[Moosh da Outlaw]

Nyahahaha, he ate slig. I always thought the disease made him immune to food somehow...Oooh, sardines...I miss the days of not beign vegan, but I must think of the...Mmmm...Fiiiish - I mean animals 8D.

How can you not eat animals?! O:

I knew Nedd was going to turn to cannible somehow. So Nedd's going to come through the ventalation shafts. Cool.
Edit: I've just realized how good of a game this would make. That would be awesome beyond recognition.

That would be pretty cool. If I had Adobe Flash or something I might've tried that. Too bad i'm too poor to afford fancy game makers. >:C

oh noez he's escapeing! I'm guessing everyone's guard is going to be down thinking he's locked up, which will make killing everyone much easyer.

I tried Slig meat once. Didn't like it, though.

It could've used a little less salt. C:



Okay, here you go. Brux has a bad day, Dan gets ignored for an entire chapter, and Nedd gets what he had comin' to him. All in a day's work.


EDIT:
I just revised part of this chapter. It seriously needed it.
Enjoy.

---



Nedd clamored noisily through the vents, grunting slightly as he tried to make room. It was too late to go back; his shoulders were wedged firmly inside the air ducts. Up was his only option. He turned and twisted, frowning at the tunnels that seemed to go one forever. He wrestled one of his arms through an opening above and heaved himself up another section of the vent, sneezing as dust filled the air. Nedd squinted and looked up, his oversized pupils swiveling slightly, before finally spotting the exit. Satisfied, he kicked out with his legs and pressed himself up against metal grating- it appeared to be part of a drain. He gently lifted the tile and set it aside.

Nedd perched laggardly, watching, waiting. Nothing saw him. He pulled himself out of the vent and replaced the tile, warily looking around.

It was night. He was in one of the vykker suites. Posters lined the walls displaying household products such as ‘Lung Blaster’ and ‘Baby chow.’ On one side of the room was a desk piled high with paperwork, and on the other was a bed, inhabited by a vykker. Nedd stalked over to the bed and looked the vykker over quickly, and blinked in surprise when he realized who it was: it was Brux, the melodramatic, overly-positive lunatic Helix worked with. He was sprawled out under the covers and snoring like a foghorn, dead asleep. As fun as it would be to kill him, Nedd he had better things to do, and decided just to leave him be. For the moment, anyway.
He strode over to the door and carefully turned the handle, wincing as he heard it creak. Slowly, carefully, he opened the door and peeked outside.

Seeing as it was night, the suite hallway was deserted. Nedd stepped out, his feet sliding against the red velvet carpet, and continued down the hall, occasionally looking over his shoulder in anticipation for an attack. A deathly silence hung in the air that was only broken by his hoarse, unsteady breathing. He licked his lips dryly; he could still taste the slig blood in his mouth, driving his senses wild.

His thoughts reached out unwittingly to the interns he used to work with. ‘Dan, Ian... the rest of those losers... they have no idea what they’re missing.’

<~{.epidemic.}~>

Ever since the attack in the basement, Durc had made sure to send extra squads into designated areas at night, just incase. It seemed like a wasted effort, though. Nobody took their patrols seriously. Most of the guards fell asleep at their stations, or sat around playing cards, waiting for the shift to end. The cafeteria was another matter entirely. Those lucky enough to be sent to the cafeteria on patrol often ended up tossing their weapons aside, kicking their feet up, and binging all the booze they had swiped from the kitchen. It was like a party: a lot of drinking, a lot of talking, and a lot of stumbling around drunkenly before finally collapsing somewhere.

A slig staggered from the cafeteria, snickering so violently that his entire body shook. In one hand he loosely held a half-empty can of beer that dripped with each unsteady step he took. He grinned and took a sip from his drink, glancing around disorderly.

“Heyyyy...” He muttered with a slight hiccup as he bumped into someone. “...watch where you’re... going.”

The intern stared at the slig. The slig stared back, hiccupping queasily. The intern finally said; “Don’t you know who I am?”

The slig blinked. “Should I?”

“You’re drunk.”

“Well, then...” The slig snarled, stumbling back. “That wasn’t very nice... for a guy to say...”

The intern’s hand jerked forward, and he caught the slig by the throat, hissing “Well I’m not a very nice guy, am I?”
He snapped the slig’s neck like a toothpick and threw the body over his shoulder, thinking about how thoughtful it was for his quarry to come to him for a change. Then he reached down, picked up the can of beer, and drained its contents in one mammoth gulp, grinning ravenously.

Nedd stalked back down the hall, his feet silent against the cold metal floor. He winced when he heard drops of blood hit the ground; the slig’s throat was bleeding. He frowned and tilted back its head, stopping the flow. A trail of blood leading to his escape route was the last thing Nedd needed.

