And the chapter was so flippin’ big, I had to split it in half…sheesh… Anyway, hope you enjoy this part 2.
Stranger’s Wrath
Sekto’s Damn Is Falling Down, Falling Down, Falling Down…
Stranger crept stealthy around the perimeter of the main body of the village, darting from behind building to building. If he watched closely he caught glimpses of the Grubbs fighting with him, doing the same, shadowy will-o-the-wisps that could easily be thought to be tricks of the eyes.
When he was ready Stranger strode out into the open. The Wolvarks, and the Grubbs they were terrorising immediately created a din, far worse then it’s previous level.
“Help! Help us! Help me! Help me first! Help!” one Grubb yelled, Stranger fired a Boombat, the explosion the signal his little gang of Grubb warriors had been waiting for. Instantaneously the fighter Grubbs burst from their places of concealment and began attacking. The Wolvarks didn’t stand a chance. And soon they were defeated.
¤§¤
Bailey’s chain rattled but she was too sore and tender in too many places to care or feel humiliated. She tried to swallow but her mouth and throat were dry. She was still blind in her left eye and she knew she must look pathetic. But even if her body was battered, her mind was still strong and worked faster then ever before. She knew she couldn’t keep this code of silence up, not forever, and she tremble inwardly when she thought that she might talk.
From when she had spoke those last three words to Sekto; ‘You’d be surprised.’ She had made herself a promise that she would not speak again until she was out of here. It would be easier for her to keep from betraying Stranger if she just kept her mouth shut.
Bailey shifted painfully and the chain rattled.
She knew that however long she held out; nothing lasted forever…
¤§¤
Stranger walked among the devastation. The Grubbs were confident that it looked worse then it actually was. It hit home for Stranger for the first time, how optimistic and cheerful the Grubbs were.
“Tha’ shouldn’t be taken from Oddworld…” he thought to himself, his thoughts were interrupted as he listened to the chatter of the Grubbs;
“Where-where are my legs?! WHERE MY ARE LEGS?!” screamed one Grubb hysterically, before noticing that they were actually still attached… “Oh, wait, there they are...” he also heard whispered comments abut himself;
“Kinda scrawny fer a Steef ain’t he?”
“Yeh, but man, he looks like he means business.”
“I bet he could crack a Wolvarks skull with meathooks like his!”
“Wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of ‘im.”
“Didn’t ya hear? Sekto took his kid.”
“You mean another Steef?”
“Nah, some kinda creature called a
‘uman. A young one, called Bailey. Wouldn’t want to be Sekto when Steef gets a-holda him…”
Stranger felt a wrenching tug at his heart.
“Bailey…” What if Sekto had hurt her? Stranger felt a growl rumbling deep in his chest and he clenched his fists in anger. Suddenly a small voice to his right peeped;
“Erm…Steef?” Stranger looked down at the young Grubb. “We captured one o’ tha ‘Varks, we tied ‘im up and erm…we wanted ter know if yer wanted ter…yer know…interrogate ‘im?” the Grubb said nervously. Stranger curbed a feral grin.
“Where?” he asked quietly. The Grubb beckoned and Stranger followed him to a hut that was still standing. Outside were a couple of Grubb guards and a group of the warrior Grubbs. They parted and let Stranger duck into the hut.
Inside was a Wolvark, bound and gagged. With a growl Stranger grabbed hold of the Wolverk’s overalls and hauled it up to his eye-level, ripping off the gag.
“Where Is She?” he snarled.
“I ain’t sayin’ nothin’.” The Wolvark whimpered, Stranger shook the Wolvark violently,
“Tell me where, or I’ll make yer, very painfully.” The Wolvark gulped, but remained silent. Stranger nonchalantly inspected his claws, holding the Wolvark with one hand. The Wolvark tremble at the sight of Stranger’s sharp talons, it was too much for the Wolvark and his already frail nerve crumbled.
“The dam!” he finally wailed, “Sekto took the ‘uman ter the dam!” Stranger dropped him carelessly before stalking from the hut.
His very worst fears had been confirmed with irrefutable proof. He had seen no lie in the Wolvark’s eyes.
Sekto had Bailey.
Stranger realised that up to this point he had been holding on to the slenderest hope that Bailey had not been taken by Sekto. But she had, and Stranger was more determined then ever to get her back. And woe betide Sekto if he’d hurt her…
¤§¤
They wouldn’t let her sleep.
Every time Bailey nodded off, she was woken violently but on of Sekto’s bodyguards. They wouldn’t let her have food or water either and they kept beating her. Not as bad as the first. But bad enough.
They were slowly breaking Bailey down, piece of bloody piece.
And she knew that she wouldn’t last much longer. She was in continual pain now, from one source or another. And she was never left in peace.
“Maybe I should bit off my own tongue…” she thought morbidly,
“Least Sekto couldn’t get anything out of me then…” Bailey smiled slightly in spite of her situation. She had to smile. The only other option was the go completely mad.
Bailey had thought that her situation couldn’t get any worse. That Sekto had thrown everything he had at her. She was soon to discover, just how very wrong she was…
She thought she would at least been left alone until tomorrow but Sekto would not even grant her that. Only a couple of hours had passed since she’d first been chained up, before Sekto and his two bodyguards returned.
