[Munch's Master]

An update after 20 days! I mant to get this and another chapter up on Christmas day as a treat for you all, but I was too busy during the past few days. I haven't managed to finish the next chapter, so I'll just get this one up now, and put the next one on in a few days. This chapter's quite brief, but it is needed to set the scene. as you'll realise when you first read the title, an awful lot has changed.
Chapter 13: 1 Year Later

A Year had passed since ‘The Day’, as the four called it. A year since the day when it had all turned around. A year sine the slig they had thought of as a friend, Arthur, turned out to be like the rest. A year since the escape that had gone so badly wrong had nearly cost Larry his life. A year since the Preservation Pills had first been tested (And were now making very good money for Septik Snaks), and on Larry no less. A year since the day when the Company Employment Decree #97 aka the 1 strike rule, had been implemented. And a year since the friendship between four mudokons had been so badly shaken by the repercussions of this Decree.
But you get the idea now, so no more ‘a year since….’ Little has changed in the running of the factory, the new rule and new product being the only difference between now and a year ago. However, much has changed for the inhabitants of the factory.
Larry, once an optimistic, stubborn, dreamer of a mudokon, who never said die, has changed. The depression, sparked by the fight with Max, has faded, but it has left its effects. Through his 3 companions, Larry was able to shake off his misery; however it has struck deep, with Larry no longer having the will to resist, t try and escape. His courage has been destroyed, and he has become just another slave, rather than a secret source of inspiration.
Trevor has grown wiser, yet weaker as well. The new Decree has made it impossible for a mudokon to live a capable life, the Sligs on guard at sleep-hours preventing Mudokons from getting rest, and the scarce time for lunch draining them of food, and of sources of energy. While Larry has been hurt mentally, Trevor, like Jeff, has been drained physically.
Speaking of Jeff, he too is a shell now. No longer the relaxed, calm-in-any-situation, carefree guy he was, he is now a recluse. His past addictions to Brew and Gas haunt him, his addled mind no longer proving a source of untimely calm. The hardships of modern factory life have affected him to the point where he is often the one in the corner, remaining quiet and still. Not in a depression, but in solitude. He brightens up occasionally, but his weakened body doesn’t do well for his conflicting brain.
Max has also changed. His rage is harder to spark off now, for he fears he may again harm a companion. He is shunned by Larry, viewed as a crazed lunatic by most, feared by Trevor and not so much ignored as treated indifferently by Jeff. Those who supported hi min the fight now steer clear of him, afraid they might set him off. This has sent Max dangerously close to depression, he is no longer a permanent reddy-green, but almost a turquoise colour, signs that he may slip into the state that afflicted Larry for almost 5 months. His physical state has drained too, his formerly bulky form now a lankier frame that shows he was once a formidable mudokon, but a harsh lifestyle has got the better of him.
But it is not just the mudokons who have changed. Arthur has changed too. He is now pretty much a ‘normal’ slig. He won’t say no to beating a mudokon, he may not be friends with Lak and his gang but is no longer an enemy of theirs. As for his treatment to our four heroes, for lack of a better term, Arthur is cold. The neutrality bordering on friendship he once shared with them is gone, replaced by a dislike for them. He will beat them viciously if they displease him, and yet, behind this new Arthur, there is still something not quite genuine.
So all in all, life at septic Snaks has taken a turn for the worst in the past year. The friendship of Max, Larry, Jeff and Trevor is hanging by a thread, Arthur has gone all-out Slig, slave life is at its hardest, and the factory is making enough money to replace the slaves who die of the conditions.
‘Things can only go up from here right?’ The 4 mudokons would each think, unknown to each other; as every day drew to a close. These thoughts occupied the minds of all four more or less every night, ‘Sooner or later, that Abe guy or someone will save us, hopefully.’ was the thought each had at many mornings. And morning it soon would be.
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Next chapter up hopefully on Saturday or Sunday. Until then, enjoy, read and reply! Oh yeah, and seeing as I wasn't here on the 25th, Merry Christmas everybody! *Dances around with tinsel*