Ultimate Sligs Oddysee: Chapter 11: A strange new place
Sorry it trails off a bit towards the end, I was in a rush. Re-editing will be done later.
Chapter 11: A strange new place
-Unknown Jungle-
-Approximately 12 hours after the Destruction of Mort-Labs-
Birds twittered lightly, and a dappled sunlight softly shone through the canopy of the jungle. There was moistness in the air, and everything was dripping lightly with droplets of water, left from the night’s rain. Down on the jungle floor, animals foraged for food, leaving their footprints in the now muddy ground. The orange grass, bushes, and other ground plants seemed to shine, and glimmer, because of the excessive dew, and low, thick, swirling mist that hung over the floor, obscuring the smallest animals completely. Eba awoke slowly; to the far off morning cry of an unknown creature. He slowly raised his eyelids, looking straight up, and observing all that was around him, while shifting uncomfortably to the constant drips of water, falling from the branches above. The jungle was large, and lush with vegetation. Vines hung entwined from every branch, and moss clung to every surface. The entire jungle had a distinctively orange tinge, with only the green moss to penetrate the oranges and browns of these odd plants.
Eba leant forward and peered through the leaves that surrounded him. Off in the distance, there was an immeasurably tall cliff, a small section of which Eba made out to be charred. That must have been the remnants of Dr Mort’s escape passage. The tunnel must’ve gone on for a very long distance from Mort Labs, because Eba had never seen anything like this place from any window, or trip in an airship.
Dr Mort must have been hiding Eba extremely far down the tunnel, and he and Bea were running for around half an hour. Bea…Eba turned and looked for Bea, finding his nest empty. Eba remembered what Bea had said yesterday and didn’t worry, if it was yesterday. The jungle was just as light as it had been when they had been violently ejected from the tunnel. It seemed to be a kind of perpetual sunset. He sat up fully, and stretched his arms, his back, and switched to normal mode, his legs sliding out slowly, and coming to rest in a relaxing position. He reached out for his rifle, but did not find it. His automatic reaction was to turn to 024, who was still stung up, but not, as the heart rate monitor in his eyes gave away, unconscious. “Where is it?” said Eba, quite relaxed. 024 jerked his head upwards, staring angrily at Eba. “Where is what?” he wriggled a bit, trying to break his bonds, but to no avail. “My rifle” said Eba flatly. 024 gestured his head upwards. There hung the rifle, on a strap. Eba reached up and grabbed it. It was okay, and now it had, attached to it in some way, a strap which Eba could use to sling the rifle over his shoulder. It was made from vines, leather, and also had a few gems on it, surrounded by elegant symbols. Eba stared at it puzzled, looking it over in his hands. “The terrorist made it for you” said 024 “Probably because you’ve joined him, to help massacre Sligs!” Eba slung the rifle over his shoulder, and sighed “If anyone’s doing the massacring, it’s the Industrialists.” 024 wriggled again. Eba laughed inwardly as he remembered what he did when Dr Mort first attempted to convert him. “I’m going to try deprogramming you, 024. I know there is good in you. Join us, join us against the Cartel! Can’t you see what its doing to everything around it?” 024 shook his head “I am trained to handle torture” Eba moved his legs around, so they dangled over the edge of his nest. “I’m not going to torture you, 024! I just want you to understand!” 024 looked straight down at the ground “You are a defector! You can no longer call me 024! You must refer to me by my full title! 024ATF1!” This sparked something off in Eba’s mind ‘…034ATF1…’ he pondered for a second, and then dismissed it as nothing. “No, 024! I am still you’re ally! Your comrade!...your friend!” 024 looked up again, staring hard into Eba’s eyes “I have NO friends! I am an ATF member!” Eba got the feeling that 024 said this with contempt. Did he have emotions trying to surface? Eba thought back to what Dr Mort had said to him over those…few months was it? He let out a sigh “This will take a while…” he said to himself, and began trying to explain to 024 why he had saved him in the tunnel.
Hours later, Eba had gained barely any ground. He was still trying to explain why he had saved 024, but the ATF member’s lack of emotion made it difficult, although Eba noticed that 024 did seem to be trying to understand, instead of just blanking him out. “Okay, I’ll explain again…” said Eba, retelling the events of the tunnel. There was a rustle in the shrubs above, and Eba stood, flicked his rifle off his shoulder and pointed it upwards. “Watch where you point that thing” came the familiar voice. Bea dropped through the leaves and land in his nest. “So how’s it going with Rusty here?” Eba slid the rifle back onto his shoulder “Don’t call him that, it won’t help.” Bea laughed, took a fruit from his satchel, and threw it to Eba. “Does Rusty eat?” he said waving another fruit about. “I will not eat your poison!” said 024, curling up into ball even further. Bea looked at him, grinning. “Suit yourself…” and swallowed it whole. “Thanks for the strap…” Eba began “No problem” came the reply immediately “I saw how time consuming it was for you to take it out before” Eba began to eat his fruit. “It didn’t take that long…” “Every second counts” said Bea knowingly. Eba sat down again. “So where are we?” he asked. “Looks to me like we’re in the far reaches of Necrum” answered Bea, munching on another fruit “Mudokon city of the dead. Only gets dark for five hours over here. Dunno why.” Eba was shocked. That tunnel must’ve travelled south for hundreds…if not thousands of miles! Sure, Mort Labs was on the South most section of the barracks, but that’s still no where near Necrum! “…wow…” Eba was shocked. But wait, why did Bea not know where this was, surely he got into the tunnel through the cliff opening? “How did you…” he began “Dr Mort smuggled me in, when I ran off in the…in the fortress.” The memory hit them both, and they went quiet for a while. “A glorious victory for the Cartel!” shouted 024 amidst the silence. “Oh shut up” snapped Eba. “...anyway…” Bea returned to his story “After I ran off, Dr Mort was waiting in one of his Vykker Pods in the forest. I was hiding in a crate he carried. When he opened it again, I was in the tunnel. He told me to remain where I was, a little further down from you. I think he realised I would kill you if I saw you. Anyway, I stayed there for a few months, and only ventured further when I heard the gunfire. That’s when I saw you again.” Eba nodded. Bea peered out from the leaves. “Here comes the dark” Eba looked out too. He peered as far as he could see through the trees, and saw it. The darkness came like a wave, enveloping everything, moving very fast. As the dark passed over them there was a strong gust of wind, and cold chill, and an echoing sound, like a moan. “That was creepy” said Bea, hunching over in his nest “Yeah…” said Eba, and then began to deprogram 024 again.
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