Chapter 3
The five remaining M'arrillians evaded any infected as they walked at the direction of the exit. Their morale was low with the loss of their companion Ihun'kalin. Another reason for their low morale was to leave their home behind with their tribe, infected by that unknown disease. They were also nervous. They were about to exit the Deep Mine and they knew the four other tribes were waiting for them. If they couldn't explain anything, they were dead and if they could, there was a high chance that no creatures believed them.
Milla'iin was the most nervous. He knew he was one of the most infamous M'arrillians with Phelphor during the invasion of Perim, Phelphor for his manipulation and himself for the destruction he caused at the Underworld.
"What are we going to do once we are outside the Underworld?" Aval'par asked at the others.
"I don't know," Vitar'zu replied. He sighted before saying: "I really don't know. We are gambling here."
"It's either that or the contamination. Personally, I don't want to turn like the others," Dror'niq replied.
"None of us want to become like them, but dying isn't a pleasant option," Milla'iin replied.
"We are close," Phelphor said.
The M'arrillians jumped on the roof of a house and watched the exit. They gasped furiously before whining.
The cavern leading outside of the Deep Mine was guard by infected, a thousands of infected blocked their way to escape. Not only that, but the cavern leading to safety collapsed and no one could pass through it. The only way to get out was for the Kha'ralls to take out the debris blocking the exit.
"Dammit, the only way we could escape is blocked," Phelphor grunted.
"We see it fluidmorper," Milla'iin replied.
"Ihun'kalin plan wasn't possible in the end," Dror'niq said before dropping his head. "Maybe it collapsed while we were hiding. We might miss out chance."
They grunted furiously at their situation before they started feeling some weight in their chest. They realized that their morale worsened and despair was born in their heart.
"Fighting them is pointless. Running away is also pointless. They will eventually get us," Dror'niq said looked at the infected.
Vitar'zu slapped his face with his pincer and looked right into his eyes: "Dror'niq. We will find a way to overcome this. We cannot give up just like that."
"You slap me with your pincer! Argh!" Dror'niq whined.
"We should find a place where they cannot access us no matter how much they try. We need someplace high enough to be perfectly safe," Milla'iin said without caring for Dror'niq pain.
"The problem is that we are marine creatures and not aerial creatures," Phelphor reminded them.
Aval'par glared at Phelphor, but said without being harsh: "We just have to get used to it. All the infected surely can swim and are more numerous on the ground than in the air. That's how we escape them in the first place."
"That's true, but there will be a lot of problem to face, hunger, thirst, losing our mind, etc. We will have to survive without ever having a time to really relax," Vitar'zu said. "Being in the air also means that you will have to lift me."
The three M'arrillians who could fly whined just thinking about it. Their arms and tentacles were on the ground.
"Sorry. It will be the last time," Vitar'zu said.
"We shouldn't stay near this many infected, we do we go now?" Aval'par asked.
"Silent Prison," Vitar'zu said.
The others looked at him. None of them really had the strength to argue against the location, but Milla'iin tried: "Are you out of your mind? This is where we put the Kha'ralls in prison because they cannot escape there without breaking their shell,"
"It's a dangerous and risky place, but at the same time, it's the safest one compared to the other location," Vitar'zu replied. "Remember that some of our worst prisoners died during the war and a few others released for their service during the war. The prison isn't as crowed as usual."
Milla'iin nodded. It was the locations were the risk of assault was at his lowest.
"I guess Silent Prison is our location," Dror'niq said.
"Milla'iin, are we free to move now?" Phelphor asked.
Milla'iin grunted, but checked it out. "The path is clear, except at the lost cavern."
"This is our chance to move," Vitar'zu said.
They jumped down and walked on the street except Milla'iin who watched around in case of a possible attack. It was an uneventful travel, but they were glad that nothing happened. The streets were empty and nothing could be heard. They reached something that could be compared to a park. It was a large place where half of it was submerge and the other half at the surface. On the ground, a few coral toys were left on the ground, where youngling M'arrillians used to play. No more children were laughing and playing together.
