Forbidden Tentacle
A Slig's Discovery
"Nathaniel".
The other Slig had a strange expression on his face. "Sorry, I know it's a long name... just call me Nath". The other Slig nodded, "Sure thing Nath, I'm Brak".
Nathaniel smiled, but the smile faded and he looked at the ground. Brak looked concerned, "You OK bud? I guess you're new here right?"
Nathaniel nodded. He took out his rifle and looked at it. "How can they expect us to carry these things? What exactly are we supposed to do with them?", Brak shook his head, "You really are a newbie aren't ya? Come on let's get some lunch and I'll fill yer in". Nathaniel sighed, "Alright then".
As Brak walked along the corridor, he looked at Nathaniel. His eyes darted across the different structures and corridors. Nathaniel looked at Brak, smiling. Brak blushed slightly, wondering "Is it normal for Sligs to look at each other this much?", then looking forward.
Brak opened the door, and guided Nathaniel into the lunch hall. There were a few other Sligs eating and talking to each other. Brak and Nathaniel went to get some food. They sat down a few minutes later, with some Scrab Cakes and a Meep Burger. Nathaniel ate slowly, brushing his face tentacles aside every so often, looking at the other Sligs nearby.
Brak looked at Nathaniel and wondered, just how could this newbie get forced into a place like this, he's not eating much either...
Nathaniel told Brak about how he was born under strange circumstances, along with how he was mistreated as a young Slig.
Brak sighed, "That explains your attitude and inexperience... come on, let's go". They took their trays back to the food area, and then headed out back to the Barracks.
Brak took Nathaniel into a side-room, closing the door behind him. "Listen, I'm not sure what you want to do next with yer life, but I'll help you get through whatever problems you're having right now". Nathaniel looked sad, but he was grateful to Brak. "Thanks". Nathaniel hung his head low, looking to his side.
Brak decided ask something. "What got you so riled up this morning?". Nathaniel looked at Brak with a stern gaze, "I saw someone beating up one of the Mudokon slaves, it hadn't even done anything wrong!". Nathaniel wiped the side of his mask, Brak put his hand on Nathaniel's shoulder. "I know how you feel, it IS awful the way they are treated. I'm sorry, there are a few bad opples in here that ruin a totally cushy job".
Nathaniel looked down, but Brak gripped his shoulder to make him focus. "Listen, beating up Mudokons without reason is worth a week in solitary confinement. We'll report it tomorrow morning alright? He won't try that again in a hurry".
Nathaniel smiled, "Thank you, Brak".
Nathaniel took his chance and tried something risky. He touched Brak's face tentacle with his outstretched hand. Brak didn't know what to do, should he recoil in fear or should he give in to curiosity and accept the Slig's kind gesture? The future was uncertain.
5 years ago.
Nathaniel was only 2 years old. He knew of basic Slig behavior, but had not studied any weaponry yet. He was walking down the corridor to this bunk bed. Suddenly a much older Slig appeared from the shadows. Nathaniel looked at the Slig's scars and muscles. He twitched nervously, not taking his eyes off him. He realised that the big Slig was covered in Mudokon's blood. He had obviously just beaten one to death. "Hey kid, watcha lookin at?", the big Slig approached him. "Um...", Nathaniel was visibly scared, backing away slowly. "Come on kid, you can watch me beat up somethin". I really wish I hadn't gone with him, but I was just so scared that I would have done anything to not get hurt. Unfortunately the person he decided to beat up, was me. I felt the thwack of his baton, once, twice, three times... over and over. My body was bruised, my mask was knocked off. My breathing was heavy, tears flowing down from my compound eyes. The big Slig just laughed, "Hahaha, come on kid, get back up so I can hit ya' again", the big Slig moved closer to me, but I stayed on the ground, "I don't want to get hit again". "Wrong answer, pal". I was once again beaten, to within an inch of my life. I felt my blood clotting, my nerves screaming in agony, he watched and enjoyed it like some sick fantasy.
It was at this point, that the big Slig was shot in the upper wrist. He writhed in pain on the ground. Behind where the big Slig was standing not a moment ago, I saw another Slig. This Slig had scars and was an older veteran Slig. "What the frak do you think you were doing there?", the big Slig couldn't talk, he just writhed in pain, sobbing. "Sick bastard, you've probably screwed up that kid fer life, yer getting reported for this". "Are you OK pal?", he asked me. I gulped, "Well, I'm alive if that counts". The older Slig smiled. "Good, I'm Sanrak, that scum over there is Toran.", he pointed to the big Slig on the ground, still holding his wrist in agony. "I'm gonna take him to see the boss, take care kid... get yourself some sleep".
