What could Flek and Sawk have been talking about? Only time will tell.:D

interesting...

Chapter 15: The Dark Night

As Rook finished his supper, he took his bowl back to the service staff. Queck stood up, "Let's head back to the dorm". Rook and Queck headed for the officer's quarters. He saw Flek walking nearby, Queck smiled, "Hey Flek, how did it go with Rett?". Flek looked towards them, "Rett was pretty annoyed. Hopefully he won't be a total Scrabhead about this whole thing". Flek entered the officer's quarters with Rook and Queck. "Sawk's on night duty tonight, want to talk about anything?". Rook shook his head, "I'm fine now. Thanks again for the help". Flek smiled, "You're not bad for a newbie. I'll give you extra target practice at the end of the week". Rook smiled back, "Thanks Flek. Good night". Flek tipped his hat, and headed towards the red cap area.

Rook put his head on the pillow and drifted into a deep sleep. The next morning was business as usual. He hadn't seen Sawk around lately though. When he saw Flek, he asked about him. Flek shrugged, "Not sure... he was on night watch last but he hasn't turned up again yet. Maybe he fell asleep on the job again?". Rook continued walking down the corridor. He heard a scream nearby and ran quickly to see what happened.

One of the prisoners had a hand over his tentacles and was pointing towards a locker. Rook recognized the Slig as Weslee, Weslee's frail muscles were shaking and he was having trouble controlling his Slig pants through fear. Rook stepped towards the locker and opened the door, he almost fell out of his pants at the sight of what was inside. It was Sawk, he wasn't looking well.

that turn of events took me by surprise.

good work!

Chapter 16: Wings of the Night

Sawk's body was cold and lifeless, now a shade of grey in the sunlight. Rook held a hand to Sawk's neck, "Please, don't be dead", fearing the worst. Rook gasped, "He's still got a pulse! Get someone quickly!". Rook tried to carry the body as Weslee approached the nearest red capper and told him everything.

Rett was pacing up and down the room, Rook was standing in a room with three red cappers who he didn't know. Rett spoke once more, "You found Sawk in a locker, his body was like this?". A medical Slig approached Sawk and injected him with a red fluid. The fluid drained from the syringe into the body, Sawk's body regained some of it's original colour.

Rook nodded, "Yes sir, I found him in a locker. The only person nearby was an elderly prisoner". Rett sighed, "No prisoner couldn't have done that, not even a physically fit one like Scraper... This is something worse. It means we have some Dark Wings nearby". A red capper raised his hand, "Dark Wings, sir?". Rett nodded, "They are similar to bats, but they often attack Sligs during the night. We're going to have to call up for some hunters to get rid of it".

Rett turned his attention to Rook. "Thank you for finding the body, I think you found him just in time". Rook looked towards Sawk, "Is he going to be alright?". Rett nodded, "He had some of his blood drained, but it's nothing too serious. We'll inject him with some anti-viral drugs and then he should be alright in a few days time".

Rett placed his hand on Rook's shoulder, "By the way, Flek tells me you were the one who helped him out the other day at the food hall?". Rook nodded, "That is correct, sir". Rett smiled, "Good work Rook. I'll be keeping my eye on you. Okay, you can return to your post now". Rook saluted, "Thank you sir". Rook left the room and headed to Flek's post to tell him the news.

i wonder how much it takes to become a red cap?

To answer your question, Rook is 3 Slig-years old. Sligs don't normally get transferred to prison guard duty until they are at least 2 years old. To be honest, red cappers aren't very far away from blue cappers in terms of ability or talent. We're only talking a 6 month difference of experience between a blue and red cap. The main difference is that red cappers have proved that they are capable of controlling a situation effectively and have some skill with a weapon.

I'm also going to include a few basic ranking systems. Rett for example is the second highest rank in the red cap division. Rook is quite low on the blue capper division since he just got here. I'm also planning some yellow and black cap divisions as well. Hope that answers your question for now.