After retracing his steps he came back to the Vykker Suites. Nedd crept down the hallway, dead slig in hand, and nudged open a nearby door. He glanced around quickly, and gave a quick nod of satisfaction; this was the room, all right. He swung inside and carefully set the body down. He got to work with the drainage tile, gently lifting it with his long, spidery fingers, when suddenly he paused. He held his breath in alarm and reluctantly looked over at the bed in the left corner of the room.

Brux was gone.

‘Oh shit.’

Nedd tensed when he heard rapid footsteps coming down the hall. He grabbed the dead slig, threw it over his shoulder, and ducked under the nearby desk, cursing wildly. The handle to the door turned at an excruciatingly slow pace. Then, to Nedd’s horror, the door swung open, and Brux stumbled inside like the living dead, exhausted. He looked as though he were about to pass out right there and then.

Brux hobbled over to his bed, yawning broadly. Nedd flinched when he realized that, in his struggle to escape from the obscene vykker, he had left a puddle of blood on the floor. Brux, however, didn’t even notice. In fact he stepped right through it and crawled into bed, murmuring to himself. There was a long pause. Nedd held his breath. Suddenly Brux sat up and stared at the tiling on the floor; more specifically, the dark puddle that stained it.

“What the...?” Brux mumbled, getting out of bed and examining the stain. Nedd’s tension got the better of him. He took off like a bottle rocket and slammed Brux against the floor, leaving the dead slig behind. Nedd gagged him with the bed sheet and held him firmly in a headlock, struggling to contain the vykker’s four wildly thrashing limbs. Then Nedd locked the door.

Brux cried out and kicked over a night stand. The lamp that had been placed on it shattered against the floor, scattering shards of ceramic in all directions. Nedd winced, his horns falling flat against his head.

Light from nearby rooms flooded the hallway; Nedd could see it shining under the door. Somebody squawked “What’s that moron up to now?”

“Change of plan.” Nedd muttered to himself, cracking Brux’s head against the floor. The vykker went out like a light. Nedd tossed Brux aside and fumbled with the floor tiling, but to no avail; both his hands and the tiles were slicked over with blood from handling the dead slig, which made lifting anything an almost impossible task. He could hear the vykkers outside fiddling with the knob, trying to unlock the door. Nedd hissed and ducked under the desk; it was his only option.

<~{.epidemic.}~>

“Open up, Brux!” Helix snapped, knocking on the door. “What the hell is going on in there? ”
He tried to open the door, but to no luck; it was locked tightly. He turned to a nearby vykker, ordering “Go get Durc. He must have something that can unlock this door.”

After a brief wait Durc shuffled through the crowd. He was wearing blue pajamas with a matching nightcap, and had his combat belt around his waist; it looked as though he had slept with it. He yawned.

“What?” Durc asked. Helix frowned.

“Brux must be getting kinky in there or something, because he’s making a racket. The doors locked. Do you have something so we can open the door and shut him up?”

Durc nodded smugly. “I have just the thing.”

He whipped out a bobby pin and held it out triumphantly. Helix frowned.

“What were you doing with---”

“Thats not important.”

Durc stuck the bobby pin in the lock and fiddled with it, biting his tongue in concentration. After a lot of fumbling and punching the door, the lock clicked, and the door swung open.

Durc sprang inside, waving his snuzi. Helix sighed and followed him, glancing around the room. Brux was unconscious, laying with half of his body on his bed and the other half dangling off the side. Helix frowned.

“I can’t see anything.” He muttered, squinting in the gloom. “Somebody turn some lights on or something.”

A vykker near the door flicked on the lights. An inhuman screech pierced the air. And, seconds later, vykkers were running and screaming all over the place, Nedd hot on their heels.

“RUN!” Helix cried, making a desperate dash for the exit. He careened around the corner flanked by a dozen other vykkers, including Durc, who was loading his snuzi in a hurry. Helix had no idea where he was running; only that, if they didn’t find somewhere to hide soon, they were all screwed.

“In there!” Durc exclaimed, pointing with one of this claws. Helix’s face brightened when he realised that they had reached the room where he worked; room 34, a happy place for chop-happy vykkers. They bolted inside and slammed the metal door shut, breathing heavily from the effort it took to escape their attacker.

“Is he gone?” somebody whispered, as though afraid Nedd would hear. Helix opened the door slightly and peeked out. The hallway looked deserted.

“I don’t know.” Helix admitted. He turned. “Turn on the lights.”

Durc reached up and fiddled with a medical light in the middle of the room, flicking switches and turning it to and fro. “It won’t turn on!”

“Try the red button---”

“I tried the red button!”

Suddenly a frantic voice outside the room screamed “LET ME IN LET ME IN LET ME IN!”

Helix glanced outside. “Its just Brux.” He muttered. There was a pause. “Can we just leave him there?”

“Unfortunately,” Durc muttered, “no.”

