I know, that was the amazing things about RPGs; we got so much plot out of nothing! It's a shame W@RFs 7, 8 and 9 haven't been so successful.
I've written up to chapter 35 I think, now. There are three fairly distinct sections to this part. The first 'section' I was hoping to get done in three chapters, but it's actually gone to five, and some of them are pretty long (the last of them is the longest yet) so it's fair to predict that this is easily going to be the longest 'Part' of the story. The second Part set in W@RF might well be the shortest.
The fight in the last chapter was... fairly true to the RPG (but made a little more intense) but in the RPG it ended when Kix possessed Expert. Since this was the only time Kix ever had any spiritual powers, I decided not to copy that bit so accurately, plus outside of RPG logic it would undoubtedly end in Kix getting in a lot of trouble, whereas it actually ended in... well, you'll see
So, on with the show!
Chapter 32
Anni and her friends had been woken early the next morning by an irritable looking slig who after persistent interrogation from Anni gave his name as Rycha (in a tone of voice that said “And call me anything else and I’ll garrotte you.”); he led them to the staff cafeteria on the ground floor and got them a breakfast of leftovers (to Dean’s mild annoyance, but no one else was up yet so they guessed that a proper breakfast might usually be served) and then showed them ill-temperedly around the factory’s one production line, telling them about the shifts they would work and what they’d be expected to do, and how to work some of the machinery in a vague way that said he’d done this tour more than once before and still didn’t know what he was talking about. However, they met Seven, the head of security who organised the other sligs, as well as the mudokon shifts, in the main grinders (Anni stared in awe up at the towering pillar of iron and blade, already tearing its way through elum carcasses) who filled in some of the gaps that Rycha had left.
“Don’t worry about him,” Seven told them as the other slig sloped off, “He’s moody but he’ll leave you alone.”
Javi was the one who spoke up, “Hey, me and Dean have some… pretty specialised skills. Dean is like an amazing cook, and was in charge of the kitchen back in the lab, and I’m pretty good at looking after animals; I’d like to help out in your stockyards.”
Seven nodded, “Well I’m pretty busy this morning but we can talk about it later. For now I’ll just show you how the production lines machinery works and see how you get on.” They nodded (Anni bounced) and were led to their post.
It was simple and fairly dull work, a lot of pulling levers at the right times and watching dials and clocks, but they got on with it and Anni was enthusiastic about the new experiences. Seven hurried back in a few hours later and led them upstairs to the packaging area and gave them a new set of instructions for a new set of machines, sending the mudokon already working there to the production lines they had just left. “I’ll give you about an hour here. We’re expecting a delivery soon, and we’ll probably need you then,” He said, eying up Javi’s muscular build.
True to his word, Seven reappeared an hour later, “A couple of new fridges have arrived for the staff kitchen. Lazy idiots left them at the station so we’ll need your help carrying them down.
The mudokons left the machinery and followed. “Dunno if Anni’ll be much help moving heavy stuff around.”
Seven glanced at her, “She can help Kix cleaning the grinders; it’s just next to the station.”
Rupture Farms has fallen largely into disrepair following the terrorist attack that had shut it down. The ‘freak lightening discharge’ that had run through the building to strike Molluck and his slig had also caused some structural damage to half of the plant, and when it was abandoned that half has slowly subsided and collapsed. The rest of the factory had slowly followed it to the earth, helped along the way by an infestation of wildlife from the neglected stockyards and perhaps a few brave natives, and so when Arnie had bought the place he had had a team of builders, overseen by a vykker specialist, do what they could to strengthen the remaining quarter of the factory and kit it out with all of the facilities that had disappeared with the rest, including the ground-floor cafeteria and kitchen, the new board room on the top floor, the well-stocked laboratory in the middle and the enormous pillar of the Main Grinder that ran through all three storeys of what was now Rupture Farms 1029.
The train station, most of which was an original feature, had separate stations on the ground and middle floors, the upper half being for passengers and the lower half for arriving and departing cargo. It was here that the three mudokons were now led towards, Javi and Dean taking the opportunity to discuss their specialities with Seven en route. Outside the door to the station, Seven stopped and pointed to a door at the end of the corridor, “That leads to the grinders, where Kix is cleaning. You can go and join the fun,” He told Anni, who nodded and left them behind.
“Hey,” Seven called just before she disappeared, “If you see a big-bro slig, tell him to come and help us; tell him I’ll be somewhere between the station and the cafeteria.”
Anni nodded and skipped through the door.