1 year later.
Smoke. Fire. Screaming. Explosions...
I woke up to find the Slig Barracks in flames for the second time. This was much worse than the last time, I could see burned bodies everywhere, how could I have not woken up before, the alarm was blaring out so loud it hurt my ears. I ran out of the room, clutching my face and snout to make sure no smoke entered my mask.
I looked around for some of my friends, they must have escaped. I ran to the corridor as fast as I could, my metal pants clicking and clanging all the way. There were burnt Mudokon bodies, burnt Scrab carcasses... I kept running to the end of the corridor. As I turned, I saw the most horrible sight of my entire life.
There were about fifty bodies of Sligs, some still squirming in pain. None of them would surely have long of life left, most had limbs knocked off or critical injuries. I ran past them as fast as I could to the exit on the other side of the room. I see a big machine in the center of the big storage warehouse, on fire.
"Na... Nathaniel", suddenly I stopped. I felt a pain in my heart, knowing that the voice was familiar to me. Tears started falling out of my mask as I saw who it was. Sanrak, the Slig who saved me from death all that time ago. "No, you can't die", I sat down with him, touching his face with my hand. "You saved me, I can't believe this is happening". "Kid, yer need to learn one final lesson that none of the managers can teach you", I looked at him, my eyes wide. "Not everyone is a good person, but, if you find a good person, someone kind, someone that yer can trust, hang on to them...". He fainted. I looked at his injuries, scratch on the face, a wound on the lower half of his body, a left arm, bruised and bent. The most severe injury was his right side. His lower arm was completely gone. He still had his elbow, but nothing below that.
My sobs fell for a long time, I stood with him... I kept calling for medics. A few minutes later I collapsed. A few weeks later I awoke in a hospital bed. There were about ten of us in here, I never saw Sanrak again...
4 years later (present time)
I still wonder though, was Sanrak still alive? Brak reached out, and touched my hand. My hand was still on his face tentacle. "Sanrak might still be alive, don't give up on him pal", Nathaniel wiped the side of his face again, "Thank you". Brak gave Nathaniel a hug, this brotherly embrace was filled with emotion. Brak was showing to Nathaniel that he cared for him as a dear friend. Nathaniel smiled, he had found the person Sanrak was talking about... someone special to him.
The next day, Nathaniel was feeling better. He headed to the lunch hall with Brak. Nathaniel's stomach gave a loud growl. Brak laughed, "Wow, is that a Scrab howl I can hear?!". Nathaniel chuckled.
They enter the lunch hall. Brak sat down at a table with an older Slig. Nathaniel got his food and came over. Brak gestured to the other Slig, "This is Westy, he's a friend of mine". Westy shook Nathaniel's hand, "I'm Nath, nice to meet you". Westy chuckled, "It's alright kid. You been here long?", "No, I just got here a few days ago, I think i'll like it here", "That's the spirit kid!".
Brak raised his bottle of brew, "Hey Westy, can you teach Nath how to use weapons? He's still a bit of a rookie". Westy smiled, "Yeah sure, no problem". Brak then remembered, "Oh yeah Nath, you're on night shift tonight aren't you?". Nathaniel put his hand on his head, "Oh yeah, I totally forgot. Any tips for staying awake?". Westy put his hand on his chin, thinking, "Well you can take one of my Slogs, they are pretty active and keep you busy so you don't lose your concentration". Nathaniel shook Westy's hand, "Thanks".
Nathaniel looked at Westy for a moment, "Can you help me out with something? I need you to ask around and see if anyone knew a Slig called Sanrak?". Westy rubbed his chin, "I know that name, it was from a while back I think...". Brak put his glass down, "He was injured a few years ago in that big warehouse fire... you'll probably have heard about it". Westy gave a surprised look, "Yeah I did hear about that one... Let me ask around and get back to you". Nathaniel nodded and thanked him.
Nathaniel's night shift went really well. Westy gave him a Slog that really did keep his attention focused on the task at hand.
It was now morning, Nathaniel headed for the barracks. He slept for most of the day. In the evening Westy came to see him. "I asked around, seems like there were a lot of people given replacement limbs not long after that warehouse fire, you can try looking at the high-security guard post near Zulag 6". Nathaniel was surprised, "You mean, Sanrak... is alive?!".
