(This is where things start to get interesting, *rubs hands together excitedly* you'll see what I mean as you read on...)
Chapter four: Strange events...
(Another seven years had passed and our humble hero Abe just recently got "Employee of the year" award not too long ago after fifteen long years of floor-waxing, (sigh, sounds boring...)
Looking up at the digital clock above his head read eight pm, Abe smiled happily to himself, "Quitin' time..." He mused happily, leaving the floor-waxer where it was and he ran down the hallway to go find his friends.
Abe's run soon slowed to a strut as he continued to search down the hallways with no luck so far, ducking out of the way as two modokons carrying a heavy paramite carcass crossed his path, nearly hitting Abe in the head.
"Watch it stitch lips!" One of them remarked grunting as he carried half of the heavy load on his shoulders, Abe shrugged the mild insult off, modokons who worked the night shifts were usually pretty grumpy and besides he'd been called worse names before.
He continued to walk onwards until he saw a familiar face, although he wished he hadn't found this particular modokon. "Hey, its the blue wonder!" Imp remarked smirking and looking up from scrubbing the floor, Abe sighed in annoyance, "Hey Imp, how many times have you been beaten up today?" He teased and the younger shot him a look of distaste, Imp was about three years younger than him and still as childish as ever, getting himself in trouble with the guards on multiple occasions.
Abe took a moment to remember exactly how Imp had earned his name, it was about a week after Sid had taken him in, the young idiot had wandered off when Sid wasn't looking and had somehow learned to mimic slig curse words, anyway long story short Imp had earned a fitting name and stitched lips to match his rebellious attitude on that eventful day.
"Oh shut up, what do you want Abe?" He remarked looking back to his task, Abe was about to open his mouth when Imp raised a paw to stop him, "Don't tell me, you're looking for Luna aren't you?" Imp said casually resuming scrubbing the floor with the wet cloth, Abe blinked, "How'd you...?" He was cut off as Imp interrupted, "Because that's who you always look for after you finish your shift." Abe sighed with an eye roll, he felt like he was becoming far too predictable lately.
Taking another quick glance around Abe turned away, "Fine, I'll go ask Sid..." He muttered knowing the middle aged modokon would be as grumpy as he always was. As he walked back down the hallway, Abe thought about his memories with Sid, the cunning old mud was fast approaching his thirtieth year, living longer than most slaves do.
Abe pressed the button on the panel and the elevator platform went to the floor bellow him, he tapped his foot with slight impatience as he waited for the machine to stop and Abe stepped onto the platform.
It didn't take long to find Sid, he was scrubbing graffiti off a nearby advertising sign for "Chill pills" near the elevator, Abe shrugged with a smile the sign said "Glukkon's are lazy, moolah addicts!" While it was a true statement, he was pretty sure the modokon responsible would've been shot for such an act of rebellion.
"You never me visit stitch-lips, must be something important." Sid mumbled casually not taking his eyes of his work as there were some snoozing slig guards not too far from where he was standing.
Abe sighed, "Don't be like that Sid, I'm just looking for Luna." He glanced at the floor kicking his feet as he spoke, Sid didn't seem to answer at first, after a few moments he finally said, "I thought you knew, Luna had to cover Ivan's shift after the accident at the slog huts..." He turned to Abe as the modokon just stood there wide-eyed for a moment, "But didn't Ivan end up being sloggie food?!" Abe choked out remembering the rumour of the unfortunate modokon slipping and falling into a pen of vicious angry slogs, Sid merely nodded and put a paw on his shoulder.
"But that place is a death trap, I better go help Luna!" Abe choked out turning around and making a mad dash for the elevator, Sid rolled his eyes "Rupture Farms is a death trap, doesn't matter what floor you're on!" He called after Abe as he punched the buttons on the panel and travelled further downwards.
"Get back to work slacker!" The slig had woken up and was poking Sid's side with his gun startling him slightly, Sid sighed taking the sponge and getting back to scrubbing the walls.
-Luna's POV
She sighed wiping her brow, Luna had finally finished cleaning the slog pens and she was exhausted after working a double shift.
