Yeah, sorry, I lied. When I said "tomorrow" I meant "when I feel like it."
No. It's chapter 81.
Chapter 81
8:00
Okay. I was in the mudokon living quarters. There were five living blocks in this zulag. Two on the bottom level, one on the middle level, and two on the top level. It was set up so that I could see from the ground floor all the way up to the top block. The catwalks outside each block were narrow and lacked railings. Ladders led up and down to each floor.
Each block had fifty chambers, generously called “apartments.” Five mudokons were assigned to each block, and were each supposed to clean each “apartment,” wash each “blanket,” flip or replace each mattress, and check the light bulbs. This task usually took all day… but each night, every mudokon went to sleep in a clean room.
The doors only opened twice a day: when the work day began and when the work day ended. I didn’t have time to call Druna for the glukkon morph, so …
Aha! My shrykull power!
I slapped my palms together and … for a few moments, nothing.
Then, Odd must’ve taken pity on me, for the Shrykull awakened and somehow knew what I needed to accomplish. Blue rings sang out from me and obliterated the doorways, undoubtedly terrifying the mudokons inside.
As soon as I reverted to my mudokon body - and the urge, the unmistakable
lust for that power, just to do it once more, began to shake through me - I began to whistle frantically.
The mudokons tentatively poked their heads out from each block, unsure if it was safe to leave their stations.
“All o’ ya! Follow me! Follow me! All o’ya! Hello!” Frantic.
The mudokons decided it was okay. They poured out and slid down the ladders. Within a few moments twenty five more mudokons were gathered around me.
I grinned. “Hi!”
They all shrugged. A few confused “Hellos” came back.
Whatever. I began to chant, focusing again on the new settlement… and the portal opened.
Ten seconds later, I had a refreshed Shrykull power pulsing through me. I was feeling giddy. Only one more zulag to hit, then it was off to the boilers. Yes. I was going to do it!
I would have to become a glukkon to operate the ball car again. I moved to the ball car at the far end of the corridor, and as I jogged, I contacted Druna.
{Hey! I’m almost through! I’ll need the glukkon morph again!} Joyous.
And relief swarmed me from Druna. {Glad to hear you’re okay, Dante. Go get ‘em!}
I reached the ball car and morphed. I stepped inside and was about to press the button that would put me in contact with the slig that could control the ball car remotely when I had a
[VISION]
vladimir and icarus are in a special security station in icarus’s suite. they are watching a monitor that shows a mudokon begin to chant … and become a fully dressed glukkon.
Vladimir’s eyes widen. “that’s the glukkon that came down from vykker’s labs before it blew up! and to think it was a mudokon all along….” a pause. “say… that can’t be … is that the mudokon we’ve been after?”
[/VISION]
No.
No, no, no.
Not cool.
They were on to me.
There was no way I was going to be let to Zulag Nine now.