Bailey looked up at them through her unswollen eye with silent dread.
“Oh no, not again…” the collar was removed from Bailey’s neck and she was hauled to her feet. Bailey sagged, unable to support herself on bloodless legs.
She was half dragged, half carried to the middle of Sekto’s office where a Wolvark that Bailey hadn’t seen before, with some sort of wooden box and metal contraption met them.
“Must’ve come in without me noticin’…” Bailey thought hazily.
When they reached the Wolvark with the box and metal instrument, Bailey was forced to her knees and the box (which was more like a crate in Bailey’s mind) was placed before her. Bailey eyed it warily through one eye. There were sturdy leather straps with steel buckles attached on the crate’s topside.
One of Bailey’s arms were suddenly wrenched and twisted behind her back and a weight pressed across her shoulders, pinning her to her knees. The other arm was yanked forward and tied down onto the crate with the leather straps.
Sekto came into Bailey’s line of sight. His smirk sent a shiver of icy cold fear down her spine.
“You have one last chance. Tell me where the Steef is, or suffer the consequences.” Sekto said, sounding smug. Bailey looked him right in the face and refused to answer. Sekto looked sadistically pleased and nodded to the Wolvark.
The Wolvark fitted the metal contraption onto Bailey’s hand and wound up a cog with a series of sharp clicks, he paused, and looked at Sekto.
“Do it.” The Wolvark jammed down a small lever and Bailey screamed.
¤§¤
Stranger looked up at the Dam, snow fluttering from the sky around him. A sign, garishly painted on the dam proclaimed to the world, that this was ‘Sekto’s Bottle Spring Water Dam’. Bailey was somewhere in that dam.
Stranger had been assured that the Grubbs had a secret way for him to get in undetected and although Stranger was sceptical, he trusted the Grubbs.
A cough brought Stranger from his thoughts and he looked down at the armoured Grubb by his shoulder. Several more were behind him, hidden in the trees and rocks and a message from the Queen to the pillaged settlement that Stranger had cleared, let the Steef know that more Grubb warriors were on the way.
Stranger ruminated on this for a moment, he wondered why the Grubbs hadn’t taken on Sekto years ago. Maybe the slaughter of their Steef guardians had made them afraid, but now one was back, they rose to the challenge magnificently, rallying around Stranger like a banner.
“Yes?”
“We’re ready when you are Steef dude.” Said the Grubb,
“Have the others arrived?” Stranger asked,
“Not yet, but their bringing siege weaponry with ‘em, they’ll be here inna bit though. A when yer ready, we got two guides to take ya to the postern gate.” Stranger nodded,
“Alrigh’, as soon as tha sun sets, whether they’ve arrived or not, attack tha dam, I shoulda dealt with Sekto an’ gotten Bailey by then.” The Grubb shaded it’s eyes and looked towards the sun, setting behind the gorge walls. It would be just over half an hour before it sank completely from view. The Grubb nodded,
“Right.” The Grubb turned and left Stranger to inform the other troop Grubbs. Stranger stared at the dam again.
“I’m comin’ fer yer Sekto.” He growled.
¤§¤
Bailey cowered in the corner of the office, chained once again to the wall, whimpering softly to herself and nursing her fingers. But she felt a flicker of pride amidst the pain. She hadn’t told. Stranger was still safe. Bailey had tried to staunch the blood coming from her fingers but it was a losing battle, her shirt was stained with dark splotches but the blood flow remained constant. The pain was dulling now, to a bone-deep throb that weakened Bailey every passing minute.
¤§¤
“How long?” he felt as if said nothing but those two words periodically for the last hour.
“Just abit further Steef dude.” Said one of the Grubbs leading him. “We’ll be there inna bit.” True too his word, not five minutes later the pair of Stranger’s Grubb guides stopped and showed Stranger a disused mineshaft in severe disrepair. It looked old and not very stable. A yellow warning sign hung over the entrance. The entrance looked only just big enough for Stranger to squeeze through.
Just.
“It’s not what it looks like.” The second Grubb explained, “It’s only ter stop Sekto’s boneheads from discoverin’ the tunnel. If they think it’ll collapse they won’t come near it. Worked so far.”
“An’ yer positive it won’t come down around ma ears?” Stranger said suspiciously. Getting pinned underneath a tone of rock while Bailey was in Sekto’s clutches did not appeal to him.
“Yep.” Chorused the Grubbs. Stranger looked at the rickety mineshaft, then at the Grubbs and back to the mineshaft. He heaved a sigh.
“Yer betta be right about this.” He muttered and squeezed into the small entrance. After a few feet the tunnel widened enough for Stranger to stand comfortably and he turned as the two Grubbs poked their heads in.
“You havta go on by yer onesies from here Steef dude.” Stranger nodded sharply, he’d expected as much.
“When you get the end of the tunnel, there’s a small crack that you have to go through, on the other side’s a long leadin’ up to a busted pipe, climb up the chute and you’ll be right inside Sekto’s dam.” Explained one Grubb. Stranger nodded again.