The pens had low chain link fences, the floors mostly covered with hay and what she hoped was mud and a small metal hut towards the back, behind her she could hear slig guards snickering, Luna compensated on whether it would be wise to throw the bucket full of filth at them, but decided better against it.
She took a moment to stare down at the bad tempered slogs in the pen beside her, they were red mostly with two stumpy legs and a big gaping jaw, they were eyeless with a thick thrill around their necks. She knew they couldn't see her, but they could definitely smell and hear well, making slogs ideal for working in the dark corridors of Rupture Farms, and patrolling the stock yards at night.
After hearing a few growls from the creatures, she scoffed turned her back to them. Luna watched as a modokon came pushing a kart of meat cuts towards the pens, she didn't envy the poor mud assigned with the task of feeding the slogs, it was too easy to loose a finger.
But oddly today she noticed something different, there where squeaking noises coming from the kart as well, on the bottom shelf of the kart, it was covered by a white cloth. The slogs were immediately growling with impatience as the modokon neared the pens, their gaping jaws drooling with anticipation.
Luna watched with interest as the guards approached, "I love tuesday, live bait!" One of the sligs said nodding at the other, the older guard laughed, sligs really did have a strange laugh, it sounded something like a cackle from a deranged cricket.
The mud grimaced and stepped aside timidly, as the pair of sligs enthusiastically pulled the white cloth off, revealing several small round cages with brown squeaking balls of fluff inside each cage.
"Fuzzles?" She thought to herself, admittedly Luna had always thought they were cute little buggers with a mean bite, but these fuzzles looked terrified and honestly who could blame them. Sid once told her that the glukkons often used fuzzles as stress balls and even sometimes ate them.
Luna frowned as she watched the younger slig, a freshie by the looks of it, enthusiastically grab the nearest cage, pulling out a young terrified fuzzle in his tiny hands. "I want to go first!" He said excitedly holding the fuzzle above the snarling slogs in the pen as they jumped a little, the little fuzzle let out a few terrified squeaks in his grasp.
The older guard stood next to him, "Careful freshie, those fuzz balls can..." He was cut off by his partners scream of pain, and Luna had to cuff her paws over her mouth to stop herself from bursting out laughing.
The slig stood there holding his bleeding hand and wined in pain, the other guard caught her staring, "Go and get that thing back!" He ordered, Luna rolled her eyes but complied reluctantly.
She strutted off to where the fuzzle had hopped away, hearing some little squeaks from behind a few trash cans, Luna smiled and took a peek behind them.
There it was, a tiny little fuzzle staring at her and trembling, she moved her paw to touch it. But the little fuzzle let out a defiant growl and took a little hop back, "Relax you little fur-ball, I'm not gonna hurt you..." She reached out and grabbed the creature as it tried to run away, "There, that wasn't so bad now was it?" Luna said to the little fuzzle she cupped in her hands, she ignored the small bites as it tried to escape her paws.
It finally relaxed in her grasp and Luna opened her paws to look at it, "You're so cute!" She mused looking at the tiny ball of fluff that looked about half the size of an adult fuzzle, it looked young maybe a few weeks old, it let out a quick curious squeak, "I'll take care of you, and I won't let those sligs find you either..." She mused again as it started to purr, Luna flinched back in surprise as the fuzzle smiled, showing its sharp teeth.
Tucking the fuzzle into the pouch at the back of her loin cloth Luna smiled to herself, ignoring the squeaks of protest knowing she'd at least saved one of them, and for the time being the fuzzle was small enough to fit in there anyway.
Just in the knick of time too, as the sligs were marching past her towards the office where they kept the first aid kits, "Quit your wining!" The older slig shoved the freshie forward as he whimpered holding his injured hand.
He turned to Luna and glared at her with distaste, "Did you catch the little bastard?" He asked still eyeing her, Luna shrugged, "It uh, got away..." She said hoping to Odd it didn't decide to squeak in her back pouch again. The slig just grumbled as he turned away muttering something indistinctly.