"I remembered once when the child grabbed my tentacles and made me spin around myself. It was dizzy, but hearing their laugh was enjoyable," Aval'par commented.
"Now, there's nothing," Vitar'zu sighted.
The five dropped their head and sighted. They silently cursed the disease causing all this before they continued walking at their destination. They reached it and they looked at the prison. It was a suspended prison with only a well-made elevator to reach it for the M'arrillians who couldn't fly. The prison was sculpted on the rock of the Deep Mine and was around five floors. The elevator was only twenty black chains hanging a blue stone platform.
"It is a strategic defense," Phelphor commented.
"Right. You never saw it when it was built 300 solans ago," Aval'par said.
"I was frozen in ice. I don't think I can know something happened if I don't ask. I knew of its existence, but not what it looked like," Phelphor grunted.
"That's not an excuse," Milla'iin replied.
"Okay. We should go now. If we lose time arguing, they might get us," Vitar'zu replied.
"Right," Dror'niq agreed. They looked at the elevator and then at each other's.
"We take the elevator," they all said except Vitar'zu.
"Why the elevator? That's stupid. They might ambush us," Vitar'zu grunted.
"We are not lifting you," the three who could fly told him.
Vitar'zu grunted and shook his head: "Are you getting lazy now?"
"Try lifting five Kha'ralls for five minutes and you'll know how we felt," they said.
Vitar'zu clearly imagined it and chuckled: "Fine. If we die because we picked the elevator, I'm going to say: You should have listened to me before we turn into infected."
"Better that than lifting you," Milla'iin replied.
They climbed on the elevator and Vitar'zu pulled a switch. The sound of the chains resonated as the elevator lifted the five at the upper floor. They said nothing as they reached the prison. They breathed nervously as they approached the prison. They ate some of the food they brought with them and prepared their battlegear in case they had to fight to escape the infected. They reached the lower floor of the prison and once they were inside. It was dark there with a few green stone light shining inside. They heard sound of the prisoners inside resonating in the prison.
"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea," Phelphor replied.
"I saw it in Chaotic players mind. It's about something called horror movies. It's one of the place and also the atmosphere for something coming out of the darkness to attack us. Fear is the source of power in this place," Dror'niq said.
"Anything else you know about those...movies?" Vitar'zu asked.
"The virgin die last or in our situation, gets infected last," Dror'niq commented.
The four looked at Phelphor. He grunted at them.
"I'm not a virgin," he said, forcing himself not to shout.
"Greeen," the heard the voice echoed in the prison.
"Are they close?" Dror'niq asked.
"I...I don't think so. I'm not sure at all. The echoes are messing up with us," Aval'par replied.
"Okay. I worked in this prison once long ago and I found out how it works. The lower floor is the lowest criminal. It is dangerous here and from the sound, there might be a few of them," Vitar'zu said.
"Why isn't this place for the guards to assemble?" Phelphor asked.
"Because there's usually strong surveillance at the floor and also in the air with the Fluidmorphers who could fly. The problem is that's not the case," Vitar'zu replied. "The floor two to four increased at the rank of the criminals. Traitors are at the fourth floor with the execution machine. One example is the boiler for the Kha'ralls...It's...like when Chaotic player eat crabs," Vitar'zu sighted.
"Urgh! Sick!" they replied.
"Okay. Where are we going now?" Milla'iin asked.
"We are going to the final floor. It's the most secure one for the guards. It's well protected and nothing could enter there when sealed. There's a few windows for the flying M'arrillians to get out. We could stay there and you three could obtain the foods and water supplies we need. It will be long and it will suck to be there, but it's the only thing we could do," Vitar'zu replied.
"We are going to indoor ourselves for the rest of our life?" Dror'niq asked unsure about it.
"I was trap in ice for...I don't know how long and now I'm going to end up trapped in the guard's room," Phelphor grunted before looking down. "We have no choice sadly."
"This is how our tribe is going to end," Milla'iin sighted.