“G’luck Steef.” Said the second Grubb and the two warriors withdrew their heads and began to make their way back to the village to help with preparations for the siege.
Stranger was left alone.
¤§¤
A shadow fell over her face and Bailey looked up, one eye still shut and puffy. It was Sekto, he was smoking one of those foul smelling cigars again. He blew a smoke ring into Bailey’s face, knowing she hated it.
“I tire of you and your little games. You have served your purposes and amused me, but now you uses are over.” He waved a hand carelessly, “Get this one out of my sight, throw her off the dam.” One of Sekto’s personal guards scuttled over and grabbed Bailey around the throat, lifting her three feet off the carpet. Bailey choked but didn’t have the energy to fight. She hung limply, as the bloated squid thing carried her across the office, heading towards the wall window.
Just when Bailey felt herself give in to the inevitable, the door of the office exploded inwards, raining down fragments of ceiling that had been dislodged by the explosion. Smoke and dust obscured the doorway for a minute, but then a shadow appeared amongst the debris.
Bailey smiled painfully as she recognised that shadow.
Stranger.
¤§¤
Stranger strode into Sekto’s main office, shaking dust from his fur and armour. He grinned ferally at the surprised expression on the one he gathered to be Sekto.
The grin became a furious snarl as he saw one of Sekto’s bodyguards (creatures that the Grubbs called Gloktogi) holding Bailey around the throat, by a cage with a small animal in it. His heart tugged and his anger surged as he took in Bailey’s appearance. She was covered in dried and drying blood, the black dried blood covering her skin and the bright red liquid trickling down her form and dripping onto the office’s carpet, creating a small, sad little puddle.
He turned his attention back to the water baron and nodded his head mockingly at Sekto,
“Howdy.” He said, voice a harsh growl, “You got sumat that belongs ter me. And I’m here ter get it back.” Sekto gathered himself and fought down the surprise,
“GET HIM!” The Gloktogi dithered for a second, wondering if to dispose of Bailey first or just dump her and get Stranger. “FORGET THE GIRL!” Sekto screamed, “GET THE STEEF!” The Gloktogi complied and dropped Bailey, lunging at Stranger.
Bailey hit the carpet with a wet thud and groaning, curled into a painful, little ball as agony radiated throughout her entire body.
It took a few minutes for the pain to recede to a dull ebb, but when it did, her brain immediately registered the sounds of Stranger fighting the two squid creatures. Slowly, Bailey uncurled and shakily got to her feet, squinting through the haze of her one useable eye.
Sekto was screaming for the creatures to kill Stranger and though Stranger may have been a formidable opponent he couldn’t fight both of the things at once.
Bailey felt a prickling feeling in the back of her head and she felt hot all over. The pain she was feeling was obliterated and she found herself shaking with suppressed rage, her fists and jaw clenched in fury.
The Rage she had felt only twice in her short life - both times in Oddworld and both times resulting in a blank space in her memory only for her to come round to find she’d killed something that she shouldn’t have possibly have been able to - surge through her, washing heat all over.
Bailey growled, a deep, rumbling growl that sound more Steef the human. She turned and ripped one of the bars out of Meech’s hanging cage. Clenching it in both hands she stormed towards the Gloktogi and dealt one of then a harsh blow to the back of it’s disgusted, bloated head. Then she swiped at it’s legs, tripping it up so that it crashed to the floor. Twirling the bar into position, Bailey stabbed down. The metal rod went right through the Gloktogi’s head with a wet, squish sound.
Bailey didn’t flinch, but wrenched the rod out of the dead Gloktogi and proceeded to do the same to the second creature. Unfortunately the second Gloktogi had wised up and it caught hold on the bar and bent it before it swung one of it’s claws, hitting Bailey across the temple, so hard that she was sent sprawling across Sekto’s desk, sliding across it and falling off the other side.
Bailey scrambled to her feet, using the desk to keep her steady. Quickly she looked around for some kind of weapon, she noticed that below the most impressive of the Steef heads behind Sekto’s desk were a collection of guns… Bailey grinned that bordered on craziness and flipped the lowest one from it’s hook.
It was a semi-automatic Slig rifle.
Bailey’s grinned grew wider as she levelled the barrel and just as she was about to shoot, another door to Sekto’s office slid open and another two Gloktogi scuttled in. Bailey swung the semi-auto towards them, and gunned them down, grinning manically.
Sekto was in a fury, a Steef and his little human pet were killing his best warriors as if they were swatting mosquitoes. The water tyrant marched over to his desk went to press a brown button to call more Gloktogi, just before he did, something cold and metallic pressed the side of his head and he heard a voice, a voice that made his inwardly shudder.
“Oh no you don’t,” said Bailey’s low voice, “We have a score to settle you and I.”
“Yes, I believe we do,” Sekto hissed, “I wanted you DEAD!” he shrieked the last word and before Bailey could do anything he swung around and sank a concealed blade just below her collarbone. Bailey took a step backward, a mildly surprised expression on her face, but then her eyes clouded and she dropped to the carpet as Sekto stood over her, gloating.