“Hello?” She called over the loud noise of the machinery. The room towered over her, criss-crossed with catwalks, and down here machinery was clustered around the edges, obscuring her view of the open space in the middle of the room, but she walked forward through the shadows and came out into the light.
There was a mudokon standing at the edge of a room, leaning on a mop and trying to spot her in the shadows. Anni gasped; it was a female!
She was taller than Anni, perhaps even a little taller than most males but it was difficult to tell because she hunched her shoulders nervously, and skinny. Her skin was green, her eyes white and bloodshot and she had a long, scruffy, scrawny feather that hung almost to her thighs, that was red and purple. Like Anni she wore two pieces of clothing; a loincloth around her waist, much like a male’s, but with an elegant knot at the side instead of a bulky one at the back, and a similar folded cloth around her chest, knotted at the side – this was not for decency, as mudokons were asexual and didn’t think about biology that way, but for comfort and, like the loincloth, to protect a part of the body more vulnerable to injury.
She was squinting into the shadows, looking for who had called her, and as Anni walked forwards her eyes widened, “Um, hi,” She answered, a little uncertainly. She was sweaty and slightly out of breath from the exertion she had been putting into her mopping. “When did you arrive?”
“Last night,” Anni replied, smiling her most friendly smile and almost bouncing with excitement, “What’s your name?”
“Kix,” She replied, relaxing a little, but she was still drinking Anni in, taking in her bleached skin. “I’ve never seen another…” She murmured, trailing off uncertainly, and then suddenly shook her head and looked Anni in the face, smiling, and straightening up, “What’s your name?”
“Anni; Seven told me to come and help you clean.”
Kix smiled warmly, returning her friendship. “Great. I’ve got some stuff over here; you can give me a hand with the floor. Did you come on your own?” She asked as Anni grabbed a mop and bucket from a trolley of cleaning things. “You can get some water from that tap over in the corner.”
“No, two friends came with me, Javi and Dean. They’re helping Seven move some crates or something. How long have you worked here?”
They started chatting amicably and soon Anni was telling her about her previous life, about Dean in the kitchens and Javi in the stockyards, games played with mudokons and jokes played on sligs and Kix laughed and chatted back, though she had less to say. Anni talked about the happy times past, and those she expected to meet in the future, which made Kix smile as they worked. Their conversation was cut off by a bang and a yell, “Hey, you’re not hired to talk.”
Kix’s face instantly froze, and then her expression turned nothing less than feral. “Get out of here!” She yelled angrily as a slig swaggered in, leering at them.
“Oh, so the mud girl’s got a friend? This the newbie that Bunny was talking about?”
“I said get lost!” Kix snapped.
“Hey, you aren’t supposed to talk to sligs like that, slave-girl. Who’s this, then?” He turned his sights on Anni, who looked at him nervously.
“Um, I’m Anni.”
“Leave her alone, Reg,” Kix hissed, but she took a step back as he approached them.
Reg ignored her and kept his eyes locked on Anni, tentacles flaring out in a slig’s unpleasant grin. “Didn’t I tell you to shut up, mud? So where are you from, newbie?”
Anni looked up at him defiantly, “I came from a lab a long way from here. And you shouldn’t talk to Kix like that.”
Reg snorted with laughter, “Ooh, you think you’re something big, kiddy? I talk to
grhzzing slaves however I
grhzzing want to. Have you ever been beaten up, mud?”
“Anni, come over here!” Kix barked, and Anni turned towards her, and reluctantly backed down from the slig. “Go and find your friends; they’ll probably want you back now,” She said and Anni, again reluctantly, nodded and left the room.
“So you’ve got another little friend to look after, now?” Reg sneered leaning back against one of the machines and leering at her.
Kix turned her back on him and started mopping, scrubbing the same two feet of floor over and over again.
“Is this one gonna end up the same way as the last one, you think?”
Kix turned to him then, clutching her mop to her chest and screamed, “YOU LAY ONE FINGER ON HER AND-”
“Hey, don’t look at me; I didn’t kill the other one!” He sniggered and advanced on her, raising his gun like a club. She stumbled back from him, “But all I need is a reason, to finish either one of you. You gonna give me a reason, slave?”
“Reg.” It was a deep, bass voice from over by the door. Reg spun around quickly. Expert had just walked into the room. “Get out of here before you end up in the grinder,” Expert rumbled. Reg shot a last loathsome look back at Kix and slumped out.
