Chapter 5: Slow Mutants
The sun shone high over the hardpan as Roland, Miguel and Oy trekked across the desert. They had been traveling for days now, the ruins of Tull now far behind them. Before them now though was the looming presence of the mountains, no longer some vague shape on the horizon but an oncoming barrier in their path. As they walked, Miguel adjusted the grip of the holster on his hip in an effort to stop the heavy revolver he carried from banging against his leg.
Glancing up at the sky while chewing thoughtfully, Roland slowed to a stop, prompting Miguel and Oy to stop as well.
"Let's have some water, shall we?" Roland suggested as he spat out the leaf he had been chewing, before he pulled out his canteen and held it out to Miguel.
"How much water do we have left?" Miguel asked wearily as he took the canteen.
"Enough," Roland answered as Miguel took a sip from the canteen, before giving a sip to Oy as well, "We already know from your experience that there is water in the mountains, so it is not our most pressing concern."
Nodding in reply, Miguel handed the canteen back to Roland, who quickly took a sip of his own. As he lowered his head after taking the sip, something caught Roland's attention and he narrowed his eyes as he sealed the canteen.
"Miguel," Roland said, catching Miguel's attention as he pointed up at the mountains looming before them, "Observe."
Looking towards where Roland was pointing, Miguel at first did not see anything, but then he caught sight of something moving up the cliff faces that made up the side of the mountains. At this distance, it was hard for Miguel to make out any details, so all he could tell was that a black something was scrambling up the mountain with frightening ease, like a spider crawling up a wall.
"What is that?" Miguel asked, turning his attention towards Roland as Oy continued to stare up at the mountain, his head cocked to one side.
"Walter O'Dimm," Roland answered solemnly.
"That's him?" Miguel asked in surprise, glancing between the black dot and Roland, "How can you tell?"
"I'd recognize that man anywhere," Roland replied, his gaze still focused on the mountain.
"You can recognize him from here?" Miguel questioned, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Aye," Roland answered with a simple nod, before he lowered his gaze, took out another leaf and started chewing on it while he began walking again, prompting Miguel and Oy to follow him, "We are gaining ground on him."
With that, the trio began their diligent march towards the mountains. Soon enough, the flat hardpan they had been traveling across for days finally gave way to rocky ground that quickly began to rise up towards the mountains now towering above them. Eventually, the incline became so steep that none of them could continue without climbing up the rock walls before them.
"How are you with climbing, Miguel?" Roland questioned as he looked down at the boy.
"Alright, I suppose," Miguel answered with a shrug.
"It will have to be enough," Roland stated as he turned his attention back towards the looming mountain, "I need to catch Walter, and you need to get back home. Both quests lead upwards."
With that, Roland stepped forward and grasped a pair of handholds sticking out of the rock, grunting in discomfort as his injured hand made contact with the hard stone. Then, after a moment to collect himself, the gunslinger began to climb.
Miguel watched quietly for a moment before he looked down at Oy, the billybumbler staring back at him with his gold-rimmed eyes.
"What about you?" Miguel questioned, "Are you any good at climbing?"
"Oy!" the billybumbler replied before it leapt forward. Quickly digging his claws into the rock, Oy scrambled up the mountain face, outpacing Roland with startling ease. Reaching a ledge some twenty feet above, Oy stopped and looked down at Roland and Miguel, barking impatiently.
"Well, I suppose that figures," Miguel commented with a sigh before he began to climb as well.
The next part felt like a hellish eternity to Miguel, possibly even worse than traveling across the desert had been. The sun was beating down on them just as much as it had been before, but now the exertion of climbing the rocks was causing Miguel to sweat, making his hands slick against the stones.
Reaching up for another handhold, Miguel's sweaty hand slipped on the rocks, and the boy completely lost his grip, sending him falling into the open air with a cry of fear. Seeing this, Roland turned towards the boy and snapped his arm out with inhuman speed, snagging Miguel with his diminished hand before the boy fell out of reach.
"Are you alright, Miguel?" Roland questioned as he held the boy aloft, holding onto the mountainside with one hand.
"Yes, I think I'm-" Miguel began to say as he looked up at Roland.
The words died in Miguel's throat as his gaze met Rolands, and the boy saw orange specs in the gunslinger's blue shooter's eyes.
