[Moosh da Outlaw]

The room had fallen silent. Mutilated bodies littered the floor, some shredded beyond recognition. The thick, choking smell of blood in the air was unavoidable. Dan slowly rose to his feet, trembling. Streaks of blood soaked through his armor. Blood that wasn’t his. Unsure of what to do, Dan sank down, covering his face with his hands.

Ian was dead.

Something shuffled behind him, followed by a faint cough. Dan’s head snapped up. He looked back over his shoulder, wide-eyed.

Red? he called hopefully. He got up from where he sat, scanning the dead bodies quickly.

Over here. Came a husky reply from the corner of the room.

Red!

Dan hurried over, kicked aside a dead body, and helped pull Red up. Red threw an arm over Dan’s shoulder for support, his head rolling loosely. He had five deep cuts straight down his face that tore through his armor, as though somebody had mauled him with a rake. Luckily the cuts missed his eyes. Red looked over at Dan.

Where’s Ian? he asked, looking around through foggy eyes.

Dan gulped. I-I don’t know.

You’re lying.

...have you seen Durc anywhere? Dan asked, hoping to change the topic.

Red rubbed his eyes groggily as they made their way towards the door. I think he bolted when the fighting started.

Typical.

Now come on, be honest, Red growled, stopping. He glared at Dan venomously. Where’s Ian?

Dan hesitated. He didn’t want to have to be the one to tell Red his best friend had his throat torn out by a maniac. But he knew he didn’t have a choice. Nedd killed him.

Red looked away. Dan felt his throat tighten. Let me go. Red said, shrugging his arm off from around Dan’s shoulder. Dan stiffened.

Can you walk by yourself?

I’m fine. Red insisted quietly, eyes fixed on the floor.
Dan rubbed his fingers together nervously. We need to find Durc. he whispered. His voice was scratched. There’s still a chance we can catch Nedd. I don’t know how, but we have to try. If we go now, I think we’ll have enough time to make it to the guard tower and get the remaining guards to help track him down.

Red stared at the floor. Dan paused, wondering if he had heard him. Finally Red looked up at him. His eyes looked even more bloodshot than normal, if it were possible. Okay.

<~{.epidemic.}~>

The generator was a colossal thing, more than fifty feet tall, and made up almost entirely of groaning cogs and humming motors. Gears jutted out at symmetric angles, slowly cranking in a full circle as the machine generated its own energy. The only light in the entire room came from the luminescent blue-green bulbs that lined the ceiling.

If one had been standing in the generator room, they might not have heard the faint patter of feet out in the hall; what they would hear, however, would be an ear-splitting shriek as the metal door folded over itself, sparking in protest. A stubby, ugly-stitched arm forced its way through the small gap, and pulled back quickly. An angry red eye glistened from behind the opening. With a quick blink, the face pulled back, and the entire door flew off its hinges, whistling through the air.

Nedd paused. Was it safe? It sure looked safe; he didn’t see anybody around. The generator was off limits to everybody except specially-certified faculty who helped keep the place in check. Nedd certainly didn’t see any of them around.

Nedd stepped hesitantly into the light, squinting. His instincts screamed at him to run, but the light didn’t seem to hurt him. He stared up at the generator in awe. He knew he could destroy it, but he’d never stopped to think how. His rapidly beating heart and the agonizing pain in his right cheek weren’t helping.

Nedd sprang over to the metal catwalk around the generator and laid his fingers over the metal cogs, thinking. The cogs had holes running through the sides. Could he possibly wedge something inside and break the entire thing just by breaking one cog? It was worth a try. Nedd snapped a strip of metal from the catwalk’s safety rail and jammed it in the hole, bending it around so it wouldn’t get loose. He decided to use it as a backup; if him destroying the generator failed, there would always be a chance that the broken cog would throw the generator out of line.

Nedd grabbed a cog at random and tugged at it. It was wedged in pretty deep. He twisted it with his tightly-gripped fingers and jerked it free with his bad arm, throwing it aside. The generator smoked faintly, but seemed to operate fine with just a missing cog. He’d have to work harder if he wanted to destroy it in time. Eye suddenly darkening, Nedd dug his hand deeper into the metal contraption, latched on to whatever he could reach, and started pulling it apart.

