Gah, no time for message, being kicked off by parents.
Chapter 37
Splat
Mudokon bunks were never kept clean but this was definitely the worse I had or have ever seen since. When I’d first entered the labs I’d decided that the stench was artificially generated to be pumped out of the smoke machines; now I decided that the air from the smoke machines was pumped directly from here.
But I wasn’t gonna be stopped now: I had come here for a reason and now that I was so close to my goal after battling killer-meeps and brain-dead vykkers, nothing was gonna stop me, not even a terrified scrab in my head!
The corridor I found myself in was made of smoky-black metal marked with the occasional dark bloodstain or mouldy corpse (not that that’s anything knew to me). After walking down the corridor for about 20 minutes I came to the first of the cells. An open door in the left wall of the corridor revealed a room with 9 very small and empty cells; there was a sign on the door labelled: “VACANT”. A few moments later I came to another door, also open, on the right hand side. It had the same sign and the same 9 empty cells.
If anything, the cells were more disgusting than the corridor: the smell of death and sweat and blood was about 50 times as strong and the walls and floors were plain sick, especially the floors actually inside the cages. They might have been florescent yellow for all I could tell but, for all the blood and mould, I couldn’t see them at all!
Every cell I walked past was empty, with the door open, a sign saying “VACANT” and 9 empty cells. It was no wonder that the 10 from Abe’s village had been sent here; they must have been getting through 100 slaves a day! There were enough cells for thousands of mudokons but not one of them with anything in them more intelligent than mould. There weren’t even ratz in this place!
Once again I began to think of the thousands of mudokons killed here. It was just sick what the glukkons were doing.
It was an hour later and I was starting to worry: what if the guys I was looking for were dead too? Every other cell was empty. I was really starting to worry when, thank Odd, I spotted a closed door in the corridor wall very near the corridor with a sign saying “ENGAGED” on the door.
I ran to the door and pulled it open. I looked round quickly and took in a computer terminal that was switched on with a dead and half-rotten slig carcass lying over it and the same 9 cages. 9 cages, 8 of which contained a beaten up mudokon and the ninth containing 2. I felt a screech of triumph welling up inside of me from one o my animal-sides. I quickly forced it down.
One of the mudokons slowly opened an eye towards me. Instantly he turned to stare at me with both eyes and then yelled in joy: “SPLAT!!!”
“Shut up,” I hissed, glancing back down the corridor.
All the mudokons were staring at me now: 2Odd, I can’t believe you actually found us! I thought…” he seemed to notice me looking nervous and said: “Don’t worry, no one ever comes down here, the floors of the cells open up and drop us into the room they want us. Odd, I can’t believe you actually found us!”
“Splat, in about 2 minutes that’s gonna happen to us! There’s a timer over there.” I glanced over to a wall were a timer was counting down and was on 1 minute 56 seconds already. “Splat, you gotta get us out.
“Where are the keys?”
“It’s worked with the computer, the cell control window’s under the one open now.”
I ran over to the computer: it was a WINDIES ST computer, one of the newest makes but still really annoying. I was about to close the window in front but then froze as I looked at the program it was running: mudokNfindR 7.8… and someone had logged in! It was all so… I could hardly believe it… hardly believe my luck, it was all here, this could be my only chance to get some of my life back together! But then…
“Splat? What are you waiting for, open the cages!”
“1 minute, 20 seconds,” Muttered another.
“HOW THE HECK DO I MINIMIZE THIS FLIPPIN WINDOW?!?”
“You can’t, just close it!”
No way I could do that. “I’m to close,” I muttered in answer. “I can’t, not now!”
“Splat, we’ve got a minute and 10 seconds till we become test subjects!”
I ignored him, I was to close, I would have time. I opened the search engine and typed in the code:
SITE: DHM34056 (my village)
CODE: 0784555 (His prisoner code, one number below mine, he was captured just before me).
I clicked enter… and waited… The mudokons behind me were all screaming something about 50 seconds… “Come on, come on!” I muttered…
I swear, never let a computer know you’re in a hurry! Balgits, very rich creator of WINDIES computers, must hate everyone! He just obsesses in making computers that always slow down when you’re in a hurry! Now was no exception: “Stupid, stupid thing!”
There was an edge of panic in the mudokons voice: “Splat, I don’t know what you’re doing but I think you should know that in 25 seconds the 10 of us are gonna be killed.”
Come on! I slapped the monitor.
“20.”
Please!
“15 seconds Splat.”
Come on! I faced the hardest decision of my life: get some of my old life back or… give up what might be my only chance of that ever happening and take on a new life with Abe in the most famous village among slaves and captives in Mudos? But loose the last guy out there who ever really cared for me and would still care for me even as I was now?
“10 seconds Splat, it’s now or never…”
What will he choose? Next time its the final chapter of Splat! (Not including the Epilogue or sequels). What will he choose?
(sorry, had to put it in)