[Moosh da Outlaw]

Thanks for the comments guys. I really appriciate getting feedback for my work. Plus its great to see people enjoy it. ^^
Here you go. I should have the next chapter up soon. There's only two days left of school for me, so I have no homework to do and lots of spare time in the afternoons to continue writing. =D



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Only slig’s snoring broke the silence that hung in the Crematorium. Dan was still fiddling nervously with his flashlight, watching as the light flickered back and forth across the wall. Occasionally he would shine the light on Ian just to reassure himself that he wouldn’t jump out and attack. Ian had kept silent since their talk back in the hallway; it looked as though he had lost all hope of survival. He leaned against a wall, his eyes fixed on the floor. Dan couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

A faint beeping caught Dan’s attention, and he turned his head towards Red. Red switched off the alarm on his wrist watch, face dark. Its one. Red yawned, standing up and stretching. Shift’s over.

Dan nodded, but didn’t speak. He nudged a nearby slig awake and got up, eyes quickly scanning the room. Once he was satisfied that everybody had woken up from sleeping on the job, Dan headed towards the door. The sooner he left that room, the better.

Dan heard Red come up behind him. Wait up! he hissed, walking alongside him. What’s the rush?

There’s no rush, Dan muttered quietly.

You’re scared of Ian, aren’t you? Red asked bluntly. Dan stiffened.

...no, he said slowly, looking back over his shoulder. He didn’t see Ian; he must have gone a different way. ...I mean, its not Ian I’m scared of.

You’re scared he’ll turn into Nedd.

Yeah, Dan admitted. That’s mostly it.

‘Mostly?’

Dan looked away. The truth was, he was afraid Ian would turn into Nedd; that they would somehow cooperate and become an unstoppable, diabolical force; but that wasn’t completely it. He was also afraid of being near him just for the cylonite. It had never been fully tested. He feared that somehow, they had made a mistake. What if cylonite wasn’t spread just through violent contact? Could it possibly become airborne? What was the chance of catching it if did? And more importantly, how would they treat a cylonite victim?

Red turned on his flashlight, even though Dan already had his on. Dan guessed it was just to reassure himself.

I know what you’re thinking. Red said. Ian doesn’t stand a chance against cylonite. But he’s a good guy. He’d never hurt anybody, even if he was infected with the stuff.

Dan glanced over at him. Do you think cylonite could be spread through more ways than just biting people?

No. Red said, shaking his head. For cylonite to live, it needs to breed in the victim’s blood vessels. The only way it can get into somebody else’s blood is if its bitten in, or injected.

Or scratched?

Doesn’t seem likely. Red said with a shrug. It always amazed Dan how smart Red could be; he seemed like the last kind of guy who’d be working for the Guard. Cylonite gives the victim claws, but only because it increases their bone capacity. The cylonite doesn’t actually get on the claws.

Dan nodded slowly. Got it.

Red stopped suddenly. Did you hear that? he asked, looking back over his shoulder.

Dan had better hearing than Red, and still didn’t hear anything. ‘Better safe than sorry,’ he decided.
He started cramming a cartridge clip into the weapon’s back, not even paying attention. Red was looking back and forth, his bloodshot eyes wide. Both were silent.

Can you still hear it? Dan hissed, working even faster with his snuzi. ‘What’s with this stupid thing?’ he wondered as he struggled to load it.

Red relaxed visibly. Its gone. he said calmly. It was probably just some ratz in the vents, or something.

Snap! Dan loaded his snuzi too hard. It snapped in half, worn out from years of use. Dan stared down at it in shock.

Holy crap! Red laughed, crossing his arms. What did you do to that thing?

I don’t know! Dan said. Dan scowled; he would have to get a replacement. He didn’t like the idea of walking around unarmed. I’ll have to get a new one.

Red yawned as they continued down the hall. Wait unil tomorrow. Its not that important.

Naw, Dan said with a careless shrug, turning down the hall in the direction of the guard tower. He sounded impassive, but the truth was, he was scared. The idea of wandering the ship at night with no protection was terrifying. I’ll just go now and get it over with. S’not a big deal.

Red shrugged and followed him. I’ll tag along. he muttered. No point in going to the barracks; I wouldn’t fall asleep even if I tried.

Dan silently agreed.

They stepped inside the cool, mirrored elevator without saying a thing. Dan pressed a button, and it jerked upwards, carrying them speedily to the tower’s pinnacle. After a while the lift stopped, and the door swung open... but was still blocked.

What the– Dan muttered, reaching out and touching the door in front of him. The tower room had a second door that fitted over the elevator, but it was always kept open; this was the first time Dan had seen it shut and locked.

That’s strange. Red said, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. He looked exhausted. Maybe they just locked up for the night.

Maybe. Dan said quietly, resting his hand on the metal door. His horns twitched. Were those voices he heard behind the door?
Shhhh, Dan whispered, one finger against his mouth. Listen.

Dan put his head against the metal door, shivering in contact to its cool, smooth surface. There were indeed voices: vykker voices. Vykkers he knew well. Red’s horns twitched as he listened in.

Durc and Helix? Red whispered, eyebrows raised. What are they doing up so late.

Be quiet, Dan hissed impatiently. I’m tryin’ to listen. He closed his eyes, concentrating.

