"So Lifelike!"

By GirlX2

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" 'Just take him' She says. 'It'll be fine' She says." Matt groaned and limped after the pirate. "Jack! Damnit…"

Jack was currently prying the grate off a ventilation duct. Once he got inside the pirate was delighted to discover he merely had to crouch to walk down the metallic corridor.

"Finally, being at less than optimal size is an advantage." Jack grinned. The box-like structure was dark, but seemed solid enough.

Unfortunately for the pint-sized pirate, he was dead wrong in that assumption. A moment later found him sliding down a steep steel shaft.

"AAAAAHHH!" His hands flailed for purchase on the smooth metal, but found none.

Matt could hear the scream from down the hallway. He hurriedly limped forward. The space before him seemed deserted.

'Nothing but the rug, a closed door, the grate-'

"Oh damn." He paled, realizing where the sound had come from. Dropping to his knees, he peered into the murky vent.

"Jack!"

The dying echo of the scream was all Matt could hear.

'Shit! Where does this thing come out anyway?'

The exact same thought was running through Jack's head as he continued his descent. The smooth metal had given way to the grittiness of old cobwebs and dead bugs. It at least cut back on his speed.

'I won't die when this thing finally stops.'

'I think.'

Jack was right. The vent slowly straightened out to a level plane once more. Woozily (more so than normal, even) Jack rose to his feet. He was in complete darkness.

"Jack!" The echoing shout finally reached him. "Are you alright?"

"Ah…all things considered?"

"Jack!"

"I'm in one piece if that's what you'd like to hear." Jack called helpfully. Getting on the Whelp's good side suddenly seemed vital to his survival.

Matt's sigh of relief rumbled down the vent. "Good. Can you get out of there?"

"I can't come back the way I came. S' too steep."

"What's in front of you?"

"A large amount of…" Jack hesitated, "Darkness."

"Hang on a sec…"

Jack could hear the loud thumps of Matt hurrying away. He gulped.

'What if he leaves me down here?'

'Well, he can't just leave me down here. Right?'

'No, of course not, Dana would never allow it.'

'Suppose 'e tells her something got me?'

Jack shivered in the dark. He was suddenly missing Dana quite badly. The approaching thumps jerked him out of his dejection.

"Jack? I'm sending down a…a torch of sorts. It's electric, so it can't burn you." Matt called. "And its small, so you should be able to hold it."

"Good." Jack said. A moment later a skittering noise began.

"Erm…You might want to lookout for it." Matt added.

" 'Ow am I supposed to-" Jack's eyes widened. A spot of light was bouncing wildly down the shaft. He threw himself against a wall.

Slowly, the bouncing spot slid to a stop in front of him. He cautiously approached what seemed to be a tube that threw out a bight light.

"You get it?"

"Yes." Jack picked the unwieldy light up. "Now what?"

"Well, is there a way out?"

"All I see is the continuation of this tunnel." Jack replied.

"Maybe you should, oh I don't know…WALK DOWN IT!" Matt's yell was amplified as it echoed, nearly causing the pirate to drop the flashlight.

"Alright! Bloody hell…" Jack started forward, ignoring the miscellaneous bits of rubbish that had gotten into the pipe.

"Can you see a way out?" Matt called again after a few moments. He was beginning to get anxious.

"Actually, yes." Jack stared out of the new opening. It opened to a dark gray room. "It appears to be a basement."

"Fine. Hang on a second, I'll come down and get you." Matt grumbled, making his way down the stairs.

Jack waited only a moment before running down the pipe-away from the opening. True, he couldn't get back up the way he'd come down, but he wasn't about to willingly fall into Matt's clutches.

'I may be less than sane, but I'm not crazy!' He thought, slowing to a jog. The pipe before him did indeed seem to be getting brighter. A cautious optimism rose in his chest.

'Maybe now I'm having a bit of good luck.' He approached another grate and quickly pried it off.

He stepped out of the pipe and into open air. The setting sun rendered him momentarily blind. Slowly, blinking to get his vision back, the outdoors confronted him.

Jack bit his lip in unease. Land wasn't exactly his forte, let alone giant futuristic land.

But compared to facing the Whelp…

The Pirate took off running.

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