"Miguel?" Roland said as he looked at the boy in confusion.
"It's nothing," Miguel assured Roland as he looked away from the gunslinger's eyes, "Can you pull me up?"
Nodding in reply, Roland pulled Miguel up to him and set the boy back on the cliff, making sure he was steady before they began climbing up together.
What felt like hours later, Roland called for a stop as the pair reached a large ledge, prompting Miguel to roll onto his back and stare up at the bright blue sky while taking gulps of air while the gunslinger sat next to him, pulling out the bundle that had held the leaves he had been chewing before tossing it away when he found it empty. Miguel's arms felt like they would pop out of their sockets if he was forced to continue, and he dimly wondered how much further they had to go. As this thought came to him, Miguel looked up at the part of the mountain that still loomed above them, and in doing so, noticed something.
"Roland," Miguel said to get the gunslinger's attention, "Can you see Walter anywhere?"
At Miguel's question, Roland turned his gaze upwards as well. Scanning the mountain top, Roland narrowed his eyes as he rose to his feet.
"I do not," Roland confirmed as he lowered his head and began looking around, "I wonder where-"
"Oy!" Oy called from the other side of the relatively large ledge, which wound around a bend and out of sight, "Olan! Gel!"
Roland and Miguel shared an uncertain glance for a moment before the boy pulled himself back to his feet and they both walked over to see what Oy wanted to show them. Reaching the bend, Roland and Miguel looked around it, and, to their surprise, found the yawning mouth of a cave before them, the inside of which was shrouded in shadows cast by the noonday sun.
"Do you think he went in there?" Miguel asked as he looked up at Roland.
"I think it most likely," Roland confirmed with a nod as he swept the surrounding area with his gaze, "I see no other signs of him."
"Why would he go in there?" Miguel questioned, feeling a sense of foreboding come over him as he stared into the blackened depths of the cave.
"I suppose we must find out," Roland answered as he began walking towards the mouth of the cave.
As Roland walked into the cave, Miguel turned his gaze wearily towards Oy. Oy met Miguel's gaze with fear in his gold-rimmed eyes and whined.
"Yeah, me too buddy," Miguel sighed as he began reluctantly following Roland, "Me too."
Entering the cave, Miguel was quickly blinded by the complete darkness that existed just beyond the mouth of the cave. Stumbling around as his eyes adjusted, Miguel ended up wandering directly into Roland, bouncing off the gunslinger's back with a grunt.
"Steady yourself, Miguel," Roland growled as he reached out and steadied the boy, "We have a treacherous path before us."
"How are we supposed to follow Walter when we can't even see where we're going?" Miguel questioned.
"Gel!" Oy called out in the dark before Miguel felt the billy-bumbler's squiggly tail being purposefully rubbed against his hand, "Oy, gel!"
"What is it, Oy?" Miguel questioned in confusion, "Why are you rubbing your tail against my hand like that?"
"I believe he wants to lead us," Roland observed.
"What do you mean?" Miguel asked.
"Billy-bumblers are able to see quite well in the dark," Roland explained, "Here take my hand and grab Oy's tail."
Miguel did as he was told, and as soon as he grabbed Oy's tail, the billy-bumbled began walking forward, prompting Miguel to follow as he led Roland behind him. For a few minutes, Miguel and Roland blindly followed Oy through the dark cave, the only sound they made being those of their breaths and their footsteps.
After awhile, Oy came to a stop and began sniffing at the ground.
"What is it, Oy?" Miguel questioned in confusion.
"Oy!" the billy-bumbler barked in reply, "Oy!"
Shuffling forward, Roland felt around with his foot for a moment before he felt something solid that made a thunk noise as he kicked it.
"It's a rail," Roland observed as he continued feeling around, "A pair of them."
"Tracks?" Miguel asked, clearly baffled as he began feeling around as well, "What are tracks doing-"
Miguel cut himself off as his shin collided with something hard and solid, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Are you okay, Miguel?" Roland asked with concern as he laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I think so," Miguel hissed as he bent down and rubbed his shin, "I hit my leg against something though."
Feeling around, Roland discovered some kind of small vehicle was sitting on the tracks directly in front of them.
"It's a handcar," Roland reported as he finished feeling the vehicle's general shape, a metal square sitting on four wheel, with a seesaw-like pump at its center.