"We should go before they come here. We cannot mourn now," Vitar'zu said.
They all heard his voice cracking for a second. They knew it was hard for him too. They all nodded and walked at the direction of the fifth floor. Their footstep resonated on the ground as they silently advanced. They heard the voice of the infected saying green a few times. The infected voices were echoing loudly. The fives M'arrillians shivered as they heard the infected coming closer to them.
"It's scary," Phelphor said.
The others nodded quietly as they felt the same way. They walked at the second floor and saw nothing else.
"Just this floor and two mores and we'll be safe. We will finally be safe from them," Vitar'zu said.
"Yeah. We will live in quarantine for the rest of our life...Not something I'll enjoy," Milla'iin said.
"None of us will, but...Yeah. No female's with us," Dror'niq said.
They looked at each other's and an awkward silence dominated the floor, except from the infected saying green repeatedly and moving at their direction.
"Who's going to play the female?" Aval'par asked.
The four others glared at him with their mouth falling on the ground, for those who had a visible mouth.
"What? We will reach a point where the thing we do with ourselves will not be enough, we have to find someone to play the female. Not Phelphor, sorry, but you're too ugly for that," Aval'par commented.
"I want to destroy you right now, but it's going to infect all of us if I do as I please. You're also ugly by the way," Phelphor replied with a grin.
The M'arrillian glared back at Phelphor, before he could reply, Vitar'zu pinched the two culprits.
"Enough with that. No one is going to play a female. We should keep moving. We are reaching the third floor and let's hope our luck remained intact," Vitar'zu grunted at both of them.
"Yeah. We are adult here," Milla'iin replied.
They said nothing else and reached the third floor, everything was fine and uneventful. Luck was on their side, until they reached the fourth floor.
At the fourth floor, they heard the infected saying their only line, but the word was said behind them. They turned around and saw around twenty walking at their direction.
"This way!" Vitar'zu shouted.
Vitar'zu dashed forward and the others followed him. They looked behind them and the infected walked after them.
"They are only walking," Dror'niq commented.
"Good. We can slow down and- Nope! They are blocking our only way forward!" Vitar'zu shouted.
They stopped and looked around. The three who could fly looked in the air and grunted.
"We are surrounded," Vitar'zu said.
"And the ceiling is too low for us to pass over them," Milla'iin grunted.
"I guess we have to create a way through," Vitar'zu concluded.
"If we attack, they will run after us and we won't have any seconds to escape them," Aval'par warned.
"We have battlegears for that. We just need to create an opening and be sure they won't block us. As you can see, the line forward isn't too deep. We have enough to get most of them out and safely pass through them," Vitar'zu replied.
"No time to complain since they are getting closer, but let's hope they won't charge at us once we start to attack them," Milla'iin said.
"Me too," Vitar'zu said grabbing his battlegear. He raised it and waited for the others to be ready. "Let's do this together," they activated their battlegear. "Go!" they threw the long seaweed attached with two coral pieces at the infected and they felt on the ground once their legs were restrained.
They repeated the same things another time and the rest were on the ground. The five looked behind them and the infected didn't start running.
"They aren't running after us," Aval'par said.
"Then let's put the others down and keep moving," Dror'niq said.
After they put the others down they ran away from those behind them. They were almost caught in their pincer, but none of them were pinched to their joy. After a while, they saw the stairs at the end of the corridor, they were almost save.
"There!" Vitar'zu shouted.
Everyone accelerated, hopping that nothing would be in their way, sadly, it wasn't the case.
A few infected appeared in their way and they gasped when they saw one of them.
"Ihun'kalin!" they shouted surprised.
Ihun'kalin was once again green, but that was a bad sign when he said: "Greeen!"
"He's infected!" Vitar'zu shouted.
"Let's restrain him and the others," Phelphor shouted.
They tried picking their battlegear, but noticed that they didn't have anymore.
"We use all of the others against those in our way, what now?" Milla'iin asked.
"We are so close now. There must be something," Dror'niq said.
Phelphor looked behind him and saw the others coming closer: "We should rush at them. There's no other way."