-Nobodies POV
Sighing with relief Luna watched as the worn out Abe rushed towards her from down one of the corridors, "Luna I'm here, are you alright?!" He gasped through his panted breaths, she raised a brow, "Sure, why wouldn't I be okay?" She watched as Abe shot her a look and righted himself, brushing the dust of his arms and legs.
He frowned about to answer when he heard strange voices, "Frank I told you to go before we left, where's the bathroom in this dump?!" The voice was really high pitched, Abe gasped and pulled Luna into the shadows holding his paw over her mouth to keep her quiet.
Luna muffled protests where soon halted as they watched a pair of vykkers walk past them, one was wearing an apron and the other was wearing glasses, "I can't believe its been fifteen years, and that idiot Molluck still hasn't found that female modokon...Hahaha!" He watched as they laughed and walked past into another room.
Luna finally lost her patience and pushed Abe off her, stepping out into the clearing to watch the vykkers leave. She then noticed something on the floor, Abe stepped out and looked at the square object, "What's that?" He said pointing at it, Luna ignored him and picked it up, "The vykkers dropped it, I think its a book." She said examining it in her paws.
They only ever heard of books, modokon slaves didn't really have the luxury to read often, Luna could read a little better than Abe as she practiced a lot on the signs around the factory. "The pocket guide to the creatures of Mudos." She read the cover out loud, Luna then opened the book and started flicking the pages, Abe started stuttering, "I...if the the guards catch you with that..." He tried to protest, she smirked "They won't..." She started, "Why?" Abe said with a confused look on his face, "Because your carrying it..." She tossed the book to him and Abe stumbled to catch the thing, nearly dropping the book in the process.
"Wh...why me?" He stuttered again holding the book in his paws, and Luna sighed "Because I've got no more room in my pouch, unless you'd rather carry..." She took the fuzzle out and Abe grimaced as it growled at him in her paws showing its sharp teeth. Abe then face-palmed, "I really need to reconsider who I'm friends with..." He muttered as he reluctantly followed Luna back to the elevator shaft.
(Meanwhile in Molluck's office, he stood there watching the fish in his aquarium as he waited for Shrinkley to show up...)
-Molluck's POV
The glukkon tapped his foot with slight impatience as he waited for the vykkers to return, they were already half an hour later than they said they would be.
He half-smiled as the octigi came close to the glass curiously to inspect him, they were remarkably intelligent creatures for a sub-species of glukkon. Molluck turned around to look at the monitors to the right on the wall, about six screens showing different Zulags were constantly running so he could monitor the activities of the slaves himself.
He smirked, Molluck had a hunch, that he was close to identifying the female modokon. Every time he looked at the screens, the same strange mud wearing a cloth around its chest always caught his attention.
He stopped pondering and turned around as he heard the familiar sound of mechanical pants enter the room, "Did you identify the slave?" He asked calmly, the slig scratched its tentacle like face for a moment, "Yeah, number ninety three...I think." The slig took a step back as Molluck started laughing, it was admittedly a little creepy, even for a slig.
"Good, bring it to the labs..." Molluck said watching the office doors open, "Have you found it yet, Sam's only just still alive on the medication we have given her." The Doc had both sets of arms crossed as he walked in, Frank was following close behind.
He smiled creepily and nodded, just be ready in the medical centre Shrinkley." Molluck then ordered the slig to leave and find the modokon they were after.
-Nobodies POV
The said slig gripped his gun tightly as he walked towards the modokon sleeping quarters, he knew this slave, number ninety three had been making trouble for him since he was a freshie.
Sligs weren't actually allowed to shoot slaves without a good reason, otherwise he would've done away with this particular modokon years ago. Of course if a slave got on your nerves you could always turn the machines on while they were cleaning, the glukkons called them "on the job accidents" or "occupational slave hazards".
He marched past a few associates of his, one waved, a good friend of his, they'd grown up together. "Hey Cal, did you hear about Grum?" The other slig smiled through his mask as Cal nodded, "Yeah, they got him trying this new special drug, haven't heard from him since." Cal shook his head, Grum had been one of the more enthusiastic sligs, spending most of his time polishing guns and using fuzzles as target practice in his spare time, it was no wonder he got promoted so fast for his enthusiasm.