"What's a handcar doing here!?" Miguel asked as he stood up, sounding twice as incredulous as before.
"Clearly this cave was not as natural as it seems," Roland observed, "It must have been carved into the mountain, and this must have been used to transport those who wished to travel through the tunnel. It must have been abandoned after the fall of the Old Ones."
"The Old Ones?" Miguel questioned in confusion, "Who are they?"
"The stories go that long ago, before Arthur Eld had founded Gilead That Was, the Old Ones ruled Mid-World," Roland explained, his deep voice reverberating off the walls of the tunnel as he spoke, "It is said that the Old Ones built works of technology that surpassed the works of even the greatest wizard."
"What happened to them?" Miguel inquired.
"They destroyed themselves," Roland elaborated grimly, "Two factions of the Old Ones came into conflict, which escalated into a war that killed them all and devastated much of our world. Now all that's left of them are their machines and the creatures twisted by the plague they brought down upon us."
"What kind of….creatures?" Miguel questioned hesitantly, already dreading the answer.
"While their ancestors were once men, these creatures have been twisted both in mind and body that they only bare a passing resemblance to what they once were," Roland answered, "Some can be reasoned with, but others no better than rabid animals, and must be put down as such. They no doubt have been called different things by different peoples, but I always knew them as slow mutants."
"Do you….do you think we'll run into any of these slow mutants in our travels?" Miguel asked fearfully.
"I cannot say," Roland answered, "Though I hope we do not."
A silence fell between the two before Roland felt for the handcar again and stepped onto it.
"Come, we shouldn't linger in this place," Roland said as he urged Miguel onto the handcar as well, Oy hopping up next to the boy, "Do you know how to operate a handcar?"
"I've never had to," Miguel replied, "But I think I get the idea. We just have to push up and down on the lever right?"
"Aye," Roland confirmed, "Now, grab hold and get ready."
Grabbing hold of the lever, Roland pushed down on it with a grunt, the lever groaning almost painfully as the rust of untold ages flaked off the handcar.
"Good!" an encouraging, mechanical voice suddenly exclaimed from the handcar, causing both Roland and Miguel to start in surprise, "Push again!"
Roland immediately stopped pushing on the lever, the force he had put behind it causing the handcar to roll forward about a foot before coming to a stop again.
"W-What was that?" Miguel inquired frightfully.
"I believe the handcar spoke to us," Roland explained, his voice even as his spooked heart quickly returned to a regular rhythm, "The creations of the Old Ones can be queer like that. Come, let's start again."
Nodding in reply, Miguel pushed down on his side of the lever, causing the handcar to groan to life again.
"Good!" the mechanical voice said as the handcar began rolling forward once more, "Push again!"
In response, Roland pushed down on his end of the lever, causing the handcar to pick up speed. Soon enough, Roland and Miguel fell into a steady rhythm, their continual pumping of the lever sending the handcar speeding down the tracks to the machine's continual chants of "Good, push again! Good, push again! Good, push again!"
"Oy!" the billy-bumbler called from his spot next to Miguel, the speed-stirred air ruffling through his silky fur as he craned his neck over the front of the handcar, where a pair of lights suddenly sprung to life, illuminating the tunnel ahead of them as the handcar rolled down the tracks.
"Electric lights!" Miguel exclaimed excitedly.
"Good, now we can see what lays before us," Roland commented before a look of annoyance came over his features as he looked down at the still chattering handcar, "Now, if we could only find a way to silence this noisy contraption."
Turning his attention towards the handcar, Miguel looked the central arm over before finding a switch of some kind. Hopefull, Miguel flicked it into its other position.
"So long, pal!" the mechanical voice called before falling silent.
"Finally," Roland said with a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Miguel."
Miguel nodded in reply, and together, the two continued pumping the handcar deeper into the mountain.
Later,
Hours must have passed since the trio began their journey on the handcar, but even after all that time, the tracks showed no end in sight. After awhile, the handcar had built up enough momentum that only an occasional push from Roland was necessary to keep it moving. As such, Miguel now sat on his end of the handcar with Oy, watching as the tracks and tunnel sped through the small cone of illumination before them.
Suddenly, Miguel spotted something that caused his heart to seize for a moment in fear.