<~{.epidemic.}~>

Dan pressed the elevator button quickly.

Here’s what we do. Dan said half to himself. He wasn’t even sure Red was listening. We find Durc. I don’t care if he ran away from the fight. I don’t care if he’s so torn apart he can’t move. I want him to send the remainder of the guards to the generator room as fast as possible, without any complications. We can stop Nedd, I know it.

Red muttered something under his breath that sounded like disbelief. He sighed moodily. Dan looked away, purposely ignoring him. Now was not the time to sulk. If Red thought he was the only one who missed Ian, he was sorely mistaken.

The door swung open. Dan ducked inside. He blinked in surprise.

Empty? How could it be empty?

Come on, Dan said, turning swiftly and shoving Red back inside before he could even step out. Red made a face.

What? Why are we going back?

There’s nobody there!

Red looked thoughtful. Maybe, he began slowly, Durc didn’t come back to the Tower. There wouldn’t even be any guards this late. Maybe he went to where all the other guards are.

Dan looked sidelong at Red. The basement? It was where Durc had ordered the rest of the guards to be sent, after all.

The door swung open. Red stepped quickly out, running down the hall. Dan looked on in surprise. For having nearly been killed, Red was still full of energy. Dan took off after him, not wanting to be left behind. Their flashlights were their only source of light; if they were going to have to navigate to the basement, they would have no choice but to do it in the gloomiest conditions. Dan looked worried. Would they find the basement in time to stop Nedd?

They ran like they’d never run before, wasting no time getting to the basement. They jumped down multiple stairs at once and didn’t bother to avoid knocking things over. There was no time to waste. They burst through a door and landed cleanly on their feet in the Main Intersection.

Heads turned. Snuzi’s clicked. In a split second all weapons were on them.

“WHO GOES THERE!” A particularly paranoid slig demanded, waving his snuzi like a machete.

Dan stiffened. Its just me and Red—

“HOW DO WE KNOW YOU’RE NOT INFECTED WITH CYLONITE?!” The slig roared.

We’re wearing armor, you moron!

“I ORDER YOU TO DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND---”

“HEY!” A familiar voice interrupted. The slig’s tentacles curled inward; it was obviously embarrassed. “I do the ordering around here! Don’t you forget it!”

Durc shoved his way roughly through the crowd of guards. Dan and Red took a moment to look things over. Is that where Durc had gone? When he’d seen that his guards were being easily beat by Nedd and Ian’s unusual attacks, had he gone for backup in the basement, where all the guards were, or had he run to the safest place he knew?

Durc glared at them. “Its about time you showed up.”

Hey, at least we stayed behind and fought. Red said, arms crossed.

Durc was silent. The same slig as before said tentatively, “...Sir?”

“Right.” Durc said, completely disregarding Red’s remark. Red crossed his arms tighter. “We’re sending out reinforces to scout the perimeter.”

Dan looked around. Now that he really looked around, he realized that there weren’t as many guards around as he’d thought. Slightly more than one patrol, maybe. Durc must have sent out the rest of the squads already. What he didn’t see, though, was anyone from his patrol.

So what should we do? Dan asked as the guards returned to what they were doing; leaning against the walls and chatting unquestioningly, waiting for signs of an attack. They were acting like they were in no danger. ‘Hadn’t they seen Nedd before?’

“Stay here.” Durc said with a careless shrug. “Trust me. I’ve sent out the best of the best to handle Nedd, and that other intern, what’s his name, Ian?”

He got killed. Red whispered.

Durc smiled. “Well, there’s one less problem!” he said happily. Dan had to hold Red back to keep him from throddling his boss.

<~{.epidemic.}~>

Nedd jumped back down from the catwalk, admiring his handiwork. The generator was sparking wildly and humming like the blades of a helicopter, staining the ceiling with smoke. Satisfied, his horns twitched. As impossible, abstract, and unheard of as it seemed, he actually looked genuinely happy for once.

