Out Wit hthe Old

Out With the Old

The sound of their footsteps resonated about them as the three soldiers walked as quick as they could down the corridor. The colony was deserted and inspired feelings of loneliness, and one wondered if it was any better when people had lived there. Looking carefully into every dark spot and shadow, the soldiers on the left and right made safe their passage through the facility. George Shutz walked in the middle, gripping his gun tightly in one hand and carefully cradling a small brown egg in the other.

Each stretch of corridor was the same as the next and the men wondered how far away the exit was as they walked on. The walls were painted white though this was cracked through lack of maintenance, and the entire complex seemed to be a mass of metal; as though a giant had made the colony himself by sculpting a block of steel. On the left, Fuller seemed to snap out of a train of thought and facing George, said:

‘I’ve been thinking about what will happen when we get outside and you’re holding that egg. They reward people for this sort of thing, and I’m not sure you should walk out with all the glory,’ said Fuller, his thin bone structure twisting and his high cheek bones becoming prominent then hiding again at each new word.

‘How do you figure?’ George asked.

‘When a fireman saves a cat from a tree, no-ones looking at the one holding the ladder. When we get out of here, Night and I are holding the ladder,’

Night, the third soldier, had been silent throughout this exchange. The limited time George had spent with him revealed Night to be a serious character who never spoke unnecessarily and who merged with the background when things in the mess turned silly. Trying to work out how bent on having the egg Fuller was, George paused for a second at looked at him; taking in the arch of his brown caterpillar eyebrows and the steadiness of his green gaze, George gathered he was very serious.

‘The straws were your idea, holding this egg was not my choice,’ George said.

‘Granted, but neither was you joining our company,’

‘What do you know about that? ‘George asked, surprised and slightly annoyed. He felt this to be a low blow, and irrelevant to the situation.

Fuller let a brief look of smugness invade his face before saying ‘You were thrown out of Traxton 132s after a court martial; your father had to pull every string he had, down to his shoe laces, to keep you in the army,’

George, who had never lost his temper with his new colleagues, felt his features twist in irritation. Allowing his words to sink in, Fuller didn’t press the matter further, preferring to look around him carefully for potential threats. George caught him stealing glances at the egg every so often. With Night staring thoughtfully ahead, the three walked closer towards the exit of the colony.

As his mind turned over Fuller’s words, George’s irritation grew. His confidential personnel file must have been broken in to! Wrapped even more tightly around his rifle, his hand turned a shocked shade of white. All the while, Fuller tapped his gun to make a drum beat, a sound alien to the silence of the deserted labyrinth.

His curiosity got the better of him. 'Why did you look at my file?’ George asked looking at Fuller.

‘You were new, getting access is easy, had to see what kind of soldier the newbie was going to be,’

‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ said George. He was not one prone to angry outbursts, and tried his best to remain calm.

‘Put your regiment before the newbie. Remember that. And put yourself before the regiment. I’ve decided I’m carrying the egg,’ Fuller said, his eyes menacing.

‘The short straw was mine Fuller, back off!” George said in raised voice.

Fuller looked angry, and eyeing George he lunged for the egg. Too preoccupied in making sure it didn’t smash, George couldn’t repel him properly and panicked, pushing Fuller’s grasping hands away. Night quickly and powerfully shoved Fuller into the steel wall behind, knocking his breath out of him.

‘Remember where we are,’ Night said.

For a second, Fuller looked stunned. Then, in one swift motion, he sprang out of his slump and exploded Night’s nose with his fist, splattering George’s sleeve, his own hand and Night’s face with red mess. The two grappled furiously as George stared at them unsure of what to do. His eyes still stealing the egg, Fuller broke away from Night’s hold.

‘I’m having that egg!’ he shouted manically and with that drew his pistol which he trained on Night. ‘Now get out of my way, ape!’

Night made a desperate attempt to snatch the gun from Fuller, who swiftly kicked him back and cocked the weapon.

‘I had my suspicions you were stupid, some at the barracks take your silence for intelligence,’ laughed Fuller, and prepared to fire.

There was a muffled bang and the walls were reddened by Fuller’s slumped body. Staring down at his pistol, George was already living his future discharge from the army. Night looked cool, his relaxed expression a contrast to the bloody nose he sported. George was surprised however when Night looked at him and flashed a reassuring smile.

‘Don’t worry, you had to do it,’ he said.

George looked down at the oval source of all the trouble gripped in his palm and said ‘I should have just given him the egg,’

‘No, it would have been a mistake to trust him with it,’

‘Thought he was one of the good guys of the company,’ said George, more for his own benefit.


George and Night spent many subsequent hours in the mess talking about what had happened. Their court martial went smoothly after both shared the true events. Looked upon as the discoverer of the egg, potentially a new alien species, George was even commended. Three days later, the time came when the egg hatched, an event anticipated eagerly by everyone from the highest empire scientists to the most lowly street sweeper.

Not much attention was paid by George; he didn’t like to think of the egg. His interest perked up slightly when he saw the egg had hatched and was surprised to discover it had housed a long-forgotten species of bird called a “chicken”. After that though, he tried not to think about it again.