"Roland!" Miguel called out, "You have to stop the handcar!"
"I don't believe there is a way to stop it!" Roland replied as he let go of his end of the lever, "What's wrong!?"
"There-There's something on the tracks!" Miguel answered as he rose back to his feet, his eyes focused on the pile of rocks that was covering the rails ahead of them.
Luckily for them, the part of the tracks they were currently traveling on was on an uphill incline, leading to the handcar rolling to a stop just before the pile of rocks.
"Miguel, grab one of those rocks!" Roland ordered as he hopped off the handcar and held it place as the machine began rolling back down the tracks, "Quickly!"
Hopping off the front of the handcar, Miguel quickly grabbed one of the large, loose rocks off the pile, causing a few others to tumble to the ground. Hurrying over to Roland, Miguel quickly wedged the rock behind one the handcar's wheels, causing it to stay in place without the gunslinger needing to hold it.
"What do you think happened?" Miguel asked as he looked back at the pile of rocks, noticing that the light from the handcar was quickly dying, "A cave-in?"
"No," Roland replied grimly, his voice sounding almost like a growl.
Turning back towards Roland, Miguel was just able to catch sight of the gunslinger's blue shooter's looking back at him before the light from the handcar died completely, noting that more orange flecks had appeared in them.
"This is a trap," Roland said simply, his voice echoing through the pitch black cave.
Miguel was about to ask who could have set the trap when the sound of something moving in the darkness stilled his tongue. The noise had sounded nearby, though not close enough that he believed it could have been made by Roland or Oy. Looking in the direction the sound had come from, Miguel saw something that made his blood run cold.
Emerging from the darkness that otherwise consumed the tunnel, was a glowing figure. They were humanoid in shape, and glowed a soft, but sickly shade of green in the darkness. They looked like a mockery of a person, standing naked with a potbelly, short, bowed legs and a stooped posture that let their unusually long arms dangle near the ground, the claws on their large hands scraping against the stone. Their visage was even more horrible with a sloping, bald head, protruding ears, an upturned nose and a mouth so full of crooked, pointed teeth that their lips couldn't fully contain them, causing drool to dribble down their chin. Seeming to take notice of Miguel's stare, the creature turned is black, doll-like eyes towards the boy and let out a horrible, caterwauling scream that reverberated off the cave walls, sounding like an army of the monsters was coming for the trio.
And then, more of the creatures were charging out of the darkness towards them, and Miguel knew exactly what they were facing.
"Slow mutants," the boy whispered in horror.
"Get the tracks clear, Miguel," Roland growled as he drew his revolver.
"What?" Miguel questioned in shock as he managed to drag his gaze away from the slow mutants, looking at the dark shape of Roland that was barely illuminated by the glow of the charging monsters.
"Get the tracks clear!" Roland shouted angrily before he pointed his revolver at the oncoming horde and pulled the trigger, the deafening sound of gunfire accompanying one of the slow mutants jerking backwards, glow-in-the-dark blood spraying out of the new hole in its throat and splattering the cave wall surrounding it.
Shocked back to reality by Roland's heated words and the furious report of his gun, Miguel quickly turned away and stumbled through the dark towards the front of the handcar, Oy barking in agitation as he followed.
Undaunted by the death of one of their own, the slow mutants continued charging forward, allowing Roland to easily gun down two more of their number before they reached him. As one of the slow mutants lunged at him, Roland ducked under its attack, causing it to stumble past him. Straightening up, Roland shoved his revolver into the face of another slow mutant and blew its brains out, before spinning around and kicking the first mutant, sending it stumbling away.
Spinning back towards the rest of the slow mutants, Roland dodged out of the way as one of the creatures raked its claws at his face. Grabbing the slow mutant's head with his diminished hand, Roland slammed it against the head of the creature behind it. With both of them stunned, Roland put the barrel of his gun against the first mutant's forehead and pulled the trigger, the bullet shooting through the mutant's skull and striking the second in between the eyes, killing both with a single shot.
As the bodies of the two mutants crumbled to the ground, Roland spun towards the rest of the pack before shooting one of them in the knee. As the slow mutant fell onto its remaining knee, screaming in pain, Roland pointed his revolver at the creature's head and pulled the trigger, receiving only an empty click in return. Snarling in frustration, Roland smashed the butt of his revolver against the side of the slow mutant's head, quickly silencing the creature. Before it could fall to the ground, Roland reached down, grabbed the slow mutant's limp body and lifted it off the ground before hurling it at the rest of the pack, causing them to stumble back.