Cal watched as the slig known as Bud mock saluted him, "Gotta go, I'm working the night shift again..." He waved as he walked off towards the slog huts, Cal smirked through his face-tentacles and shook his head, "Try not to get too many slog bites this time!" He called out behind him as Bud left, "But that's half the fun!" Bud's voice could be distantly heard as he answered.
Turing and continuing back in the slave sleeping quarters direction, the time when Cal first came across slave number ninety three drifted from his memories and into his mind...
Cal's Flashback:
(About Ten years back at one of the FeeCo depot stations...)
The young sliglet twitched his mandibles in excitement, his best friend Bud stood next to him with an equal amount on excitement present on his own face. They all stood at the line in front of a large wooden stand with two glukkons standing behind it, Cal recognised one of them as General Driplik, he scoffed, hard to believe an important glukkon had the time to enlist soldiers himself in person.
The other he didn't quite recognise the other in the dark purple suit smoking an expensive looking cigar, but Cal had to assume this glukkon represented Rupture Farms, that's where sligs usually go to train at slaughter school, learning on the job was apparently the best way to gain experience with slaves and wild animals.
They both stood in line impatiently, after graduation the sligs had two choices in their careers for the moment, join the slig barracks and become a soldier, or slaughter school to have the opportunity to hunt big game. They might later have the opportunity to become entertainers or operators later down their career tracks.
"Hey meat head, got an idea we're you're headed?" Bud playfully nudged Cal's side with his elbow, Cal shrugged, "Do you really have to ask, I've always wanted to hunt in the wilderness.." He watched as Bud smirked and face-palmed, "Slaughter school eh?, Me too, course I'm just in it for the health benefits..." Cal raised an non-existent brow (though probably not visible through his mask), "With all the toxins in the air?, They'd better have decent health benefits..." Cal mumbled but trailed off as something very large brushed his side...
"Watch it!" A low voice grumbled as Cal got up listening to its four heavy metallic legs as stomped past, Bud shook his head, "Man those guys give me the creeps." He muttered quietly, but turned as one of the glukkons spoke up, "Next!" It was the glukkon he didn't recognise, Cal hadn't noticed he was at the front of the line, he gulped nervously as the glukkon eyed him expectantly with intimidating glowing red eyes.
"Ahem, Slaughter house." He stated simply, fully knowing that glukkons weren't well known for being patient, and usually weren't interested in small talk from the likes of sligs. "Same here." Bud spoke up from behind him, glancing quickly from Bud then back to the glukkon Cal felt his heart go a mile a minute as the glukkon stared at him.
This was one of the most terrifying moment of a sligs life, the moment you're inspected. If you fit the quota you get to move on and start your career, if not, well you're sent back to Queen Skillya for (shudder) questioning and punishment.
Cal sighed in relief as the glukkon merely nodded in approval, "Go to depot three." He used his head to gesture to the nearby train just across the gangway hanging by the large mechanical lines above their heads.
Taking a moment to look back as he and Bud boarded the train, Cal watched as another unfortunate skinny looking slig didn't quite fit the quota for joining the barracks, the slig cried and begged but after General Driplik yelled some inaudible curse words to hard to hear from this distance, the unfortunate slig was marched down the gangway accompanied by two big-bro sligs and out of sight.
Cal wiped the sweat off his brow, "Phew, hate to be that guy." He whispered as the took a nearby seat next to Bud and waited to arrive at their destination...
(Several hours later, Cal proudly marched down the dark hallways of Rupture Farms, gripping his new rifle with pride..)
Marching past another slig with a slog close at its heels, Cal nodded in his direction nervously, the said slig merely scoffed and ignored him going about his business, muttering something about "new blood" or "freshies".
Trying to calm the excitement and fear in his mind, Cal started to whistle casually as the marched down the hallway and towards a few slaves. He counted three in total, one with blue skin, "Hey wait a minute..." He thought, there was supposed to be four slaves working this room, he wondered.
He was startled and nearly fired his gun as one of the three smaller modokons jumped down from a platform, it was obviously a kid. "Hey kid...I mean slave...Um, don't do that!" He stuttered, this was the first time he'd ever had to deal with a slave.
