[Dave]

IT'S ALMOST OVER! (said Strong Bad)
Shortish chapter.

Chapter 84

I returned to the ball car and, now that Icarus had restored main power, rode it easily to Zulag Ten, the detention hall … and location of the boilers.
I marched uninterrupted through the zulag. In the boiler room - still as stiflingly hot as ever - I sought out a control panel.
Aha! In plain sight, at the far wall. I jogged over. I was getting antsy, I needed this to be over with.
Thankfully, the terminals were still operational. I found the display easily enough. A pressure gauge, marked on the left with green, in the middle (where it now was) with yellow, and on the right with red, appeared on screen. I moved the cursor over to the control and slid the dial up into the red.
A prompt came up. “Initiate changes?” it asked. I clicked “Yes.”
A warning next. “WARNING! If these changes are made, chance of boiler combustion rises to 95%. Are you sure you want to increase boiler pressure?”
Again, I clicked “Yes.”
A buzzer went off nearby, and a message popped on screen. “Danger! Boiler pressure is dangerously high. Either lower pressure or open vents immediately to prevent combustion.”
I ignored this message. I would be out of here in plenty of time.
I turned to make a run for it …
Sligs surrounding me. They had somehow surrounded me while I was busy at the terminal.
But how? They were all dead … right?
No.
Vladimir.
He had run away before I arrived in Zulag nine.
That was why Icarus had to turn off the poison, because Vladimir didn’t have a gas mask.
No way.
I had rescued every mudokon in the factory … but it seemed I would not get a chance to celebrate.
I realize now, retelling this story to you guys, that I had an active shrykull ability, and likely could have gotten away from them.
But, surrounded by sligs as I was, and taken so off guard, it didn’t occur to me.
I dropped to my knees and raised my arms in surrender.
There was a blunt pain in the back of my head, and all was blackness.