Kix sagged back against a motor behind her. “Thank you,” She murmured, not raising her head.
She heard the grinding of his pants as he approached, “Kix.”
She cautiously looked up at him.
“I owe you a favour. If he bothers you, let me know.”
Kix blinked in surprise and stared up at the big-bro, speechless. He grunted and walked out.
* * *
Anni had wandered into the cafeteria, but there was no sign of her friends, though one of the big crates has been dumped outside in the corridor. As she walked in she heard a clatter from across the room and walked over and looked over the counter into the kitchen beyond.
“Hey,” There was a mudokon there. He took in her discoloured skin, hesitated, and then asked, “You one our new employees?”
Anni smiled and nodded, “I’m Anni.”
“Rick,” He said, holding out a hand. “Can I help you with anything?”
“Um, no. I just thought my friends might be here. They were helping move some crates over here, and Dean wants a job working in the kitchen, so I thought they might be around.”
“Well they might turn up soon,” Rick said evenly, “I was just cleaning up the kitchen before starting on lunch. You wanna give me a hand? Can you grab any plates or glasses or rubbish lying around out there? And then wipe the tables? Here, I’ll get you a cloth.”
Anni was soon set to work cleaning the cafeteria when the door opened, “So this is where you’ve decided to hide yourself?” Reg sneered, walking in.
Anni looked up and smiled, more confident now she was away from the fearful Kix. “Hi.”
Reg leered at her, “I guess you-”
“Hey, Reg,” Rick called from the kitchen. Reg looked at him, huffed and left. “Don’t mind him,” Rick told Anni after the door swung closed; “He’s just a bully. But if he bothers you, you can just tell me. I get on with Seven, the slig in charge, and Reg knows that if he causes me trouble, Seven will find out.”
Anni smiled at him, “I’ll be ok,” She said, but wasn’t unthankful for the promise.
“I recon you will,” Rick replied, nodding easily, “Now back to work! I gotta get lunch ready!”
It was a few minutes later that Seven backed into the cafeteria, followed by Javi, Dean and a Bela who were carrying a huge crate.
“What’s this?” Rick asked.
“New fridges for the kitchen. Just put it down here guys; I’ll get Nick up to help hook it up this afternoon.”
There was the normal tentative moment as they lowered the crate to the floor, but the job was done without any broken fingers and Dean fell back into a chair, arms hanging limp at his sides. “Ow, my shoulders.”
“Oh, man up,” Javi replied, smacking him on the back.
“You want me and Expert to bring the other one?” Bela asked.
Seven nodded and he sloped off. Seven turned to the mudokons, “Right, well this is the cafeteria. Dean, this is Rick; he’ll show you what we’ve got.”
Dean gave an exhausted nod. Rick grinned.
“Javi, I’ll show you around the stockyards.”
Anni looked up, eyes alight.
“Um,” Javi said, “Anni’s pretty good with animals, too. Maybe you should show her around the stockyards at the same time.”
Seven shrugged, “Fine, why not, if Rick doesn’t need her.”
“She was just tidying up the kitchen for lunch. Dean can finish up once he’s got his breath back and we can talk after it’s done.”
Seven nodded, “Come on then.”
Rupture Farms had huge stockyards which covered more ground than the factory itself. It was surrounded by two layers of 15 or 20 foot tall wire fence, the outer one of which was electrified. There were four security towers around the perimeter which for the most part were unoccupied, though they all had security cameras which could be watched in the factory’s security office.
The stockyards were divided into sections; they passed one with cages of scrabs, one with cages of paramites, one with elums, meeps, a smelly, sticky trash pile for slurgs. The place wasn’t all that well laid out, and there were some empty spaces between sections, some of them where grass and even trees were trying to grow. They passed a very secure building where Seven told them they bred fleeches. “We breed some animals when we can, but otherwise we have them shipped in. Rupture Farms doesn’t do any of its own hunting anymore; haven’t got the moolah for one thing.”
Anni was excited just to be out there and several times Javi caught her by the arm to stop her running right up to the front of a cage; he knew how well she got on with animals, but it was a little strange to watch, and he wasn’t sure how Seven would react if he saw her trying to imitate paramite noises or something.
“And that’s Nick,” Seven said, pointing at a slig standing half inside a machine at the end of a row of cages. “He’s not an animal,” Seven added.
The slig looked up. He was somewhat greasy and he had a large tool-belt hung over a shoulder and around his chest. “These your new muds?” He called cheerfully.
“Mudokons, yes,” Seven replied sternly.
