cheers you two. and god, please don't say you're feeling suspense building up for the end, because i just know the ending is going to be a massive anticlimax. i may try to rewrite it, as i am not too happy with it.
to be honest, i'm not too happy with this whole thing. its alright, but i don't think it holds a candle to Glory Slig. i poured what i had into that, this one seems more like an experimental story. more effort next time i think.
anywho;
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Joe gathered his bucket and cloth from walkway nine, noticing the corpse had been removed. He wondered who took the dead bodies in Rupture Farms, and assumed they must have been busy. Joe visited the water tank to refill his bucket with fresh water, that’s when a slig approached him.
“You! Get down to the factory line in processing. They need another hand to work the conveyor belt since that last chump got crushed.” The slig barked at Joe.
Joe couldn’t help himself, curiosity getting the better of him, and asked how the mudokon got crushed.
“Not that it matters, but the fan belt bust and made the giant propeller fall out and kill him. Now get goin’!” The slig informed, sharply.
Joe left his bucket and cloth at the water tank, probably not needing it ever again if things went well tonight, and set off for the processing section of Rupture Farms.
Joe spent the rest of the day in front of a massive propeller that had fallen on the ground, motionless. The body was still underneath it, to Joe’s disgust, and a pool of blood surrounded it. Joe tried not to look, but whenever he did look, he only saw the cold dead feet, the rest hidden under the mass of iron.
Working the conveyor belt in processing consisted of pulling a lever all day once you had checked the random piece of meat for any cartilage or unwanted products. If the meat did have some cartilage, you had to blast it off with the water hose and then pull the lever for the next piece of meat to come through.
The meat itself was huge, bigger than a mudokon, and had random bones jutting out from the sides. Some looked like rib cages, others just looked like a bony mass of meat.
Eventually, the buzzer sounded, and Joe walked in procession with the other mudokons that had been working on the conveyor belt, towards the exit of the processing section, as it was one of the sections on the edge of Rupture Farms territory.
Joe wasn’t feeling hungry, and was in fact feeling very nervous. Later that day he would either be dead or free. A stark contrast. He did not stop off at the canteen, and went straight to the hole.
“Hello, trooper!” Relb welcomed Joe when he entered the hole.
“Alright. Been on the conveyor belt in processing all day. Boring as hell.” Joe replied.
Relb was standing by a crate in the corner, while Muller was leaning against the crate that the tin cans were on, looking at his feet, fidgeting.
“Whats up, Muller? Nervous?” Joe asked.
“What? Oh…I dunno, I’ve never done anything like this before.” He answered rather nervously.
“Hey, Joe! Why weren’t you at the canteen?” Crob shouted as he jumped down into the hole.
“Oh, you know, weren’t that hungry after this morning.” Joe said, still looking at Muller.
“We really gonna’ do this?” Crob asked, looking from Joe to Relb, who was now sitting on the crate in the corner.
“We certainly are.” Relb answered plainly.
“Well, its better than this dump, aint it?” Joe said in an attempt to console them.
“Evening!” Rol yelled to them all as he jumped into the hole.
“Hello mouth.” Crob said sarcastically.
“Guess what I’ve got!” Rol said, excited at the prospect of gathering weapons and escaping from Rupture Farms.
“What?” Joe asked.
Rol pulled three different knives out of his loincloth, and placed them spread out on the crate Muller was leaning against.
“Now we’ll show these sligs who’s boss!” Rol added as everyone else looked at the knives.
“Where’d you get ‘em?” Muller asked, picking one up that had a black handle and serrated edge.
“Swapped a pack of smokes for them.” Rol informed, beaming.
“Jeez, I didn’t know you were that easily pleased.” Relb commented, stealing Rol’s thunder.
“Oh yeah! Well if your so good, show us what you got!” Rol said, picking up a knife with a carved wooden handle and tucking it in his loincloth.
“I’d be careful what you put down there, Rol!” Crob said, laughing and picking up the last knife, which had a brass handle.
“I’ll show you what I got!” Relb said, then taking something out the back of his loincloth.
He pulled out a large pistol.
“Whoa!” Muller exclaimed as the others gasped.
“Shitting hell! Where the hell did you get that?!” Rol said, outraged that Relb had beaten him.
“I told you I’d rob a few lockers! Had to go through about five before I found somethin’ worth while though.” Relb said, showing off his new toy.
“Hang on a minute! Where’s my weapon?” Joe asked, it suddenly dawning on him that he was the only one without a weapon.
“Do you really think you’d actually use it if you had one?” Rol asked, a spiteful look on his face. “You aint got the guts, mate.”
“Oh leave it out, Rol! Not before we fucking go to our deaths!” Crob said, ceasing any further advances in the argument.
Then there was a retching sound, to which Relb made a sound in disgust. Joe, Crob and Rol all turned around to see that Muller had vomited all over the floor, and stood there, bent over.
“Fucking hell! You ok Muller?” Joe asked.
“Yeah, I’m…I’m fine. Just give me a minute.” He said, still bent over, looking at his breakfast.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to!” Relb said mercifully.
“And where would I go if you lot left? I’d be here on my own.” Muller replied, then looking at the factory roof high above, saliva and sick hanging from his open mouth.
“Jeez, wipe your mouth Muller.” Crob said, frowning at Muller’s display.
Muller wiped his mouth, and looked at his knife.
“Ha ha! You ok now, Muller?” Rol said, unhelpfully.
“You really do pick the moments, don’t ya’ Rol.” Crob said, as Rol laughed.
“Ok then. Are we gonna’ do it?” Joe asked, to which he received four nods. “Alright, lets go.”
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