[used:)]

Phew! Finally I finished it. I haven't been able to write as much lastely, I've been busy with Marching Band. Anyway, I hope you like it! Theme music: Intro to Demon days by the Gorillaz.

Chapter 3: Work in the Pumps

“I don’t care what you say!” said a very angry executive, “According to our calculations, profits aren’t ‘sky rocketing’ as you assured us ten years ago!”
“B-But,” said the highly distressed CEO.
“I can’t believe you’ve been spending that time trying to finish your damn pumps!”
“Well, you see.”
“In fact, we’ve been spending MORE money keeping this hog from going outta business, in the assurance that money would be flowing out of your plant!”
“Can I just--”
“How am I going to explain this to the Grand Masters? As of right now, I demand that you increase the birth rate and put more workers to production! And if it takes ten years to only get half way in a construction job, then you have an especially lazy work force and I suggest you imply a stricter rule on them!”
“Very well,” the CEO gave a sigh.
“Now, when is the next Thugnaught leaving? I, and the rest of the delegation, would like nothing better than to get out of this hell hole!”

***

The pumps, the one place Lok and Zhelin had hoped so much to keep away from. Questions were buzzing through their heads. Not a moment went by that didn’t feel like they were being sent to an executioner. Would they lose their sanity like the others? What horror would they see down there that was causing these things? Before their assignment, they had been instructed to go to the pump pipes, not yet lengthened, on an artificial land mound and weld on bigger pieces to them. It did not sound hard, but was it the work that would steal their minds?

Lok and Zhelin were with another Rekati when they reached the elevator that lead to the pumps, a Beelzub was stationed to send workers down and up and had himself buried in the Industrial Informer, the official newspaper of the Lach Consortium.

The Beelzub looked up to them and said, “Work in the pumps, huh?”
“Yes sir,” replied Lok.
“Fine, this shift’s crew should be coming up any second now.”
They heard a rushing sound, like wind blowing followed by a screech. In front of them, the elevator platform appeared. It’s passengers were as shown: blank faced, disoriented, and not knowing their own identities (or so it had appeared).

Two Beelzubs came running behind Lok. They stopped at the elevator and started pushing the Rekati on the elevator to a different one leading to the Employee Clinic. The water pump construction had been going on for so long that the Beelzubs had almost developed an instinct to when and where to go fetch workers from the pumps and send them straight away to the Clinic.

“Okay, get on!” said the elevator Beelzub. They stepped onto the platform and awaited their fate, “have fun!”

The Beelzub pulled down a lever and they saw tiny light above them which was the world they had just departed from. The windy sound was even louder and more violent here. And the farther they went down, the darker it got, not just externally, but internally as well. A cold feeling of despair and hopelessness was inside of them, like an evil spirit was watching them.

They reached the only level the elevator traveled elsewhere and went to find their work places. The environment was unusually peaceful; ASS’s were floating around shining beams of light for guidance, the chugging from the plant echoed from above, the water made splashing noises from the pumping, but it still felt like something evil was watching them.

They followed the guidance of an ASS’s light until the found their destination.

“Okay,” said Lok, “how about you I go into the water and hold of the base of the pipe, while Zhelin welds it on.”
“O-Okay,” said the other Rekati.

They stepped into the water and picked up the base of the pipe where it had been residing. They were over waist deep, it didn’t look like it would be this steep from the mound’s point of view. Zhelin picked up his welding rod and started welding the pipe to the larger one connected to the plant.

***

How long had it been? It didn’t feel any different to an hour or two minutes. Time seemed to stand still down here. The three Rekati had finished ten pipes and were now welding smaller pipes to the larger ones. That was how the pumps worked, large pipes with little root like pipes connected to them.

“You know,” said Zhelin, “this work isn’t as bad as I thought. I don’t think I’m insane yet, and have we--” He stopped and gasped, “There’s a--a”
“A what?” Asked the unknown Rekati.
“There’s a skull in the water!” Shouted Lok.

The all suddenly stood up defensively. Something was approaching. Not from the water, but from the darkness itself, like an aura. It was getting closer. An ASS nearby burst into pieces and sparks as the blackness swallowed it up. They couldn’t take it any longer.

“Run!” said Zhelin. They all ran for the elevator. Where was it? They were losing light, ASS’s were bursting all around them, they couldn’t see.

“I see it!” said Zhelin.

They were almost there. The unknown Rekati tripped and screamed out in horror as the blackness drew near. Suddenly he was sitting straight up on his knees, his eyes opened, a glowing stream of air slithered out of his eyes as if the blackness was sucking it up. The last of the glow was drained out of him and he fell to the ground.

The blackness was coming for them again.“Oh no!” shouted Lok, “it’s in front of the elevator!”

They ran away from it into an unknown direction, it didn’t matter where, as long as it was away from the blackness. They were cornered next to a natural pillar of stone. The blackness was all around them, from above, from around.

It had made its choice. Zhelin fell to his knees. The same glow was being inhaled by the horror.

“Stop!”


What had happened? First they were running from some blackness and now there they were, Zhelin was on his knees, and Lok with his hand out in front of him.

“LUNCH!” shouted the intercom, signaling that their shift was over. Time to leave. They boarded the elevator. Lok pulled the lever and they ascended to the top.