Nedd’s left horn twitched suddenly, and twirled in the direction of the metal door. Nedd looked over without turning his head, staring into the shadows in the hallway beyond. There was a pause. Then suddenly something flew through the dark and bounced with a faint clink! against the floor.

When the object stopped moving, Nedd moved over carefully. He had no idea what it was. Nedd leaned in closer and examined it with a wide eye, blinking in confusion. It was roughly round, scaled deeply like a cured ham, and oddly... hissing?

‘OHSH–!’

Nedd jumped back just as the grenade exploded. Shrieking in fury, Nedd fell back onto the floor with his face in his hands. Not only did the fire burn him, but the light from the flames did too, scathing his body with sunburn-like marks as dark as beets. Nedd’s eye snapped open from between his fingers as the sound of sligs rang in his ears.

“COME ON WE’VE GOT HIM IMMOBILIZED!”

Nedd scrambled to his feet, feeling his skin crack from the dryness of his burns. He forced his eye open painfully. Sligs were rushing in the room wielding odd-looking guns. Nedd sprang sleekly to the side as a bullet rocketed past his face, striking the wall behind him. He looked back to find a dripping syringe impaled in the deep plaster. They weren’t snuzis; they were tranquilizers!

Making a raspy hissing sound in his throat, Nedd sprang onto the catwalk and raced around the outside of the room, ducking and jumping to avoid the morphine-loaded darts. He swung down from the catwalk and kicked aside two sligs with his feet, darting towards the door. If he could just make it to the basement, he’d be safe. If he could just---

GZZTHWAP!

Nedd heard the dart before he felt it pierce his upper arm. He tripped in surprise and tumbled through the door, careening wildly down the hall in a zig-zag. He swung the corner quickly. The morphine was in his blood. He couldn’t let it spread!

Without hesitation Nedd jerked the needle free and created a clean cut over his arm with his claw. He quickly sucked out a mouthful of blood and spat it aside, feeling dizzy. He liked the taste of blood. But not his own blood. Not wanting to risk losing any more blood, Nedd tore down the hall. His mind felt light and fuzzy. He guessed that some of the morphine had gotten through despite his precautions.

Back in the generator room, a slig grabbed his walkie talkie. “Its all going as planned.” he said to Durc, tentacles flared. “He’s coming your way!”

Nedd felt his legs grow heavier and heavier. He couldn’t think clearly. Bluntly he wondered why he never considered getting jacked up on morphine before he was a cylonite monster. Shaking the thought from his head, Nedd pounced down a flight of stairs and landed on all fours, keeping his body close to the ground. His eyes raked the hallway for signs of guards. Spotting none, he continued onwards.

He passed quickly through the vykker suites before speeding down a long hallway and erupting into the main intersection. Nedd grinned. He was in the clear!

...or so he first thought.

Nedd dug his hands and feet wildly into the ground when he realized he had jumped into a room with a guard patrol. On any other occasion, he would’ve just killed them, but the drug in his body was throwing his coordination out of whack, leaving him in a state of utter confusion. Snuzi bullets shredded his skin mercilessly. Shrieking, Nedd swung at the guards with his claws, slicing through those few unfortunate enough to be close, but killing nobody.

‘Damn!’

Nedd’s eye was watering in pain. Through his clouded vision he could just make out two familiar shapes shooting at him. Dan and Red. They were still alive?!

Howling with rage, Nedd pounded forward like a juggernaut, slamming into them will his full body force. The pair were thrown back against the wall, cursing. Nedd watched through his wavering vision as Dan slammed against the side... and vanished? Nedd jumped back to confuse those who were shooting him. Where had he gone?

“AHA!” A voice he just barely remembered shouted. It was that vykker who was supposed to lead the guards. Nedd swung around, glaring. “We’ve got you now!”

Nedd ran towards him, bowling through the ranks of guards and spearing them with his claws. Their numbers fell rapidly just from that single angry outburst. Sweat ran down Nedd’s back. His skin rippled with muscle. He was a machine, powerful and unstoppable, and as pissed as could be. He swung out with his bad arm, snarling like a feral scrab. He brought his foot down to jump forward. It cracked through the metal tile instead, which formed an ‘x’ shape. Without stopping to contemplate his predicament Nedd kept running and jerked his leg free.

