Chapter Two
Thanks for the comments guys. About the gramical errors, yeah I'm pretty bad about editing my own work. I find it hard to locate spelling errors and such if it's my own work. Be warned. This next chapter contains minor language and violence.
Open for Slaughter
Chapter Two
Rumors Confirmed
Palms lied in his bunk fully awake. The sun was just barely coming over the horizon, but he couldn’t get back to sleep. It had been a few days since the accident had occurred. But that wasn’t what was keeping him awake. He had changed positions. Now he had been chosen to guard the slave pen. Thoughts flashed through his head about what the new job may be like. He yawned, turned over in his bunk, and slowly drifted into sleep.
“On your feet and to your posts!” a large voice boomed out of the speaker in the room. Palms instantly jolted awake. The rest of the sligs in the room were also getting up. He crawled out of bed and put his metal pants on. He checked his pants. They were in functioning order. Palms left the room and began to walk towards the slave pen. The hallways were filled with all manner of creatures as they went off to finish another day of work. Finally, the slave pen was in sight. He opened the large door before him and stepped into the room.
“Hey, are you the new guy?” a slig asked him as Palms entered.
“Yeah,” Palms replied.
“Great. Okay, here’s your orders.” The slig began to read a note he had been carrying. “You’ll just be keeping an eye on the slaves for the most part. You are obligated to stop any and all riots, stop slaves from gathering in large groups, keep the slaves busy, and give daily reports on their status. Understood?”
“Understood,” Palms said.
“Great. You’ll be working over there on the far side.” The slig pointed towards the back of the room. “You got a partner too. I think his name’s Kel.”
All of Palms enthusiasm immediately left him. Kel was self-centered, boastful, and generally liked to instigate fights. Palms sighed heavily. He walked towards his post very slowly.
“You’re kidding right? I gotta’ work with you?” was the first thing out of Kel’s mouth.
“Unfortunately, yes. Look, I don’t like it either.”
“Then go jump in one of those machines over there and solve both out problems.”
Palms sighed again. This was going to be a long day. The rest of the morning went by with much arguing. Kel was eager to start an argument over any little thing. Finally, the lunch bell went off. Relief flooded over Palms. It wasn’t much to look forward to, but at least it was twenty minutes of peace.
As he entered the cafeteria, Palms realized that Meech Munchies were on the menu today. Finally, a nice change from Scrab Cakes. With his tray of food, he sat down next to Luke once again.
“Well, how do ya’ like your new post?” Luke asked Palms.
“It sucks. It’s about has mush fun as putting your hand in a meat grinder.”
“Ah, come one. Put a positive spin on it,” Luke said sympathetically.
“There’s nothing positive about it.”
A few minutes passed with nothing said. Luke broke the silence.
“Did I tell you I’m getting a different position too?”
“No, you didn’t. Where are you going?” Palms asked.
“Now I’m outside. Kind of like where you were positioned.”
Palms nodded his head. He wished he could be working outside as well. Anything was better than Kel. The rest of the time, they sat silently munching their Munchies, both thinking about their new jobs. When Palms finished, he said goodbye to Luke and went back to the slave pen. Kel was already there. He gave Palms a look of disgust as he entered.
“Damn, I thought you had killed yourself. I was actually happy for a few minutes,” Kel said.
Palms ignored the comment and began to monitor the mudokens. He spotted three of them huddled in a group talking.
“Hey! Break it up. Now.”
The mudokens all shot him an angry glare before dispersing around the pen. Palms grinned. He found bossing them around amusing.
“You thought that was funny? Pathetic. Let me show you how it’s done,” Kel said. “Hey you, com’ere.” He pointed at a mudoken.
“M-me?” the obviously frightened mudoken asked.
“Who the hell else would I be talking to? Get over here.” The mudoken slowly crept up to the slig. “Okay, we’re gonna’ play a game. It’s called dodge my gun!” The slig raised his gun and beat it into the mudoken’s face, sending him sprawling across the floor. Kel laughed as the mudoken grabbed his face in agony. “You lost. You know what that means? We get to play again!” Kel began to beat the helpless mudoken with his gun over and over. Palms winced. Bossing the mudokens around was fun. Beating them senseless was cruel. When Kel was finished, he let the mudoken stand up again. Blood trickled from its mouth. “That’s good sportsmanship. Here’s a reward.” With one final blow from the butt of the gun, he sent the mudoken across the pen once more before walking back towards Palms. “That’s how ya’ do it,” he declared.
A few uneventful hours passed by. Kel had fallen asleep and was lying on the floor. Palms was trying to fight off sleep as well. Watching mudokens shuffle around and work wasn’t the most entertaining of chores. In Palms semiconscious state, he thought he heard tapping. Slowly Palms came back to reality. The tapping had grown a little louder. Kel woke up and tried to distinguish the sound as well. Palms listened and realized that the sound was coming from the vents.
“Something is in the vent. It’s probably just a fleech or ratz,” Palms said aloud.
Then he heard something that changed his mind. He heard whispers. “Something’s whispering up there.”
“That’s it. I’m getting to the bottom of this,” Kel said. He flung himself against the wall and managed to climb up near the vent. Ripping of the metal surface that guarded the entrance to the air vent, he climbed inside. At first glance, nothing seemed to be in the vent. Then he saw a shadow begin to stir in front of him. “What the hell?” he yelled. An iron grip latched around his throat, cutting off his airway. He felt it lift him out of his pants and begin to beat him against the sides of the vents. Pain enveloped him as his skull crashed into the metal barrier again and again. “Help!” he managed to scream.
Palms stood terrified as the vent began to quake. Something had gone terribly wrong. When he heard Kel scream he pulled out his gun and shot three bullets into the vent.
Kel heard three loud crashes in the vent. Whatever had him been mercilessly beating him let go and recoiled. It let loose a hiss sound and climbed further down the vent. With what energy Kel had left, he pulled himself towards the opening in the vent and fell through.
Palms watched Kel fall back to the floor. The fall had rendered him unconscious. Palms quickly a bloody hole in Kel’s chest. One of his bullets had hit him. He quickly turned towards the slaves. He pointed at one.
“You! Go get help! Hurry!” The mudoken hesitated. It seemed unsure if it wanted to help the slig that had just beat a slave severely. Palms didn’t have time for this. He pulled his gun and aimed it at the mudoken. “Go get help now or I will shoot!” The mudoken sprinted towards the other end of the slave pens. Palms looked down at Kel. He hated the slig so much, yet he felt obligated to save his life.
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I wonder if Kel will survive this or not...