Chapter 17: The New Hunter

Flek sighed, "So... Sawk is going to be okay?". Rook nodded, "He should be alright in a couple of hours. Do you know much about these Dark Wings?". Flek shook his head, "No, They're quite rare... but very tricky to get rid of". Rook smiled, "That's why we need the hunters, right?". Flek smiled back, "Yeah that's right". A yellow capped officer walked past Rook at that moment. Rook raised a hand, "You did tell me to ask about other coloured caps, is that one a hunter?". Flek chuckled, "Nope, that's one of the special guards. The hunters wear a black mask with black body armor. You'll know one when you see them".

Flek continued walking down the hallway but then stopped. "You know, Rook... it might not be a bad idea for you to sign up as a hunter". Rook jumped back, "Me? But, I don't have much experience...", Flek smiled, "Perfect, you'll learn on the job. Hunters work in packs, one veteran with one newbie". Rook nodded, "Okay, I'll sign up to do it. Thanks for the advice, Flek". Flek smiled, "No problem. I'm not a hunter myself, but I think Karbo knew a guy who was. I'll go talk to him".

Karbo found Rook later that day. Karbo smiled, "A newbie eh? Well being a hunter ain't so hard. You'll have the night-vision goggles and all the equipment you need. Your hunter partner will be Alon". Rook raised his hand once more, "So... how long will I be a hunter for?". Karbo smiled, "Don't worry, you're only a hunter as long as this Dark Wing is here. When it's gone, you'll return to normal guard duty as always. It's a temporary post really. Think of it as a special watch".

Karbo walked to a locker and opened the contents, "Here, put these on". Rook exchanged his Slig mask for one which was completely black. He strapped on the black body armor and tightened the straps. Alon walked into the room.

thanks, that did answer my question.

these Dark Wing hunters sound interesting.

Makes me wonder if there's more to this Dark Wing's actual origin. Where could it have come from? Is it just a fluke or is there more than meets the eye?:D Can't wait for the next chapter.

Alex in my opinion your story is way better than mine. :D keep it up!

Thanks for the kind words. Your story is good in it's own way. Don't forget, this is my 6th/7th fanfic so I've got some experience by now. I feel like putting a 20 chapter cap on each of my fanfics so that they don't get too far away in terms of plot.

I really want to get stuck in with a few of my other fanfics soon, so I'll try and keep them feeling fresh and new. I'll probably have a few weeks off in order to enjoy my birthday to the fullest.

Chapter 18: Meeting of Minds

Alon held out his hand, "My name is Alon". Rook stood up and shook his hand, "I'm Rook". Alon smiled, "You remind me of me, when I first applied for hunter's job. It's a piece of cake. Come on, I'll show you the equipment". Alon showed Rook a variety of different pieces of equipment including; A repeating auto-load crossbow, night-vision goggles, thermal imaging devices, a versatile shotgun, grenades and nightsticks. He'd just finished telling Rook about the weapons when the supper bell sounded.

Alon stood up, "Alright, time for supper. When you're done, come meet me on the balcony of 2-B. Bring all your stuff and don't be late". Rook saluted, "Yes sir". Alon laughed, "Come on, let's go eat!". A few minutes later, Rook and Alon finished their food and headed to the supply depot with the rest of the hunters. There were three other pairs of hunters. There was a few red cappers who were the veteran hunters, but there were also a couple of blue cappers that Rook saw in the dormitory. One of the hunter novices waved at Rook. "Hiya, It's me... Ewen. You don't know me that well but I'm in a bunk close to yours. Good luck!". Rook nodded, "Thanks, same to you".

Alon was just about ready to start his briefing. "Okay folks, we have some Dark Wings flying around and draining people of their vital fluids. There may be more. We'll split into groups of two and search for it. Let's go". Rook was ready, finally he would get to prove that he was good in combat situations.

Alon seems a good slig. i hope Rook proves himself.

Splitting up is never a good idea. Now we will see the consequences.:D

Chapter 19: Whacked

Rook grabbed his equipment and placed it in a backpack. He equipped his night vision goggles and then followed Alon to the prison balcony. Alon turned towards Rook, "It's getting dark enough now, the Dark Wing should appear within the next few hours". Alon flicked a switch on one of his electronical devices. "This is a motion detector. If it detects any flying objects, it'll let us know". Both Sligs went on standby.