Helix opened the door. Brux sprang in and clung to Helix like a parasite, sobbing. Helix struggled to pry the abomination off of him, but to no luck; he gripped on like a steel trap.
“Get off of me!” Helix snarled, managing to squirm free. Brux was still shaken.

“H-he...” He began. “T-that intern...”

“Tried to kill you, we know.” Another vykker said, looking out the door. There was no sign of Nedd.

Quietly, someone dared to ask “What now?”

Nobody seemed to have an answer. Durc pulled a walkie talkie out of his belt and spoke into it. “We need a patrol... can you hear me? Is anyone there?”

A silent pause followed. The atmosphere was tense; every vykker was quiet, waiting and hoping that a patrol would answer.

Suddenly the walkie talkie buzzed. “Gzz! Durc? Is that you, man?”

Durc looked offended. “I’m your boss! You will not refer to me as ‘man!’”

“Gzzz! Oh, sorry... boss.” The voice on the other end of the line sounded slow and delirious.

“What squad is this?” Durc demanded.

“Gzz! T-the cafeteria one... uh...”

“What are you doing right now?”

A pause, and then: “Gzz! Teehehe... drinking.”

“You’re DRUNK?” Durc squawked, appalled. “We have a PSYCHOTIC INTERN trying to kill us here and you’re BUSY DRINKING?”
No reply came. Helix stared at Durc, long and hard. Durc snarled “What?”

“Just what kind of protective service are you leading here?” Helix demanded.

Durc crossed his arms and turned away. “A very good one!"

“Shut up!” A nearby vykker snapped. “Stop fighting! There’s a maniac outside who is trying to kill us!”

Brux was weeping convulsively. “I don’t want to die!” He cried.

It was total anarchy. Helix was yelling at Durc, Durc was yelling at Helix, one vykker was yelling at Brux, Brux was crying even harder, and everybody was talking at once, trying to shut them up. In the midst of all the chaos they failed to notice that the metal door was slowly creaking open...

“OKAY!” Durc gave in. “All of my guards are OVERWORKED, UNDERPAID LOSERS who know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT PROTECTING PEOPLE, are you HAPPY NOW? ”

“Yes.” Helix said simply.

Brux was staring at the door. His jaw dropped in horror. “Uh, guys...”

“I mean seriously!” Durc snarled, far from quieting down. “Most of the people on this ship are undereducated, so what does it matter if my people are?”

Brux sniffled and backed up a little. “Guuuys...”

“WHAT?” Durc snapped. Helix recoiled. Brux screamed.

The door's hinges creaked in protest as the door was jerked back, dropping screws to the floor. A savage roar silenced the group, and a single red eye glared at them from the darkness, its pupils wide and horrifying.

"Sh--!" Helix squawked as the entire door rattled and shook, groaning like a wounded animal. The monster behind it forced an arm through the opening it had created and grabbed the door's handle, breaking it in half. The unfortunate vykkers pressed their backs against the opposite wall, too terrified to even scream.

The metal twisted and snapped, and Helix stared on in sheer alarm; Odd only knew how much strength it would take to bend. The other side of the door rippled forward, and a second arm appeared, scrabbling wildly at the metal. Nedd hissed and slammed himself against the door, which was slowly keeling forward, snapped from its top hinges. Durc's gun dropped from his claws, which were trembling violently; they were too shaken to act. There was nothing they could do. The door had been bent forward like a sardine lid.

The arms suddenly withdrew, and the ragged, hollow breathing that sent chills down their spines stopped. A deathly silence hung in the air. The atmosphere was still, broken only by the dust Nedd had kicked up. Finally, after a great deal of gut-retching, Helix forced in a breath.

Nedd threw himself at the huge opening in the door, snarling and sputtering foam. He managed to fit his entire torso through, but not his widely-bent legs. He lashed out with his claws, and he grabbed on to whatever was in reach; which happened to be Brux.

Brux screamed as he was dragged roughly to the door. Helix acted without thinking. He grabbed a butcher-like scalpel from a medical desk nearby, darted forward, raised the knife over his head, and, without hesitation, brought it crashing down on Nedd's arm, an inch or two above his wrist, lopping his hand off completely.

An inhuman scream split their ears as the bloodied stump-of-an-arm jerked back, spilling blood on the floor. Helix dropped the scalpel. It clattered noisily to the floor. Afterwards, there was silence. Helix wasn't even sure if Nedd was still there.
Suddenly Brux jumped up, and the bloody hand that had once belonged to the infamous Nedd thumped to the floor. Brux ran over and embraced Helix in a rib-shattering hug, squealing

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK---"

"STOP!" Helix wailed.

"But you saved me---"

"I DON'T CARE! LEMME GO---"

The walkie-talkie buzzed;
“Durc! Sir! We just got the message! Are you okay?”

Durc spoke shakily into the walkie talkie. “Get your asses down to room 34 before I tear out your spines and beat you with them. Have I made myself clear?”