At that moment, the slow mutant that Roland had dodged around earlier charged at his back, wrapping his arms around the gunslinger and burying its teeth into his shoulder. Crying out in pain, Roland snapped his head back and smashed the back of his skull against the slow mutant's face. As the slow mutant reeled, glowing blood now pouring from its shattered nose, Roland forced himself out of the creature's grip and grabbed it before throwing the slow mutant against the tunnel wall. As the slow mutant slumped against the wall, Roland ran up and grabbed the creature by the throat with his diminished hand before using the other to beat the slow mutant's head in with butt of his revolver, the gunslinger screaming at the top of his lungs as glow-in-the-dark blood splattered his face.
Over by the handcar, Miguel was quickly moving the rocks off of the tracks, a panicked expression on his face. Suddenly, as he turned around with the last rock in his hands, Miguel found a slow mutant looming over him, it's black eyes focused on him. Snarling, the slow mutant lunged at Miguel, causing the boy to let out a cry of fear before he instinctively threw the rock into the monster's face, striking it between the eyes. As the slow mutant reeled in pain, Miguel scrambled away, forgetting everything except his desire to get away from the creature.
Recovering from the blow, the slow mutant began rushing after Miguel while roaring in rage. Before it could reach Miguel though, Oy came leaping in from the side, his claws and teeth barred as he flew at the slow mutant's face. As Oy slammed into the slow mutant's head, he dug his claws into the creature's cheeks while biting it hard on the brow, eliciting a scream of pain from the creature as it thrashed around.
As the slow mutant struggled with Oy, Miguel's hand went to the sandalwood grip of the revolver Roland had given him and drew it. Miguel looked at the big revolver wearily in the dim light for a moment before his attention was pulled away as he heard Oy let out a yelp of pain. Looking up, Miguel watched as the slow mutant tore Oy off of its face and tossed the billy-bumbler away before turning its now scratched and bleeding face towards Miguel. Scrambling to his feet, Miguel pointed his revolver at the slow mutant with shaking hands, prompting the creature to snarl in challenge and charge at the boy.
"I-I do not aim with my….my hand," Miguel mumbled, watching the slow mutant come with wide eyes, "He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye."
"I do….do not shoot with my hand," Miguel continued as his hands trembled terribly, "He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind."
"I-I-I do not shoot with my gun," Miguel went on as the slow mutant drew closer and closer, drool dripping out of its open mouth, "He who shoots with gun has forgotten the face of his father. I-I….I…."
As panic set in, Miguel pulled the trigger, but his badly shaking hands caused the shot to go wide, striking the slow mutant in the shoulder, while the revolver itself flew from the boy's grip and clattered to the ground nearby. The bullet dug into the slow mutant's flesh, sending glow-in-the-dark blood splattering against the wall behind it while its arm hung loosely at its side. Nevertheless, the slow mutant refused to go down and continued stumbling towards Miguel, it's good arm outstretched and its terrible maw open wide.
Letting out a scream of fear, Miguel covered his face with his arms in a vain attempt to fend off the oncoming monster. However, the creature never reached Miguel as another thunderous bang echoed through the tunnel and something wet splattered against the boy's arms. Slowly uncovering his face, Miguel saw the slow mutant laying face down on the ground a short distance away from the boy, a large hole in the back of its head. Raising his gaze, Miguel saw Roland standing further down the tunnel, his revolver pointed towards where the slow mutant had been a moment before.
"The handcar," Roland all but growled.
"W-What?" Miguel asked in confusion.
"Get on the handcar!" Roland snapped before he spun around and fired three more shots from his revolver back down the tunnel, striking down a trio of slow mutants while forcing the rest of the horde back, "Now!"
Shocked into action, Miguel grabbed his revolver off the ground before he scrambled up onto the handcar, finding Oy already waiting for him. Standing up and grabbing his end of the handcar's lever, Miguel watched as Roland hopped onto the other end of the handcar as a slow mutant scrambled forward and grabbed the end of the gunslinger's coat. Snarling in rage, Roland spun around and kicked the slow mutant away before executing it with two shots to the chest.