It was a few hours before anything happened. The machine started bleeping. Rook and Alon stood up and looked around. Alon grabbed his gun, "It's here somewhere. Let's try and disable it if possible". Rook looked around, suddenly he saw a shape. "This way!". Rook walked towards the end of the corridor, he saw some movement nearby. Alon followed behind him.

The creature went around the corner, it let out a screech and headed for Rook. Rook dived out of the way. The creature did a u-turn in the air and headed at Rook again. This time Rook held his gun and swung it at the Dark Wing. Alon saw the creature being whacked to the ground. As the creature was trying to get up, Alon stepped forwards and shot it with a tranquilizer. The creature expected this and managed to move out of the way in time. The creature was flying again, Alon was running towards it. Meanwhile, Rook looked at the machine again, he heard another bleeping noise and he heard a screech. There were two of the creatures.

bloody hell, he's going to need some skill to get out of this situation.

Chapter 20: Infect/Implant

Rook tried to look for the creature on the sonar display, but it was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain is his arm as the creature sunk it's teeth into Rook. "Argh!", he took the side of his gun and whacked the beast squarely on the head. As it hit the floor, it flapped it's wings madly. Rook shot it with the tranquilizer gun and then walked backwards and sat down with his back against the wall. He put a hand to his wound to try and stop the bleeding.

He heard a yell and some gunshots from down the corridor, "Gotcha!". Rook saw a shadow fly past the corridor before hitting the floor. Alon walked into the scene with a smile on his face, he then looked at Rook. "Oh, there was another one? I guess we managed to handle things pretty well here". Rook winced, "The darn thing bit me though". Alon nodded, "Not to worry, just take this". He handed Rook a small test-tube with some white liquid, Rook looked at it, "Anti-Bacterial?". Alon responded, "Well... yes and no. I'll explain more after you take it".

Rook drank the liquid, draining the entire tube. Alon smiled, "It's a special liquid that fights infections and... some of the other side effects of a bite". Rook was confused, "Side effects?". Alon nodded, "It's not just bacterial infections to worry about. This creature has egg cells in it's blood. If left unchecked it could really screw around with your body". Rook was shocked, "Yuck, that's gross. So, that formula is an antidote?". Alon nodded, "Yeah. You'd better go to the medical lab anyway... just to make sure you're okay". Alon walked around and picked up the creature. "Let's bag these and be on our way. Good work tonight by the way".

= Epilogue =

The next day, Flek went to visit Rook in the medical wing. "Rett told me you did a great job with hunting. We found four Dark Wings in total. Hopefully that should keep everything under control for a while". Rook nodded, "Sawk is up and about now, he seems much better". Flek chuckled, "That's true. Anyway, not bad for your first week eh?". Rook chuckled, "It was quite exciting. I think I understand why you told me to keep my eyes open all the time". Flek smiled, "You'll be a fine red capper someday. I'll be sure to let you know when the next graduation exam takes place". Rook saluted, and Flek gave a wave and left the medical facility.

= 1 month later =

Nakka was in a panic, his medical robes were stained with a dark liquid. "That's three bodies now, three!". Flek shook his head, "No choice then, call up the hunters... This Dark Wing problem has become a lot worse...".

An interesting thought with the egg cells in it's blood... But wouldn't it have to remove tehm from itself in time before they became little dark wings? Not to mention, is it only females who can do so or is it a unisex creature like certain frogs?:D I suppose it'll be answered in the next chapter or so.

I got the idea from the Alien film which I just saw a few days ago. The white fluid stops the infection and kills off any of the egg cells, so Sawk and Rook are fine. I haven't decided yet, but the unisex idea would probably be quite interesting.

Like all my stories, I'm going to limit this one to 20 chapters as well. You can definately expect a continuation to this story. I'm glad you liked this one so far, I'll try and bring some good ideas out for the next fanfics that I write :D (Maybe a mudokon one?)

good work with the chapter and the dark wings scenario, i can believe that happening with the eggs and such.

cant wait for the next chapter! i'll be waiting.