The metal gored his skin, scraping his bone. Nedd screamed and slammed Durc full force, but not before hearing him whisper:
“Gotcha.”

Nedd and Durc tumbled across the floor in a shrieking mass of flesh and blood. Nedd felt something constrict his legs, as tight as a belt. Nedd kicked his feet free and reared up on his hind legs with a terrifying, jaw dropping, terror-fueling roar. He was covered in blood. He was badly wounded. And he was unstoppable.

“I’ve waited a long time for this!” Nedd blasted. The guards stopped. They were horror stricken. He was truly invincible. But in truth, nothing was unbeatable.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Nedd didn’t know it, but Dan hadn’t vanished. He’d just crashed through a door that Nedd hadn’t seen. Where he had landed was among a load of crates nestled between two desks. Groggily Dan lifted his head and looked around, dazed. He felt something cut his elbow. He looked over, seeing his arm inside of a broken crate. He was bleeding from splinters. Dan jerked his arm free quickly, cradling it against his chest. Something fell out of the broken crate with a faint clink. Curious, Dan picked it up. It was a large, dark-brown bottle, full of a thin liquid. He carefully read the label.

Chloroform.

Dan’s eyes went wide with shock. He quickly tore open the wooden crate, finding more bottles of the heavy anesthetic. Gathering up as much as he could in his arms, Dan rushed to the door he had broken through, his mind racing. His heart was thumping so loud he could hear it. He watched the guards; spotted a huge wave of bodies being thrown aside with Nedd close behind; and threw a bottle of chloroform as hard as he could.

The bottle crashed against Nedd's face. Nedd shrieked and tumbled, crashing against the wall. Quickly Nedd jumped to his feet, his face wet and his eye dazed. He charged at Dan through the guards like an angry bull. Terrified, Dan threw a second bottle as hard as he could. It exploded on Nedd's chest. He snarled and slammed towards Dan, who sprang swiftly to the side with a third bottle in hand. He threw it directly inbetween Nedd's eyes, filling his mouth with the foul liquid.

Hissing, Nedd stumbled to the side, his arms hanging limply. Dan scrambled against the wall and watched him in horror. Blinking slowly, Nedd locked Dan with his vision. Then he rammed into him again and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him into the air. Dan released the bottles in his arms impulsively. CRASH! They shattered against Nedd's head, completely drenching him in chloroform. The anestetic quickly took affect. Nedd released Dan from his grip and stumbled back with a loud groan. Dan backed up against the wall. Nedd lurched, than, like a dead tree, fell heavily to the side.

Nedd's vision began to rapidly fade. Terror filled his head; What had Dan done to him?! The last thing Nedd saw before he blacked out was Durc throwing a metal blanket over him, followed by the tightening, suffocating feeling of the blanket wrapping itself around him.

<~{.epidemic.}~>

Was it over?

Was it all over... just like that?

“Thats it?” somebody whispered. This seemed to break the silence. Dan looked down at the blanket that just barely covered Nedd completely. He could see a faint shuffling from underneath. He was still breathing. Dan felt mixed emotions. Nedd wasn’t going to hurt anybody anymore. And he was still alive.

“Thats it?”

“We did it?”

“We did it.”

“...we did it...”

“WE DID IT!”

The roar came from both sligs and interns alike, who were cheering and jumping with uncontrollable joy. Dan just wanted to sleep. He sat against the wall and set the remainder of the chloroform aside, watching as two large shapes shuffled through the crowd. Dan blinked. Was that... One and Two?

The pair of hulking sligs approached Durc (who was kicking Nedd’s unconscious body out of pure anti-humility) and whispered something to him. Durc dropped what he was doing, the color draining from his face. Quietly, he ordered for an intern nearby to go fetch something. The intern ran off without so much as a complaint. What was there to complain about? They were alive!

Red sat down next to Dan.

“Durc ordered for a stretcher.” he said quickly. Dan looked over at him, confused.
Red’s eyelids lowered. “I’m afraid the fight isn’t over yet.”