"Push!" Roland roared as he began working the lever of the handcar, prompting Miguel to as well. Slowly but surely the handcar once again began rumbling down the tracks, pulling away from the remaining horde of slow mutants who continued chasing after them. Soon enough, the slow mutants were lost from view, their glow fading away as the handcar's lights kicked back on.
"We did it!" Miguel exclaimed as he looked at Rolan, "We got-"
Miguel cut himself off as he looked at Roland, watching as the gunslinger aggressively pushed harder and harder on his end of the lever, apparently heedless to the fact that the danger had now passed.
"Roland?" Miguel asked, worry in his voice, "Roland, are you alright?"
Roland said nothing in reply, staring straight ahead as he continued pumping on the lever.
"Roland, you can slow down now," Miguel said, fear creeping into his features, "We got away. You don't have to-"
"Gel!" Oy called, interrupting Miguel, "Oy, Gel!"
Looking down at Oy, Miguel saw that the billy-bumbler's gaze was focused on something in front of them. Looking in the same direction, Miguel saw a light at the end of the tunnel that they were rapidly approaching.
"Warning!" the handcar's electronic voice suddenly declared, "Track ends in five hundred meters. Please reduce speed."
"Roland!" Miguel cried as he looked back at the gunslinger, who was still pumping the handcar's lever wildly, "Roland, you have to stop!"
Roland continued to pay Miguel no heed, staring straight ahead with a wild gleam in his eye.
"Warning!" the handcar cried, "Track ends in two hundred and fifty meters. Please reduce speed."
"Olan!" Oy shouted, "Olan! Gel! Gel!"
"Warning!" the handcar continued, "End of track imminent. Brace for impact."
"Roland!" Miguel cried as he moved to the gunslinger's side and began trying to wrench the man's arms from the lever, "We're going to-"
Roaring in fury, Roland let go of the lever and wrapped his hand around Miguel's throat, glaring down at the boy. The thing that shocked Miguel the most though was the fact that the gunslinger's blue shooter's eyes had completely turned an angry shade of orange.
Then, all of a sudden, there was a bright flash, a terrible crash and the world seemed to fall out from underneath Miguel. For a single, terrible moment, Miguel tumbled through the open air, his stomach doing backflips inside his guts. Then, Miguel slammed onto something solid and hard before he rolled to a stop on his stomach.
For a moment, Miguel did nothing but lay on the ground, barely holding onto consciousness. However, before the darkness could completely take him, Miguel sensed something small walk up next to him and begin nudging his head.
"Gel!" Oy called as he batted at Miguel's head with one of his paws, "Gel! Gel!"
"I'm okay, Oy," Miguel groaned as he brushed the billy-bumbler away, "I'm okay."
Groaning in pain, Miguel pushed himself onto his hands and knees and looked around. Miguel saw that he was in some kind of cavernous room with an arched roof and noticed that most of the room was constructed out of concrete and was dimly illuminated by strange glowing orbs built into the walls and ceiling. About a dozen train tracks were lined in orderly rows across the room, some of them with large trains the likes of which Miguel had never seen still sitting forgotten on the tracks. A few hallways seemed to lead out of the room, and here and there Miguel could see the crumbled form of what the boy assumed were long dead bodies.
Hearing a snarl from behind him, Miguel quickly spun around and saw Roland's crumbled form beginning to shift. As Miguel watched, his eyes wide with terror, Roland pushed himself up off the floor, but instead of rising to his feet, he remained on all fours, his back and legs cracking and bending unnaturally as he did. Growling and snarling, Roland shifted his weight experimentally before turning around to look at Miguel, and to his horror, the boy saw that the gunslinger's eyes had turned completely orange, and his mouth was frozen in a rictus grin that showed off all of his teeth.
Quickly scrambling back to his feet, Miguel began to slowly back away from Roland while Oy interposed himself between the two, growling and baring his teeth at the gunslinger.
"Roland, it's me, Miguel," the boy said as he held his hands up in front of him, "You know me, you don't want to-"
Roland interrupted Miguel by letting out a deep throated roar before leaping at the boy, hands outstretched and teeth bared.
A/N: So, this ended up being a really long chapter, but I had a lot of fun writing it and I'm happy with how it turned out. As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!