The others nodded and prepared themselves.
"I'll take the lead and tackled those in my way; I'm the hardest one so it should be safer that way. I have one last order. No one left behind," Vitar'zu ordered.
The others nodded. Vitar'zu charged like a bull at the infected and crushed them out of his way.
"GREEEN!" the others infected screamed.
They five M'arrillians passed the infected and started climbing the stairs when Phelphor arm was caught by Ihun'kalin with his tentacles.
"Greeen!" he shouted.
"Help!" Phelphor shouted. He was dragged down the stairs. He was about to get caught when Aval'par caught his feet.
"No you won't!" Aval'par shouted.
Phelphor tried to free himself when one Kha'rall pinched the palm of his right hand. Dror'niq arrived and attacked right in the eye of Ihun'kalin and the infected let Phelphor go. Aval'par transported Phelphor and Dror'niq was by his side. They saw Vitar'zu giving them a sigh to join them in the room behind them.
The three saw it was a heavily reinforced door made to resist anything that could attack this purple coral door. They joined them and once everyone was inside, Milla'iin started pushing the door and Vitar'zu helped him. The door closed a little too slowly for everyone liking and at the last second, just before the infected reached the door, it was closed. Vitar'zu sealed the door and they could hear the infected screaming green while hitting the door.
Everyone sat on the floor exhausted and giggled nervously.
"We did it," Dror'niq said. "We survived them and none of us is-"
Plic.
A sound of a liquid hitting the floor resonated in the room while the infected tried to force the door. They all looked at the source of the sound and saw Phelphor palm covered with his blood.
"I'm...I'm infected!" Phelphor shouted.
"No!" Vitar'zu shouted.
"It's all over for me! I'm infected and-"
"Maybe the contamination is still only in your hand. We are not sure how long it takes to spread. Maybe we can still save you," Aval'par cut Phelphor.
"How?" Milla'iin asked.
Aval'par looked around in their room. It was a dining room with big table sculpted on the rock. Aval'par saw a saw on the next room. Aval'par ran there and brought a saw: "Maybe with this, we can stop the infection from spreading."
Phelphor eyes were wide open when he understood his plan.
"Are you mad?!" Phelphor shouted.
"No! Vitar'zu said that we leave no one behind Phelphor. You're choice. We either cut your arm or prevented the infection from spreading or we let you becoming one of them. It's only a matter of time," Aval'par replied.
The others looked at Aval'par and they weren't sure if they liked it. Only Milla'iin wasn't really reluctant of doing it.
Phelphor didn't take long to make up his mind. Between losing his arm or being infected, his voice was clear.
"Fine," Phelphor replied. He showed his arm and said: "Do it."
"Let's put you on a table Phelphor," Vitar'zu said.
When it was done, Phelphor was lying on a table and closed his eyes: "Please do it fast." His body was shaking in fear just by imagining the pain. Dror'niq, Vitar'zu and Milla'iin maintained him on the table. Vitar'zu was making sure the infected arm couldn't move before saying: "Ready Aval'par."
Aval'par raised the saw made of red coral and moved it closer to the arm. He hesitated for a few seconds before he moved it on the arm of Phelphor.
"Hang in there," Aval'par encouraged him.
He was about to start when everyone heard something in their mind:
{Everyone stop!} The five M'arrillians didn't recognize the voice and wondered who it was. {I am a Kha'rall. Not going to specify who, I'm here to say this message: You're been caught in an elaborated prank for Saint-Patrick! None of this was real! No one was infected by a mysterious virus!}
Aval'par let the saw felt on the ground while the four others opened their mouth to their limits. They said nothing for a while. They stood up and heard the door knocking with the infected behind whom said: "The prank is over, you can come out now."
It was Ihun'kalin who told them it was over. The five realized that they panicked over a prank made by the Kha'ralls and Ihun'kalin was one of the pranksters. They could only say this:
"BY THE COTHICA! WHAT THE F***!" They screamed.
