

Once Ben had eaten his cell he came over to bobby and ate his cell (and a few other cells and he ate the prisoners too) but escaping isn’t that easy. Outside that prison are 4 giants 3 who carrie giant lollipops and giant candy canes but their leader has a mentos gun and they have pet snakes and have giant gummy children. Lots go in but no one ever comes out…….alive.

The 4 guardians of the candy world are: Él Toffy, Sir Jellyton, Miss Pepermint and their leader Mr Mentos. Ben had a shiver down his spine when he thought about what they might do to him like whip him with lickerish or preserve him in Jelly or stick him to a Frisbee with toffy and send him flying or even worse eat him! All of a sudden Ben had an Idea, Bobby would distract them while Ben ate their delicious juicy brains like a zombie Bobby doubted it for a second (because pretty much most of ben’s ideas end badly) then he had faith in Ben and he was ready to do it. Ben snuck through the door ahead then Bobby waited for him to get to the feet when he burst through the door with a megaphone shouting “Hey everyone looked at me I’m Bobby the burger bot! Who want’s free burgers?” while Ben climbed up Dr Toffy’s leg. Not knowing what to do Bobby lay in fear and Dr Toffy reached down and grabbed him and put him in the prison cell on one side of the head and pulled out the dead remains still in it and the other cell. As Ben was climbing he couldn’t move his foot from off the toffy then he realised he was stuck and panicked. Because Ben was panicking Él toffy could feel the heartbeat on his leg and reached down and plucked him from his sticky, gooey leg and placed him into the cell of death and darkness. “Great how will we get out now?” Pouted Ben from his dark cell of stickiness. All of a sudden Ben realised that he could eat it and face palmed (even though it was thousands of years old).

“Rrrrrrrggghhhhh!!!” Growled Él toffy, Ben had bitten through the moldy, dusty cell then he broke out Bobby and escaped the prison cell but it would take them along time to eat their way down so they dug to the brain and hoped when he fell that he wouldn’t smash into thousands of miniature pieces waiting to be cleaned up. Luckily he didn’t he just was cut very very very badly across the hip so he pulled out some bandages and wrapped himself in it. Once they had recovered (sort of) they sprinted to the vortex escaping this time.

Chapter Five: Family Reunion

As Ben felt a shiver trail down his spine as he travelled to another universe he spotted his child hood home in Alaska, it was a luxury it had: golden pillars surrounding it, a giant warm bubbling hot tub, an olympic swimming pool, colossal movie theatre, Golden massage chair, Steaming sauna, garage that could fit a giant and much much more. This couldn’t be it Ben thought, it was to good to be true he was not only in his own universe but at his childhood so he pranced around the shiny halls. As Ben was prancing and dancing he heard footsteps, they were coming from the broad pale haunting kitchen, at first he thought it was Bobby but then he saw Bobby behind him so he steadied his gun, preparing to shoot. As Ben drew near the corner he heard the clicking and clapping of claws on the tiles “maybe we’re being robbed by a bear or something,” whispered Bobby to Ben. The clicking was getting louder and louder slowly approaching.

Ben slid around the corner readying his finger to pull the trigger when he spotted something like a dog but it wasn’t fully a dog then he realised that it was his pet Bob Moose that helped keep him company before he invented Bobby dashed out toward him to pat his fluffy green fur and stroked his hard moose antlers and fed him moose treats (because he has moose organs and head) “who’s a good boy?” asked Ben.

“I am!” Replied Bob moose. Then he thought if Bob Moose is alive then his parents could be alive so he began to scavenge the mansion.

Suddenly Ben heard a voice then he realised it was Bob moose with the translator so he kept searching. Through the halls Ben heard a new voice but it also sounded familiar then he knew it was his parents. As he rushed through the halls he spotted his mother in a rocking chair knitting and his father staring at his money with a greedy grin “ we've been waiting for you son, where have you been?” Asked Rebecca. (his mother) “well you see it all bega-“we only care that your home little Ben,” interrupted Jack (his father). As they had settled in, Bobby found them through the maze of halls and trophy rooms but as soon as Rebecca spotted him “out!!!” she screamed “ we don’t have robots in our house, they’re banned Ben, you should know that, it’s either him or us……forever!”

Chapter Six: Friends or Family

“Uhhhhh, hmmmmmmm, oh damn that’s a tough question to answer I mean Bobby kept me company and shelter when you died, but you’re my parents and I’ve know you my whole entire life! Ugghhhh, why is this so tough?!?” Ben said anxiously. After what seemed like hours Ben made his decision…… he was going to leave Bobby behind. As Ben was saying his goodbyes he knew what he had to do. So Bobby would never really go Ben grabbed out the spare blue prints and a memory chip within Bobby and left him to roam the world.

