[alf's brother's mate]

Chapter 3

Mulch awoke with a start, as the train rattled along particularly coarse area of track, the sharp shaking motion awakening him. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light, which there was little of. He fumbled around, searching for some purchase on the door handle. He eventually found it, before twisting it to the left. The door swung open and clanged heavily on the steel walls of the train. Air rushed in through the doorway, flooding the room, almost knocking Mulch over. He stumbled backwards, clinging on to the doorframe for support, as he felt himself falling away into the cabin. He pulled himself to his feet, before looking out into the surrounding landscape.
He found himself completley surrounded by miles and miles of dust coated wasteland, barren hills and sloping drops far below. The only thing which even had a scent of civilization was an upcoming tunnel, with a large sign bridged across the entrance. From a distance Mulch couldn't read it, but as the train slowly drew closer, he began to pick the letters out slowly.
"S-en-s-or-y T-un-nel" Mulch said aloud. "Sensory tunnel." He repeated the words again. He looked up at the tunnel which was now getting very close, and from here he could pick out slig guards patrolling the perimeter, weapons in hands. Mulch's heart skipped a beat as he realised what it was.
A sensor would pass over the train, picking up any heat or movement. After that procedure was completed, a full scale check would be peformed by slig guards and sniffer slogs. Even from here Mulch could hear the loud barking of the vile creatures. Mulch began to panic as the tunnel approached. The slig guards had already begun to head towards the train for their inspection. Only two guards remained, one on the east side, and one on the west. The latter was now only half a dozen metres away from Mulch, and as the train docked in the searching bay, Mulch could examine the slig as if he was standing peforming surgery on him. From the shadows, Mulch examined the platform. The slig looked away every four seconds. There was a ladder leading to the floor thirty or so feet below just next to where the slig was standing. When the slig looked away, Mulch decided that he could make a jump for the ladder, then climb down, and then...
And then what? Mulch didn't even know where he was going after the train reached the dumping grounds. But there was no time for stopping and thinking now, the scanner would boot up in any minute.
He had to jump.
He waited for the slig to turn away.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Four seconds.
The slig turned sharply, and as he did so, Mulch leapt out from the train. He would have made the jump easily if the train hadn't dropped in order to be at the correct level for the scanner. Mulch found himself falling through the air, the wind rushing past him. He hit the ground hard with a resounding thud.
The world went dark.


Mulch's eyes blinked open, and with a shock, he found that he was no longer in the wilds of mudos, but in a large, plain white room. He looked down at himself. "I'm not dead." He muttered reasuringly. He continued to examine himself for another five or six seconds, before looking up. He jumped back, startled, as infront of him was a mudokon, tall, wearing a long, rounded mask. Mulch blinked. "Where am i?" He whispered.
"You are in Elysium" Said the mud slowly in a deep booming voice. Mulch gasped.
"What?"
"You are in Elysium" Repeated the Mudokon. He looked around slowly. "This is an alternate future for you Mulch." He stepped away, and turned back to Mulch. "Come on then." He said. The mud approached the wall, and opened the entire thing with a swift hand movement, as if it was one giant door. Mulch followed him cautiously.
Behind the door was a humongous Mudokon village, people milling around like ants. "Here, is the place where the good hearted belong." Said the Mudokon. "The place of those who do good without question or thought, simply for the benfit of another." Mulch rubbed his eyes, having some difficulty putting all of this together. "Heaven, in other words." Said the mud. "Although, for perfect harmony, deeds which may risk your living must be done without question. For if these are not done, then there shall be little harmony for you in the afterlife." Mulch glanced around, realising that somehow this being knew of what had happened with Mikey.
"There were too many." Mulch muttered to himself.
"You see Mulch, that is why you will not have harmony!" He roared. He grabbed the corner of the wall, and tore it away like a peice of paper. Behind the image of harmony was a smoke belching factory, with sligs beating working muds who were chained to walls to a pulp. Nails were pulled from mudokon fingers as a sport, and everywhere you looked there was the rotting flesh of some form of animal. "Pessemism and selfishness!" screamed the mud. "Self thought and no consideration for others! Where will it get you?! Nowhere!" He bellowed over the roar of the machines. Mulch looked down at the floor. "Mikey is dead, and you could have saved him, but you too bothered about saving yourself!" The mud grabbed the corner of the image and scrunched it up into a ball, before throwing it at Mulch. "These bonds of guilt must be lifted Mulch otherwise you know precisley where you will end up! In Hell!"