“Oh fine,
mudokons then. Does it really matter? Look, they don’t care themselves!”
Seven decided to ignore this and ploughed on, “Nick is a mechanic.”
Nick nodded, “When Arnie opened this place he had some guy wire up a security system in the stockyards, but the guy who did it was a complete cowboy. So I’ve been bringing the stuff up to date.”
“How much longer do you think it’ll take?” Seven asked, apparently trying to divert attention from the mudokons.
“Three weeks? Two, if I don’t have to do too much else before I’m done.”
Seven nodded, “Javi apparently works well with animals, according to the vykker who passed him on to us, so he might end up out here with you a lot.”
“Great, he can give me a hand from time to time.”
“Oh, and before you come out here after lunch we need a hand installing those new fridges in the kitchen.”
“They’ve finally come then?”
They finished the tour of the stockyards and walked back up to the factory with Nick, in time for the afternoon meal.
By the end of the day, Dean was settled in at the kitchen and by the next evening, Seven had decided to take the advice of the letter Arnie had passed on to him regarding the mudokons and had put Dean in charge of the kitchen. Up until then Seven himself had been writing a rota for the kitchen, designating two employees to work there each week, which frequently resulted in a week of near-starvation. It was a relief to have someone competent working in there fulltime who could take over such awkward activities such as organising staff meals and writing the kitchen rota; Dean had a different assistant each week, usually mudokons as Seven and Nick came to be the only sligs he really liked, and they were both too busy to help out.
Anni had introduced Javi and Dean to Kix, and while Kix was initially shy of the strangers, over a couple of weeks she began to open up to them. She and Anni got on well though, and Anni spent as much time working and playing with her as with the guys. Seven had at first attempted to rota Anni with the other mudokons in the factory, but she had proved unmanageable, and in the end he said as long as she kept working, she could help out someone different every day if she wanted to.
For the first few weeks, Javi had been assigned various jobs with the other mudokons before he was assigned to the stockyards for the week where he had gotten on so well that the other mudokon working with him had had almost nothing to do. After that week he kept wondering off from his work and helping out in the stockyards instead and in the end Seven had given up and assigned him out there full time. Since most of the other mudokons got nervous around the animals, no one complained.
Kix was happy to spend time with Anni, and they soon became fast friends, certainly her closest in the factory, but she began to notice that Reg seemed to hang around a lot more when she was with Anni. She was nervous; she knew that Reg was angry that Anni wasn’t really intimidated around him, and she was afraid of him herself; Reg was horrible to the other mudokons, but he
hated Kix. She hated him back with more than just malice, though she didn’t discuss this with Anni; she was also terrified of him.
She was also seeing more of the big-bro, Expert. When she was alone he would sometimes appear and stand quietly, though he generally stalked away if someone else came. At first it scared her, but she began to find it reassuring. For one thing, she knew that Reg would leave her alone when he was around. One day she was watching the ovens on the middle floor baking paramite pies and he came in, spotted her and leant against the door frame. She got on with her work for about an hour, but for a few weeks now she had been feeling that she ought to speak to him, and now she broke the silence, “Why do you follow me around, Expert?” She asked, her voice quieter than she’d intended.
He looked at her, surprised, “I thought it was obvious.”
She shook her head, looking at the floor just in front of the oven.
“Like I said before, you saved my job a few weeks ago, and you didn’t have to. I know you hate Reg, cus everyone does, and I know what he did to your friend. But ya know you impressed me that night, right? You know how many people have stood up to me before? How many mudokons?”
She shook her head at her feet.
“You’ve got guts,” He said quietly from his place by the door, and slipped away.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Rick was created by Dripik.
Bunny (aka. Rycha) is based on a character who Feeco Executive created and used about once. He will have a bigger role in this story, cus I like him
Nick was created by Havoc.
Reg is every bit as mean as he appeared
He just wants to be loved!!!
And as promised, here's a
special version of the W@RF map, adapted slightly for the story (plus with other changes I probably ought to add to the RPG map). The most significant difference is that in the RPG there is one room of bunks that is shared by sligs and mudokons, while in this story there are separate slig and mudokon bunks. Also, remember that nothing on there is to scale. I'm rubbish at scale
Anyway guys, when you're thinking about your replies this week, remember that you get like 20 minutes of joy every time I post a chapter, while all my joy comes from reading your replies! So make it worth my while!
). Hopefully I won't keep you waiting too much longer!
) and so I will not make you wait any longer!