Few minutes before the prank end
The chaotic player enjoyed watching the five panicking and also what they said. The only thing they didn't want to hear was about the female part. That was just wrong for any of them.
Eel'Soprano watched with a smile how it was evolving.
"It's hilarious to see how everything is going on," Serena said watching the five panicking. It was watching a horror movie, except everything was just a prank.
"What are they doing now?" Tom asked.
They watched the M'arrillians putting Phelphor on a table.
{This is Eel'Soprano. What happened?}
{We pinched Phelphor to blood, but he was saved instead of dragged away. Why?} an "infected" replied.
{They are about to cut Phelphor arm with a saw!} Eel'Soprano warned the others.
{We have to end this now! This prank wasn't for that!} the other shouted.
"I'll end this now," Eel'Soprano said to both the players and the M'arrillians with his mind.
{Everyone stop!} Eel'Soprano shouted in the mind of every M'arrillian. Eel'Soprano thought for a few seconds what to say and decided to remain a unspecific. {I am a Kha'rall. Not going to specify who, I'm here to say this message: You're been caught in an elaborated prank for Saint-Patrick! None of this was real! No one was infected by a mysterious virus!}
They saw in the image the fives M'arrillians mind blowing up on their face. It was clear they were infuriated by the prank.
"BY THE COTHICA! WHAT THE F***!" The five screamed in the image.
"Okay! The prank is over. Sorry player if it was aborted, but this wasn't something anyone wants this prank end that way," Eel'Soprano said to the players. "You should get out of here before they tried to find out who's the guilty one."
"-Dammit! We were so stupid!-" Aval'par shouted punching the ground in the crystal.
"Maybe after this," Eel'Soprano added.
"-Why were you a part of that prank Ihun'kalin!-" Milla'iin shouted furiously. He pointed one tendril at him.
Ihun'kalin was looking down: "It was either that or caged with the M'arrillian we shouldn't smell."
The others were sick when they heard it. Phelphor and Dror'niq stuck their tongue out.
"I guess that M'arrillian smell that bad," Peyton concluded.
"You have no idea," Eel'Soprano replied.
"-Who's idea was it?!-" Vitar'zu shouted.
Ihun'kalin sighted and looked at the other pranksters: "-No one is sure; it's a little confusing for everyone. I just know that they painted some of us so we won't be green anymore.-"
"That's good for me," Eel'Soprano said. He looked at the others. "You really need to go now. It's going to turn up as the blame game now."
"Yes," the Chaotic player said before porting away.
Eel'Soprano was alone and sighted: "Serena, you could have wait a little longer. Anyway, so many chocolates for me and no bad consequence for me! Yeah me!"
Not long after this, the pranksters explained to the victims everything about their prank. It was evident that none of them victims liked it as they reward the pranksters with killer glare. The pranksters explained everything and why they blocked the exit. They didn't want any M'arrillian to escape the Deep Mine and die by the other tribes. They then explained the concept of pinching and thought it was fun.
The biggest mystery was also solved. Why was Bahrakatan, the Coralsmith; the most serious Kha'ralls and always focused on his duty, suddenly was a part of the prank. He wanted to scare some Chieftain and he got it. He made one chieftain pissed himself, but didn't specify who.
None of the victims could obtain revenge, the pranksters were too numerous.
Epilogue
A few days later, Eel'Soprano was guarding the entrance of the Deep Mine and chuckled when he thought back about the prank. He saw a piece of paper between two rocks and picked it.
"Let's see...Hum..." Eel'Soprano read the short message.
Dear Santa Claus,
I hope you witness the event caused by the Kha'ralls today. If you truly punish the bad one, I think they deserved Coal. We almost cut the arm of Phelphor.
Signed: Milla'iin, Dror'niq, Vitar'zu, Aval'par and Phelphor.
Eel'Soprano smirked before laughing loudly: "Oh! Serena's going to looooove this."
The end
AC: This is the end of Walking Green. I hope you like it.
Also: I hope you have a good Saint-Patrick day. Remember to have some green or the green Infected will be after you.