[Moosh da Outlaw]

...Whoa. After 5 hours of almost nonstop reading, I've finally caught up. This is fantastic. I always thought Interns were the creepiest Oddworld species, and this made me more freaked out by them. Somehow, I kind of like them more, though. XD Looking forward to more.

How can you not like interns? 8C
Anyway, glad you liked it. ^^

Wow! What a coincidense! It's exactly two more days till I go to Florida!

But that was a fantastic chapter. I hope my mother brings her laptop so I can look up the next chapter. And comment!

Florida? Awesome. I've never been, but it sounds like fun. ^^

Great chapter! And I was just begining to wonder about cylonite-transmition through scratches.

Yeh. I decided it was about time I explained that. =D


Anyway, I wrote most of this chapter while in the car on our eight-hour-non-stop drive to Ohio. It gave me a major headache, so it better be worth it. >:C
And I think i'll be able to write more chapters while on vacation. I've been writing whenever I got the chance, so i'll do my best.


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Dan. Get up.

Dan felt something poke him in the side. He rolled over and groaned moodily, burying his face in his pillow. He had been up all night on patrol in the crematorium; the least they could do was let him sleep in.

I’m serious! Get up right now! the voice persisted.

Can’t you wait? Dan demanded, shuffling angrily. I only got five hours of sleep—

Whoever it was grabbed Dan by the arm, and with a quick jerk, threw him to the floor. Dan struggled out from under his bedsheet and sat up, eyes blazing. Red swung him around and leaned in.

Ian’s gone!

Dan’s heart skipped a beat. WHAT?

I woke up this morning and he was gone! I can’t find him anywhere! I tried the cafeteria, the guard tower...

He’s GONE? Dan echoed dumbly.

I just said that Red hissed. Dan’s head snapped up. A few people in the room gave them odd glances as they passed by, but nobody had anything to say.

Holy &@%$, Dan cursed, wadding his sheet into a ball and flinging it on his cot. Red watched him humorlessly. Where the hell would he go?

Red crossed his arms. How should I know?

You must have some idea! Dan snapped, rounding on Red. He’s always following you around!

Its not like I’ve ever asked him where he’d go if he was infected with cylonite!

Dan took a deep breath. Okay. He said slowly. Lets just calm down and think this out.

Red bit his nails through his stitches, bloodshot eyes focused on the floor. Without saying what he was doing, Dan rummaged around in a nearby dresser and pulled out his armor. He grabbed Red’s own set and tossed it to him quickly.

Put on your armor. Dan said, climbing in to his own.

Why? Red asked, hesitantly pulling his armor over his head. Dan glanced at him through his goggles.
We’re going to see Durc.

Red sucked in a quick breath. We’re not gonna tell him what happened, are we?

No, Dan mumbled, reaching for his gun. He paused, suddenly remembering that he had snapped it in half, before stowing it in his belt anyway. We’re gonna get him to send a squad to the basement.

Are you insane? Red cuffed him on the back of the head. Dan didn’t respond. Don’t you remember what happened the last time we tried that? Or the time before, even?

I know what happened. But if there’s anywhere a cylonite-infected intern would like to hang out, it would be the basement. We have the experience to prove for it.

Red rubbed his fingers together worriedly. Lets give him time first. he said quickly. We might be over-reacting.

Over-reacting? Dan laughed nervously. He’s been bitten by a cylonite slog, left the barracks before we woke up, and didn’t tell anybody where he was going! Does it sound like we’re over-reacting?

No. Red mumbled half-heartedly.
Dan looked over his shoulder edgily, eyes bleak. Red scowled. How do you plan on convincing Durc to send another squad into the basement?

I don’t know exactly. Dan admitted, looking away. But we have to try, right?

Its a huge waste of time.

I know.

Red frowned. Lets give him time first. He said slowly. He might show up later.

After a long pause, Dan sighed. Okay.

<~{.epidemic.}~>

The map of the ship lay flattened on the basement floor, slightly damp from the wet tiles. Nedd bit the pad of his finger and pressed it against the ‘Generator Room’ section, leaving a red mark. It would be smart to have the spot marked for later reference. Licking his lips thoughtfully, Nedd continued to trail his finger over the paper, creating a small path down one of the map’s hallways.

A scratching noise got his attention. Nedd slowly lifted his head as Lady crawled into the room, head down submissively. She flopped down in a corner.

“What do you want?” Nedd growled, though he knew she wouldn’t answer. She pawed the ground uneasily and backed away, whimpering. Nedd smirked. She was such an easy target.

He continued the task of plotting out his attack. He bit his finger again and continued the thin trail of blood until it led back to the basement, which he circled. Nedd tapped his fingers together thoughtfully. He had the plan; but how would he execute it? Would he sneak his way to the generator room, or would he go for a blitzkrieg movement, with all his slogs involved? Or would he try to climb in through the vents so that he was ignored completely? Nedd liked the idea of just killing everybody in his path, but he knew it would be dreadfully inefficient. Plus, he had to finish the task in one night, which meant he had to watch the clock carefully. He didn’t want to get trapped above the basement during daylight hours.

