8 – Three's a Crowd
How's it going? Just so you know, tomorrow I'll be going on a school fieldtrip, and I won't be back until Friday night. Saturday, I'll probably be hung-over so maybe I'll update again on Sunday, unless, of course, I get the urge to write sooner.
And as you can see, I've changed the rating to M. Enjoy!
Skipper stopped in the new hallway he was in, the gravity of his actions caught up to him, ˝Did I just kill Joey?˝ he looked at the ground, his beak half open and an empty look in his eyes. He raised his flippers and stared at them. They were covered in blood.
˝What if… what if I start enjoying this?˝ he muttered under his breath. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, 'I want my team back… I want this nightmare to end'. He opened his eyelids and continued. ˝Hope Blowhole has a spare, since I left his tape-recorder on that scale,˝ he said as he approached another door.
But, unlike all the others, this one was locked, ˝What the deuce?˝ Skipper looked around, ˝Am I in the wrong place? There's nothing written on it, but, where else was I supposed to go?˝ He then spotted something on a wooden crate right next to him. The bird quickly recognized the item as some sort of earpiece, used for communication. He picked it up and brought it closer.
In the wood, there was an engraving, "EASIER TO CARRY AROUND,˝ he put it into his ear-slit and soon heard the voice again, ˝Hello Skipper. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your work in the previous room. Too bad you left my recorder there. It wasn't easy to modify it, you know?˝
˝Listen Blowhole, I only did that because I care for my team.˝
˝Sorry, but I'm not Blowhole and I didn't say that I'm going to do anything to your team.˝
˝Like I believe that. Now why is this door closed?˝
˝Don't worry about it. I'll open it soon enough, but first let me give you the instructions for the next room…˝
In a different part of the building an animal was waking up, ˝Hey, who turned off the lights?˝ and as if on cue, they turned on, revealing Archie the raccoon as the next victim. He was looking around the small room he was in, it was only about one square meter.
˝Man, that must've been some party last night?˝ he scratched himself behind the ear, but then spotted something in the corner and walked over to it. ˝A tape-recorder? Well at least I'll have some music to listen to. He pressed the play button and held the device to his ear.
˝*Static*… Hello Archibald. I want to play a game. You've lived a life of deceit and crime. Focused on increasing your own wealth you've lied to other animals and taken from them all their possessions. Avarice will be your downfall. Amongst all those creatures out there, only one has dubbed you his friend.˝
The raccoon's expression changed to that of confusion, ˝What the fuck's this supposed to be?˝
˝He is a fellow Central park inhabitant, somebody know him as the idiot squirrel, but you know him as Fred. And today, you will also know him as your savior. Inside of you is a highly potent venom that will slowly eat away your lungs, unless the antidote is taken in time.˝
˝Riiight, and when I get out I'll join the monks in Tibet and turn around my li-*cough*˝ he managed to put his paw in front of his mouth in time, but when he looked at it, he saw small drops of blood. His face went pale and an icy chill went up his spine.
˝I hope, that by now you have realized, that I am not joking. The antidote is located among the small intestine of your friend in the next room. Will you extract it in time, or will you be selfless enough to sacrifice yourself and let him live. Good luck!˝
The tape reached an end and he heard a click behind him. Archie turned around and saw the door, which was slowly creeping open. He left the room and entered a much bigger one. There were loads of metal barrels standing around the place.
The raccoon began walking, supporting himself with one arm against the wall. He coughed again and saw more blood. ˝Hello, is anybody there?˝ asked a voice from somewhere. Archie immediately recognized it, ˝Fred! Buddy, pal, where are you?˝
˝Archie, is that you?˝
˝Yeahyeahitsme, hey, where are you?˝
˝Right here.˝
˝Where here?˝
˝Where I'm sitting.˝
The raccoon slapped his forehead and let out a sigh, ˝Maybe I'll do the world a favor by killing him.˝ He searched around and finally found the rodent sitting in the middle of the room with his usual dull expression. Archie examined him with his eyes and quickly spotted what he was looking for, a small, stitched up, wound on his abdomen.
˝Oh hey Archie, when did you get here?˝
The raccoon gave his best to keep himself from keep his composure, ˝Say Fred, you wouldn't happen to know where we are?˝
˝Of course I do.˝
˝Really? Where?˝
˝In this room.˝
Archie began growling, but then coughed again, ˝Crap!˝ he muttered as he looked at the blood in his paw.
˝Is everything Ok?˝
'No it's not you stinkin' rat,' he thought. He needed that antidote. Archie scanned the room, there, next to a metal barrel, lying on the ground, was a machete. He casually walked in its direction, giving no hints on his intentions. He picked up the weapon and held it behind his back.
˝Why did you take that knife?˝ asked Fred, with the same tone as before.
˝Why Fred, don't you see it? It's not just a knife, it's a machete. The rapier would be more my style, but I couldn't leave such a beautiful blade on the cold hard floor.˝
The squirrel only blinked, ˝Huh?˝
The raccoon's eye began twitching, ˝Forget it.˝ How to distract a squirrel, was the million dollar question. But Fred was no genius, this wouldn't be hard. ˝Fred! Look behind you! It's that thing!˝ yelled Archie, pointing at the wall behind the rodent.
Fred turned around, ˝I don't see a thing… oh wait is that it? No that's not a thing… hmm…˝
Archie grabbed the handle of the machete with his other paw and slowly lifted the weapon above his head. 'I have to smash his skull. I can't risk damaging the antidote. It's going to be quick and painless,' he thought. The raccoon swallowed hard, drops of sweat were running down his temples due to the nervousness. 'I mean, this counts as self-defense… right? I'm only doing it to save myself', he tightened his grip on the handle.
˝Hey Archie, is that the thing I'm looking for?˝
˝Yes Fred… it's just what I needed,˝ he was just about to swing the blade, when something got him first. His lights went out immediately, he first fell to his knees, before collapsing on his side with a pickaxe through his skull (I was feeling "My Blood Valentine"). The handle was facing back, showing that his attacker struck from behind.
˝But that was just no-thing,˝ replied Fred and then turned around. He saw Archie bleeding on the ground and then looked up, ˝Oh hey Skipper, when did you get here?˝
So Skipper saved Fred… for now. Well this was made in Archie's POW, but I think I owe you Skipper's POW as well. Coming next. Review!