Once Bobby had left Ben curled up on his luxury leather couch with his super soft blanket and Bob Moose and sobbed for the rest of the day until dinner where he was served his favourite sushi but when it was time for dessert it was something far different to his favourite it was Fish mixed with hairball and mice, then Ben knew something was up maybe it was that in this universe that is their favourite food (even though it is disgusting) Ben knew it was more than that, there was something fishy going on.

Ben knew he had to inspect it. When he was sleeping he woke up to get a glass of water but he found six cats in the kitchen and passed out, when he woke up he was in his bed so he thought it was a horible dream.

When Ben was wondering around the mansion he spotted a closet he didn’t remember so he snooped around and found a giant x ray dish labeled “blast-o-matic 3000” and then heard a voice saying “hello ben you’ve been on to me since the start and I’ve prepared that laser just for you if you don’t obey me!” And as he spun around he spotted a pale white cat.

Chapter Seven: It’s A Trap!

“Wwwwwhat abouttttttttttt Bobbbbbbb Mmmmmoose is hhhe a cccccccat?” Stuttered Ben “no, we kidnapped him from your universe to mess with you” replied the mysterious cat “at least you can have him to comfort you while you prepare the multiverse masher to combine all universes together!” Ben knew he had to stop him but he didn’t know how to.

After months that seemed like years of being a slave, the device was nearly built and after it is built it will only need to be charged and used but then Ben had an idea that wasn’t bad for once but he would have to hurry. In his free time Ben would sneak out and get the metal needed. Now all he had to do was find a computer and some wiring, luckily that was in the basement but that was the cat leader (who’s name was still unknown) base which was heavily guarded with traps and guards but there is one way to get in. At one o clock every day the cat leader goes to buy wool and fish but that day was the closing day for the pet shop so Ben this was Ben’s only chance.

As The cats stood on each other and put on the hologram and went to the shop Ben snuck in hoping not to be obliterated completely by the lasers staring him in the eye. As Ben snuck through the basement he spotted the computer and the wires he needed in a barrel he grabbed them and ran back up to his station. Now Ben was ready to destroy the cats once and for all.

Ben had created and programed a bigger and better bobby and now he just had to decide when to kill them. Bobby was hiding in the secret garage compartment where Ben would show them the machine so far and he was also hiding bob moose (who luckily had the teeth of a canine) in the garage and the cats were ready to die.

Chapter Eight: The Fight

“Hey mr cat man person, the machine is ready!” Shouted Ben through the halls and the cat and his army followed through after chanting and cheering. When they neared the garage they sensed something unusually but they stilled followed through to the garage.

“Aaaaaaaahhhh” screamed the cats. Bobby treaded through the angry cats scratching his metal feet kicking them about and onto the roof, then Ben realised they would just keep in the garage so they sprinted outside with the cats chasing behind so now they could kick them into the far horizon. “Bang! Smack! Pow!” The cats were flying every where but they were slowly getting through Bobby’s thick iron plated body but just at that moment Bob Moose awoke from his slumber in the garage and joining the fight shredding up the alien cats into pieces. Just as Ben had pulled out his bazooka he spotted a small fluffy adorable kitten in the middle of the cats, Ben hesitated but as a cat jumped near he pulled the trigger but it was too late, the cat had changed the direction of the bazooka aiming it at Bobby.

“Bang!” Bobby fell down onto the grass unable to get up. While distracted the cats took this opportunity to kill Ben so they jumped up on him and their leader prepared the blast-o-matic to destroy both Ben Bobby and Bob Moose “here Ben as your last meal have a pickle” moaned Bobby, but from those cats universe pickles are deadly.

“Screeeeeeaaach” screamed the cats as they fainted, “oh no, Bobby don’t worry I can fix this!” Worried Ben, Ben darted inside and grabbed the memory wiping device “nonono, you are not going to erase my memory with that thing” exclaimed Bobby “ it’s not for you, it’s for the cats,” replied Ben and wiped their memories.

After Ben had wiped the cats memories he recreated a smaller bobby but still took the giant bobby (just in case he needed it in the future) and they returned home (somehow with a giant robot) and gave away the cats to homeless people (including cat food) and kept Bob Moose and returned back to their normal life.

Epilogue

6 years later

Ben and Bobby returned to bounty hunting and Bob Moose joined in with them sometimes and they have recently invented a device to make Bob Moose have a longer life span and made their house into a mansion. Ben and Bobby and Bob Moose have tried something new, like occasionally having lasagna on the moon or giving away free pineapples to starving children on the desert planet arzomba. Ben and Bobby and Bob Moose (not that Bob Moose understands it) have a new motto “never kill children unless they are psychopaths” and now they a kind of better people.