Nathaniel ran down the corridors as fast as his metallic legs could take him. He ran past the lunch hall, the warehouses, the vykker labs...His eyes were darting down every corridor, looking around for something familiar.
He stopped at a nearby map station. He touches the map activator with his hand. A hologram appears showing his current location. He withdrew his hand and kept running.
He saw the sign for Zulag 6 on the wall, he ran faster... his heart pumping in his chest. He came to a Slig voice lock and stopped. He spoke the desired phrase, walking into the room.
The room was a kind of hub, in the middle of the room there was a computer-like database which showed all the Sligs on patrol. As the Sligs' names scrolled past, he spotted a familiar one. "Sanrak! So he is alive!", he then looked towards the computer. "Slig Sanrak Details". The computer responded and showed the patrol area where Sanrak was. Nathaniel jogged to where Sanrak was posted.
Sanrak was busy keeping a lookout. He was just checking his gun once more, when he spotted a figure on the horizon. He squinted and then jumped in surprise. "What the?", Nathaniel was running towards him now. Sanrak waved to him. Within a few seconds Nathaniel and Sanrak stood face to face. Nathaniel was panting. Sanrak smiled, "Good to know yer still alive kid". Nathaniel hung his head, "I thought you were dead for sure, I can't believe I never bothered to check up on you". Sanrak put his hand on Nathaniel's shoulder. "It's alright kid, most of us didn't make it through the operations", "Operations?".
Sanrak was telling Nathaniel about what happened next. "Well, I passed out. I then woke up in the Vykker's Labs. They asked me if I wanted to live, I said yes. They asked me if I wanted to try out a new type of replacement limb, I said yes. They told me... we had a 50% chance of survival. Still better then barely clinging to life without one limb, so I accepted the surgery".
Sanrak held out his right arm. From his shoulder to his elbow, it was natural Slig flesh. But below his elbow was one of the strangest things Nathaniel had ever seen. It was like a robotic arm, in a similar shape to a Slig arm. The arm was a transparent plastic substance, the metal could be seen on the inside, shaped in a similar way to Slig bones. There were wires on the inside, connecting all of the nerve endings and electrical power. The metal fingers looked particularly fortified. "It's pretty reliable, stronger than flesh, though I have to get it checked every few months or so, just to make sure it's alright".
Nathaniel was quite shocked by this whole conversation. "So it works just like a normal arm?", "Yeah, although the first month was a real pain in the arse. I'm telling you, that thing DID NOT want to move, no matter how hard I whacked it!". Nathaniel laughed. "Nice to see you're still around, you saved my life". Sanrak smiled, "You saved mine too pal, I would have given up if I hadn't seen your face. I was glad that you were able to escape and lead a normal life".
Sanrak and Nathaniel gave each other a smile, and shook hands. "I'll leave you to your post, I'll see you around maybe", Nathaniel turned around and started walking. "I'll come and check up on you sometime". Sanrak waved and turned back to his post.
Nathaniel was full of vitality and happiness. He let out one tear of joy.
He headed back to the barracks to tell Westy and Brak the good news.
"No way". Brak was speechless, Nathaniel nudged him, "He's alive, I've seen him myself! He's got a robotic arm to replace the old one!". "Blimey, bet that hurt a bit".
They talked for a while, Brak was getting more and more sleepy, but Nathaniel was restless.
Brak walked over to Nathaniel. "Hey, want something to help you get to sleep". Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, "You sure?". "Yeah, just puff on this for a bit". Brak held out a leafy green coloured cig. "Alright".
Nathaniel puffed on the cig, drawing a few breaths. In a few moments he was lying back on the bed, his eyes closing and his mind racing and pacing. Brak laughed and took the cig back, "Good times, nothing like a bit of Barkash for the soul eh?".
Nathaniel woke up the next morning. Brak was already eating some toast nearby. Nathaniel looked at him, "Thanks for the cig last night", "No probs mate... So, where are you stationed today?". Nathaniel looked at his rota, "Zulag 2, Well... I'd better get goin', see ya".
Brak smiled, he seems to be getting on pretty well now. Later that day, Nathaniel met Westy and told him the good news, "So yer found 'im eh? That's good to know... Glad I could help". Nathaniel nodded, "Thanks for helping me, and thanks for lending me the Slog too". "I think he likes yer, he's been pinning for other Sligs for quite a while... Maybe you can take him out next time you go on the night shift?", "Sure!". Nathaniel shook his hand and then left.
Nathaniel was happy with his life, he made friends and now he was sorted.