The young modokon with three head feathers tilted its head at him, "Hey, how come you sound different from the other guards?" It asked in the same bubbly voice all modokons had, the adult behind them grabbed its paw, "Luna quiet!" He cussed pulling the young modokon back to resume scrubbing the floors, Cal watched intrigued as the one with blue skin pushed a floor-waxer bigger than himself up and down the clearing...
Flashback End:
Cal shook the memories from his mind as he came to the slave resting quarters doors, taking a moment to gather himself, he punched the password into the control panel as the two guards saluted as he walked past.
(A few minutes earlier in the modokon sleeping quarters...)
-Luna's POV
She started flicking through the books pages again, the fuzzle was on her lap nibbling on what was left of Luna's dinner, beside her Imp sat next to her with his arms crossed, "Jeez Luna, you've read that thing five times already..." He muttered impatiently, "You are such a bookworm..." He added turning away in a pout.
The said modokon was ignoring him, she kept going back to read about modokons, it was hard to believe how much slaves didn't know about their own kind.
"A queen?, Eggs?, Fertile male modokons?" She read out loud in her head, "Hey wait..." She thought, "If we're supposed to have a queen, then where is she?" The question continued to ponder on in her mind, she stopped as she felt a paw suddenly poke her side.
"Quit it Abe, geez and here I thought Imp was the annoying one..." She muttered moving away a little as Luna sat on the floor, trying to read. "I heard that..." Imp muttered trying to fall asleep.
She watched as Abe looked at the floor crossing his arms, "I can't help it, I keep thinking about what those vykkers said..." He started, Luna tilted her head with curiosity, "About what exactly?" She answered trying to remember that earlier event.
This time Abe turned his head to look at her, "Your smart aren't you Luna?" He asked with expectant look on his face, she shrugged, "Well yeah, I guess...Why?" She asked now a little cautious, "Do you know what a female is?" His question caught her off guard, inside Luna's mind she was starting to panic, but she kept herself calm hoping Abe would drop the question.
After another minute or so, she sighed in defeat. She knew this question would've come up sooner or later, "Abe?" She asked, "Yeah?" He lifted his head now fully focusing his attention to her.
"Have you ever noticed that I look different?" She opened her arms and gestured to herself, she watched as he looked her up and down, "Yeah, but I never said something in case I hurt your feelings..." He answered quietly turning away shyly, Luna face-palmed, "This is going to be harder than I thought." She muttered in her head.
-Abe's POV
After looking at Luna he realised something, Luna was very different from the rest of the other modokons. No muscular physique, flat chest and more head feathers. A number of times he'd forced himself to stop staring at Luna during these kind of situations, it made him feel weird, with emotions he couldn't begin to start to comprehend and he doubted he ever will understand them.
Diverting his attention to something else, he watched as the rest of the modokons slept in a heap in the middle of the room, he then turned and snickered as he watched Imp sleep leaning against Sid, drooling on the older mud as the both snored.
-Nobodies POV
All the modokons lifted up their heads with tired eyes as a blinding light entered the room as the door opened, there stood a slig with a gun in hand. "Slave number ninety three, Molluck wants to see you." It commanded at the doorway, a number of the slaves gasped, Molluck the glukkon didn't usually want to speak to slaves directly.
Luna cautiously got up as the slig eyed her, "Well Cal, its been a long time." She said casually and boldly, the slig ignored her and turned his attention back to the entrance facing the opposite way.
"Luna picked up the fuzzle and book that luckily the slig hadn't noticed yet, "Here look after these.." She gently tossed the fuzzle to Abe and handed him the book, "Wha...Why me?" He stuttered stretching his paws outwards to gain some distance between the growling fuzzle and his face.
Luna started to walk away through the crowd and turned to answer him at the doorway, "Because Imp would lose all six fingers, that's why..." And with that Luna bravely followed the slig out the door, the other modokons watched Luna leave with hints of envy or pity evident on their faces.
(Getting interesting?, I hope so, stay tuned for the next chapter coming soon...)