“....is this all about?” he heard Durc yawn, sounding uninterested. “Your call made it seem important.”

“This is important ” he heard Helix insist. “It has to do with Nedd.”

‘Nedd,’ Dan thought, blinking.

“What else can you possibly tell me?” Durc asked with a slight chuckle. “I fought him in person. I should know more about him than you.”

“Yes, but my studies have revealed something new. Something you should know.”

“Your studies?” Durc sounded amused. “What? Did you actually get the chance to study Nedd, or does their happen to be another infected intern around that nobody’s told me about?”

Dan saw Red flinch. He put a hand on his shoulder, silently urging him to keep quiet. ‘They don’t know,’ Dan said in his head. ‘They don’t know about Ian.’

“I’ve done studies using slogs,” Helix said, not jaded by his previous remark. “We’ve discovered that the average sanity span (FYI, how long they can process thought after they are infected) is almost a week. Interns have nearly twice as much body mass as a slog, so I’ve estimated their sanity span to be about a week and a half.”

Durc snorted. “Its been three weeks. Nedd’s as smart as ever.”

“Exactly,” Helix said. “It appears that a deformed gene, or form of antibody, would explain his lack of, er, cylonite-ness. Now, the average life span of a slog on cylonite is two months. Interns, as said before, have twice as much body mass as slogs, so technically, if you add everything up, the average life span for an intern would be four months.”

“Wait a second,” Durc interrupted. A groaning sound followed; somebody sitting up from a chair? “So what you’re saying is, if Nedd has a deformed gene or whatever that is making the negative affects of cylonite take longer to develop....”

“It’ll take much longer for him to die.” Helix said quietly.

“...how long?”

“Well, I’ve done some calculations---”

“How long?” Durc repeated angrily.

“I’ve estimated about twelve months.”

Dan’s breath caught in his throat.

“Twelve MONTHS?” Durc squawked. Dan flinched from his loud voice. “We can’t keep fighting this guy for a YEAR!”

“Calm down---”

“No I am NOT going to calm down! This ruins everything! Not only is Nedd capable of thinking, which pretty much ruins all the traps I set up, but he’s also gonna live for an extra YEAR if we don’t KILL HIM!”

“You’re making this sound worse than it is.”

“No I’m not! I’m UNDER-REACTING! This is a CATASTROPHE!” Durc was practically screaming now.

“But that’s not all I’m worried about,” Helix said casually.

Durc’s uproar stopped. “That’s not all?”

“Nope.” Helix said plainly. “I’m worried about Vhern as well.”

“Vhern,” Durc scoffed. “What to we have to fear from him? A lousy write-up? This is a life and death situation we’re talking about...”

Helix sighed. “I’m afraid he’s up to something.”

“He’s Vhern. Of course he’s up to something.”

“No, I mean this cylonite business. He seems more interested in it than normal.” Helix said persistently.

“Well he has a reason to be. Nedd’s practically destroying one of his ships!”

“For Odd’s sake, just listen to me! He keeps showing up in my office when nobody else is around and asking about how my tests are going. He asks real casually, like its not a big deal. But then, after I tell him, he tells me not to tell anybody else about it. I’m afraid if I keep telling him what we’re learning it’ll all turn bad really, really fast.”

There was silence. Dan pressed his head harder against the door, trying to hear every detail.

“What do you suggest we do, a takeover of the ship or something?” Durc finally asked.

“Of course not,” Helix chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far... say, do you hear something?”

Dan turned swiftly to Red. Make the elevator go back down! He hissed urgently.

“You know,” Durc said. Red jammed the button with his finger, cursing under his breath. “...I think I do hear something. The elevator, maybe?”

With a loud moan of protest, the lift jerked downwards. Dan allowed himself a sigh of relief. They made it. They were safe. Dan slumped against the side of the elevator, chuckling nervously under his breath.

Can you believe that? Red laughed. A takeover of the ship? Thats so like Durc, isn’t it?

Their laughter faded. Dan frowned and looked down at his stitched-up feet. Nedd’s still going to live.

Yeah. Red said huskily.

We’re going to have to kill him. We can’t let him get away.

Ian’s only gonna live four more months.

...I know. I’m sorry.

Red looked away. The lift halted, and they stepped out of the elevator, saying nothing. Dan looked up at the guard tower through the window behind him; silver and tall in the moonlight, it looked sharp enough to pierce the sky.

What are we going to do? Red asked rhetorically.

Whatever Durc decides.

Sounds risky.

Should we tell anybody?

A pause. No.

Dan turned on his foot and left, heading for the guard barracks. Red followed behind hesitantly. When are they going to stop lying to us? Dan asked nobody in particular. The vykkers. I’d be nice if they actually told us what they had planned instead of just bossing us around.

Don’t get your hopes up. Red said, scowling. They’re about as informative as they are considerate.

They headed back to the guard barracks, saying nothing. Dan crawled into his thin-sheeted cot and rolled over, letting his heavy eyelids fall. Sleep. It was exactly what he needed. His eyes opened. Carefully he sat up and looked across the room where Ian's bed lay. Ian was curled inside, sheets fluttering with each faint breath he took.

Satisfied, Dan lay back down and closed his eyes.