Chapter 16 – Dave's Story

*NOTE- This chapter takes place from the perspective of the Mudokon that Al meets aboard Clakk's Oddball Wagon. THANK YOU!*

"I was born some years ago to the Mudokon queen Sam. It wasn't a peaceful birth, mind you. She was forced to lay eggs in captivity by the Glukkons. The Sligs that nursed her were untrained, and the ones that handled the eggs were trigger-happy. I was hatched a little before I was due, and it was instantly noticeable. The Sligs soon realised that I was… not the same as the other Mudokons. They named me Mudokon 276-442-B:Dave.

It was barely 5 months after I was born that I spoke my first words. The average Mudokon doesn't speak until the age of 10 months. I soon became much more distant to the other Mudokons. I was intelligent when it came to one thing, and completely dumbfounded when it came to the next. I could perform mathematical equations in a second, but couldn't scrub a wall to save my life. And scrubbin's all they want in a Mudokon. As time progressed, it became apparent that I just wasn't good enough. The Glukkons blamed it on some mental disability.

The years went by, and the Glukkons were more and more annoyed. I wouldn't do as I was told at school. I couldn't. We didn't learn Maths or English, just Machine Operation and Factorywork. I was a failure in their eyes. A few years later, on my 9th birthday, I was given a letter. I opened it to find that the Glukkons were prepared to resort to 'Special Measures'. They wanted me to pass the Machine Operation License Test before the year was out, or else… I'd be killed.

I wasted no time at all. I practiced and practiced for months on end, and soon I was a week away from the Operation License Test. But I'd still become no better than I had been before. I failed the exam.

It was only two days after that when I received yet another letter. The Glukkons weren't pleased to hear about me failing the test. But they weren't going to kill me. They were now going to leave me. Just take me out into the middle of the Mudos Desert and leave me there to die alone. My heart stopped when I read that letter.

The next morning, sure enough, an escort of two Sligs came to take me out to the desert. We traveled in a huge, camouflaged car that seemed to never stop. It took several hours before we reached our destination. They took me out, and we walked for a while until we reached a tall post, forced deep into the ground. They asked me to face the post, so I did. Then everything went black.

When I woke up, I was still by the post. I cried out for help, but there wasn't a chance that anyone else was within a hundred miles of me. I knew that I'd surely die out here. I felt so alone, so solitary. But I did manage to find salvation. After a little hard work, of course. So, I began to walk. I walked and walked for what seemed like years, starving and thirsty. It must've been two days at least by the time I reached a road. Well, more like a dirt track. I followed it for miles until a vehicle began to approach on the horizon. A car of some description. I stuck out my thumb to alert the driver. And believe it or not, he stopped.

It was a deep red hover car, with a velvet interior. Complete luxury. It almost felt too good to be true. The driver had not even spoken a word, just indicated with his hand that I should get in. The windows were tinted, so I couldn't quite make out his face. I couldn't even tell what he was. When I climbed in, I realised the vehicle was some kind of taxi. I couldn't see the driver for a solid black dividing wall between the front and back seats. The car didn't drive for long before it ground to a halt.

I was pulled out of the car by the vicious arms of a Slig. I was shocked to find that I'd been driven right into the heart of the largest city in Mudos, which is Mudos. It was only half the city it is today back then, though. The Slig who'd dragged me out began to pull me again, in the direction of a large, grim looking building in the distance. I can't quite remember which building it was exactly, but I remember that I didn't like it. I was taken to an office and told to wait in the waiting room until it was necessary.

I'd been in the waiting room for 2 hours when a Glukkon walked out of the office. He took one look at me and went straight back inside. I was only 9 at the time, but I knew who that Glukkon was. It was Mullock, the CEO of Rupture Farms.

A short while later two Sligs entered the waiting room. They ordered me to go with them. I co-operated, and I was soon boarded onto a train to Rupture Farms itself. It turned out that the taxi driver was a Slig, and he'd brought me here to earn himself a little extra cash. I'd been sold to Rupture Farms and was now going to work there as a Floor-Waxer. The Glukkons who'd originally sent me to the desert obviously never realised that I'd been brought straight back to them, and Mullock didn't really care how bad a Floor-Waxer I was. After all, if I wasn't any good, they could just shoot me, huh?

At first, I hated working at Rupture Farms. It was dark and cold, and we barely got fed. But I eventually got used to it. I even meant a couple of friends. By the age of 15, I began to think that it might not be too bad. But I was wrong.

Several more years passed with me working at Rupture Farms, until I was about 23. I'd heard rumours about the Glukkons losing profits because Paramites and Scrabs had become scarce. They'd recently announced that they'd be releasing something 'New 'n' Tasty' soon. Word was that this was Mullock's plan to get profits back on track. Nobody knew what the new product was gonna be, but people had began to formulate their own ideas.

The Glukkons held a board meeting the following week. It was held in complete secrecy, and not even the Sligs were told about it. They finally revealed that their latest product was gonna be 'Mudokon Pops', and now we were all doomed. But, escape had already been planned by one Mudokon known as Abe. Rumour said he'd been planning it for some time, but I don't know about that. All I knew was, there was hope.

I only ever met Abe once, and unfortunately he wasn't in the best of states. It happened one day when I was busy waxing the floor. He came running up to me and told me to follow him. I knew he was gonna help me escape, so I got up to follow him. As soon as he turned to run, there was a Slig right in front of us. He killed Abe in seconds.

I remember then that the Slig held the now dead Abe in his arms. He looked down at him as if he was in a daze. I saw this as my opportunity to run. I turned and fled, and sure enough, I soon found a bird portal. Never before did I feel so terrified.

The portal brought me out in the middle of a rather busy roundabout. Luckily, there were trees and bushes, so I managed to hide until night fell. When it did, I crossed the roundabout in safety and headed to the city limits. I'd walked for just 5 minutes when I heard hooves in the distance. A wagon was coming towards me. Stamped on it's side were the words 'Clakk's Oddworld Oddballs'. The Clakker at the reigns stopped and asked if I needed a ride. I explained to him that I was now homeless. He suggested I could work for him as a sort of intern. I agreed, having nowhere else to go.

For only a week after that, we traveled across the continent of Mudos, Clakk making money as he showed off his deformed creatures in towns and cities everywhere. Eventually, we crossed into Western Mudos, and not long after, we were attacked by bandits. Then, Clakk said he thought he'd seen a Slig down the road, and that's when you showed up.

I could never go back to that life now. I'm not too happy here, but Clakk feeds me, pays me, treats me like an equal. I'm sort of glad that everything happened how it did. Well, not everything. I'm still not too pleased about you being here. But still, it's better than being at Rupture Farms by a long shot. And I'll never forget Abe. 'Follow me' he said. And I did.