A rough, clawing sound filtered through the air. Nedd’s head snapped up, horns rotating. He looked over at Lady. She was sleeping in a corner, drool dripping down her chin and onto her paws. Nedd scowled and looked back over his shoulder, slowly reaching for a metal pipe lying nearby. What was that sound?

“Who’s there?” he growled, crouching with the makeshift weapon in his hands. With patience well beyond his years he perched, as cold and still as a gargoyle. Nedd listened as the scraping echoed off the walls. Predicting where it was coming from was close to impossible. After a pause he turned, eye flicking up and down. Was the sound coming from behind him?

A shadow detached itself from behind a crate and lunged at him, tackled him to the ground, and pulled a metal chain around his neck, strangling him.

Nedd shrieked and spun, his attacker still clinging to his back. Lady jumped to her feet and barked hysterically, springing up and down. Nedd sprang to the rafters, grabbed its edge with his hand, and fell back, crushing his enemy with his back. He felt the chain loosen, and he gasped in a breath. The attacker tightened the chain, wrapped its arms around his neck, and dug its nails in.

‘Two can play at that game,’ Nedd thought, throwing the metal pipe aside. He reached back with his hand, dug his claws into his attackers back, and latched on. His attacker screamed. Nedd roared, his jaws snapping, and barrel-rolled, slamming the enemy across the floor and leaving a glistening, red blood mark. The pair smashed through a nearby crate, throwing splintered wood in all directions.

“Help me, you stupid animal!” Nedd managed to choke, still jumping and thrashing like an angry cat. His attacker was starting to lose his grip. Lady sprang at him from behind, barking wildly, and snapped her jaws around its shoulder blades. His attacker let go. The chain clattered against the floor, and Nedd fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air.

Nedd looked across the room. Lady was making short work of the attacker, flailing him with her claws and clipping her teeth together mockingly. Nedd strode calmly over to where she was, grabbed her by the scruff, and tossed her aside. Lady landed on her feet with a soft plop, still barking.

Nedd looked down. The thing that attacked him, he suddenly realized, was an intern. That stupid one that Red always mentioned; Ian, was it?

YOU SONNOVABITCH! Ian shrieked, launching himself at Nedd. Nedd held him away with his hand, leaning back to avoid his thrashing arms. Nedd had to give him credit; he was tough, for a stupid wimp, at least.

“What is with you?” Nedd chuckled, clamping his hand around Ian’s neck and hoisting him into the air. Ian kicked and struggled, glaring at him with hateful eyes. Blood was running from a wound in the side of his head, streaming down in dark red lines. “Did you really think you could kill me by yourself?”

This seemed to be unfair; if Ian had managed to hold on a little longer, he could’ve strangled Nedd to death. Lady being there was the only reason he survived.

Look what you did to me! Ian managed to hiss, horns flat and eyes wide. Nedd could see faint traces of red forming in the whites of his eyes. Nedd let his eyes drift down to Ian’s arm, where he could see faint bite marks.

Nedd scowled. “You got bit.” he sighed, scratching his head with his stubby arm. “You really can’t blame me for that.”

Ian’s face turned red. YES I CAN! He cried shrilly. IT WAS YOUR SLOG THAT BIT ME!

“You should’ve avoided it.”

Nedd closed his hand tighter so Ian couldn’t speak. He leaned in close, his dark brown eyes terrifying.

“Now what will you do?” He asked quietly, as though he were speaking to a child. “You tried to kill me, and you failed. You’re infected with cylonite and you’re losing your mind.” Nedd stood to his full height. “I’m going to kill you.”

At the word ‘kill’, Lady barked with excitement. Ian glared at him hopelessly, but didn’t protest. Slowly, Nedd drew back his stubby arm; it was blunt and as hard as a fist. He could easily kill an intern with just a few smacks.

But something made him stop. He looked down at his map, which was smeared with fresh lines of blood from the fight. Slowly, Nedd stalked down the hall, dragging Ian across the floor. Lady followed behind curiously, her tail down. She looked cheated.

Nedd forced open a door and looked inside. The room was cluttered with wet papers and broken beakers, but was otherwise empty. Nedd shoved Ian inside and slammed the door shut.

HEY! He could hear Ian protest from behind the door. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

“Oh, nothing.” Nedd said carelessly, picking up a metal pipe and cramming it through the doorknob, locking it. Ian hammered furiously on the door.

LET ME OUT!

“No, I don’t think I will.” Nedd sighed. Lady looked up at him strangely. “Trust me.” He muttered as though Lady could understand. She whimpered and ducked her head.

Nedd stalked off down the hall, back towards the ship’s map. Ian’s frenzied pounding on the door died off in the distance. Nedd crouched down and cleared away some wet blood from his map, smirking. Luckily it hadn’t smeared over his plans. He sucked the blood from his fingers as he continued his contemplations, deep in thought. Maybe he wouldn’t have to fight by himself, after all.



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Oh, and by the way, just some little thing: my computer likes to delete exclamation points, so if you see any sentences that end without any punctuation, just put an exclamation point at the end.