Stoke is Full of Mutants

Never Trust A Man Without A Horribly Embarrassing Secret

They returned to the Ark entrance, supporting the librarian between them, and explained to the stunned residents that there was a violent thief in their midst. The sweet taste of fresh apples turned bitter as they chewed over the news of the attack. Discussion immediately turned to who the culprit could be. The finger of suspicion immediately honed in on the psychopaths of the Ark, as the mentally troubled tend to be easy targets for blame in such matters, yet surprisingly it was Flora who came to their defence. "Whilst they are clearly beings of pure evil, because other people have said it and therefore it is fact", Flora started, "I personally, think that Larry is to blame!" Once more, the Elder cursed Flora's name, as she spat out "Larry may be a thief, but he's no violent psycho!... I'm sure if he was here to defend himself..." His words trailed off as people began to speculate as to where Larry now was.

Tim, the resident psychopath, was annoyed but not surprised by Ark's reaction to the attack. He was, however, surprised and hurt that Flora had called him evil. He began to regret the kindness he had shown her in sharing his food and supplies with her earlier in the year. The target of the mob's suspicion had now turned to Larry, however, and it was decided that the party of heroes would confront Larry in his abode. Larry lived by himself in a cubicle in the Ark toilets. Larry had unusual tastes.

Craig rounded up his posse of Gramslinger, Steve and Flora - who was clearly relishing the prospect of confronting her hated enemy. The Elder insisted that Heinz, as a loyal and level-headed subordinate, accompany them in their task. A tall, lithe, middle-aged woman, Heinz had magnetism - literal magnetism. Her mutation allowed her to attract and repel metal, which was handy in keeping her shotgun steady in her hands. She was a woman of few words.

Upon reaching the toilets, they were greeted by a tall moustachioed man in a green hoodie. He told them "I'd give it ten minutes if I were you". The party looked and each other, looked at the man, and then elected to wait a short time before entering the toilets. When they did push open the door, the smell that greeted them was off-putting, though not excessively so for a public toilets. Noticing a balaclava hanging above Larry's cubicle door, Craig led the party to the door and quietly rapped on the door. He cleared his throat and spoke a greeting, but receiving only silence as a reply, Craig ordered Heinz to kick down the door. As the cubicle door fell to the ground, the door to the toilets slammed shut. Larry was not in the cubicle and had instead fled the premises.

The party burst into the foyer of the Ark and demanded to know where Larry had gone. Upon being informed that he had run through the front door and into the forbidding wastelands, Craig and the others inhaled deeply, and sprinted out of the safety of the Ark and into the foul air of the outside world. Spotting Larry in the distance, Steve took off in his direction, with the others following quickly behind him. Having now caught sight of the fleeing suspect, Heinz ran out in front, leaving the party trailing in her wake.

They ran through the crumbling ruins of Long Tong. If there were deadly creatures waiting in the shadows then Larry and his pursuers were too fast for them. Larry had not expected this. He had not envisaged being followed into the wastes. This did not stop him, however, and he ran freely, heading purely on instinct. His ignorance as to the horrors of the wastes gave him the confidence not to fear them as he otherwise should.

Heinz was fast, but Larry's pure speed had surprised her, leaving Gramslinger to order his dog to take over the pursuit. The dog began to gain on Larry, barking in excitement at the reward his master would provide once he brought his target to a dead halt. Realising that he could outrun the party, but not their dog, Larry ran out of Long Tong and was surprised to find water, which gave him an idea.

Gramslinger's dog was waiting for the party at the side of the river, barking in frustration at their slow pace. It was apparent that Larry was aware that the dog was tracking his scent, and that he had waded into the river to allow him to escape. Fortunately for the party, his trick had backfired, as Larry was unable to swim, leaving the river to overpower him and take him a little way downstream, only to dump him back on the party's side of the river.

Now weighed down by wringing wet clothes and exhausted from the chase and his fight with the river, Larry continued to flee. The party though soon gained on Larry and seemingly had him in their grasps. Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek pierced the air. It had been reckless for the party, emboldened by their earlier success, to run out into the wastes without showing due caution. Now, horrors beyond their comprehension spied their flesh with envious eyes. Stepping out in front of the party, was a giant naked mole rat. Dumbfounded, the party shielded their eyes at the hideous sight.

The mole rat launched itself at Gramslinger's dog, taking the creature in its jaws, the mole snapped the dog's spine in two. Gramslinger wept openly at the sight of his loyal companion's brutal demise. The rest of the party panicked. They had not reckoned on such a fight, they had rather foolishly only counted on fighting an unarmed Larry. "SPLAT!", the mole rat's head exploded as Heinz's shotgun shell reached its target. Heinz's quick thinking had saved the party, though had not been quick enough to save the helpless dog. "It took me two weeks to train her", Gramslinger wailed. Which struck Craig as an extraordinarily quick time to train an animal, and he figured that the dog mutation had given Gramslinger a natural skill in training his kin.

As the brief battle concluded, Larry took off and headed back to the ruins of Long Tong. Remembering their mission, the party followed in quick pursuit. Larry dashed down an alleyway, and Heinz led the charge after him. A large oil drum crashed into Heinz, knocking her to the ground. Larry lunged at Steve and the two men fell to the ground as they grappled and struggled for supremacy. The rest of the party jumped onto Larry and managed to restrain him, though he fought and kicked and bit his way to freedom. Again, Larry turned on his heels and fled. However, this time he ran straight into an onrushing tide of rats.

It was a sight too horrifying to describe. Needless to say, Larry screamed in terror as the rat king tore him to pieces. If thestream of rats were to turn their way, the party would be done for. As luck would have it, the rat king rolled away, carrying what remained of Larry with it and leaving the party unmolested. The radio was also untouched, which Larry had quickly stashed before launching his desperate ambush. Craig picked up the radio and examined it, he pressed a button and a small tape was ejected. What such a thing was he could only speculate. What reason Larry had for stealing the thing he couldn't fathom, except perhaps for the base instinct of a thief to take what he sensed as valuable.

Shaken by their experience, the party collected themselves and returned to the Ark, careful not to disturb anymore odious and violent wanderers of the wastes. The decayed ruins of Long Tong held no further surprises for them. Craig opened the front door of the Ark and led his troops inside to the cheering congratulations of the waiting crowd. Even the Elder was happy to see them, as he had lost all feelings for Larry, the moment his betrayal had become apparent.