"I-I think I've fallen for you," comes out of my mouth instead of 'thank you'.
I scowl. What the fuck did I just say?
Harwal strolls us to the basement door and lowers me on the ground. "It was only a short drop," he says and grabs the gas mask from me.
What? I blink at his response and open my mouth to correct him, but I don't think I should. My cheeks flush with humiliation. I can't believe my confession was struck down like that.
No-no. I can't believe I said something like that in the first place.
"Put the gas mask on. There's no time," he says and twists the key on the lock.
I struggle to put the mask on and bite down the growing shame in me. This is hardly the time and place to confess anything. Why did I even? Stupid, stupid mouth of mine never stops to think of the words that come out.
Harwal opens the door, and I try to shake my mind clear of the useless barrage of thoughts. I follow him down a deep, deep set of stairs, staring at his big, reliable back. The trudge down to the depths takes an uncomfortable amount of time. I don't remember the stairs taking this deep.
I feel like shit, but that feeling wipes off the moment the stairwell opens up to a ginormous place. I step down from the stairwell. The floor is ice-cold against my bare feet.
The ceiling is so high up that it's just pitch black darkness. The whole place is covered in looming darkness. The only thing that lights up the surroundings are the huge, cylindrical tubes. They are wide and tall and filled with blueish liquid, which emit the blue hues around it. There are some kinds of big forms floating within the tubes. There are also smaller ones, with smaller forms in them. They're all some kind of creatures with tubes attached to them.
Harwal pushes me from my back, taking us to the side of the room. "Be very quiet," he says and points at a row of huge cages filled with giant creatures. "They are asleep with the anaesthetics, but some may wake if we are too loud."
I nod and keep my eyes on the things as I follow Harwal through the eerie place. It's freezing, and the flooring is covered with a thin layer of white fog, which spirals around our feet as we go on.
I palm my neck to make sure I don't accidently make a peep. The creatures growl and snore quietly, tubes are embedded on their necks and backs, even their heads. The tubes seem to be either injecting something in them or taking something. It's horrifying.
I look at the gigantic blue test tubes we're going past, tilting my neck all the way back to see the height it goes to. Even Harwal looks small in this place, which is ridiculous. We are like tiny specks next to whale-sized tubes. A creature inside the tube next to us has its eyes open, and they're most definitely tracking us.
I smack Harwal's back and point at the thing, speechless. Suddenly, bright red lights start to flash on the ceiling, barely visible so high up, then a blaring siren echoes from the way we came from. I hunch my head down, surprised at the sudden burst of sound.
Harwal grabs my hand without a word and starts dragging me forward quickly, but my slapping feet don't work as fast as his.
He notices the same and hoists me up to his shoulder and runs forward. I'm left looking at the gigantic creature staring at us. It's somehow eerie and incredibly sad. Some of the cages move as we rush past. The creatures are waking from their slumber with rumbles and growls, shaking their habitats.
Harwal drops me on my feet and points at the ground. "Stay here," he orders and disappears on me.
I back away on the tube behind me and stare at the cage on the opposite side, where two red glowing eyes stare right at me.
Oh God. Why do I have to be here? Harwal clearly doesn't need me for anything.
The thing growls, drowning the loud alarm sound with its rumble. It's almost like I'm on drugs. It looks like the creature's black fur is moving like smoke. Something thumps behind me and I crack my neck to look at the most fucked up thing I've seen so far.
A human woman is floating in the tube, but it's not a normal human. Her arms are from another creature and one of her legs is from an Atorus, and her neck has the gill-like things Atorus' has. The woman's eyes are open, the other one is too big to be hers. It's like the frankenstein's monster, she's been patched up with different parts.
I hold the scream in my throat and back away from the tube, staring at the woman floating within. Her eyes aren't moving as she lifelessly bobs in the container, her leg bumps into the glass and she floats farther, where I see two more of the same grotesque things.
"Jesus fucking Christ," I whisper and keep backing, but then something ice cold presses on my back, and a low growl resonates behind me. "Oh fuck," I whimper.
I push away from the metal bar, but I have to stop, as a weird thing slithers in front of me. A thick tentacle of sorts, it's black and wispy, like smoke, but also very solid. It wraps around my waist and I whimper. This is definitely not how I expected to die. The tentacle tightens around me and pulls me back against the freezing bar.
"Human female," a growly voice resonates from the cage. "Do you understand me now?"
I lift my hands up in surrender and nod, unsure of what else I'm supposed to do.
"Your companion went to kill us," the voice says.
Oh no. No. No. Get me the fuck out.
"I was brought here, tested on, tortured, and now they're taking my blood. It is right that he stops this madness," it says, voice rumbling… inside my head, I realise. "It is too late for me… but I was pregnant when they brought me."
I suck in a breath and try to calm my shaking limbs, but it's really impossible.
"Save my cub," it says, its voice trembling. "I kept her hidden, please take her and keep her safe."
Something brushes on my ankle and I look down to see another wispy tentacle push a tiny black, smoking kitten. The kitten has the same kind of tendrils as a tails that pushes it. It jumps up on its four feet and tries to paw the tendil that's pushing it.
"She is just an innocent cub. I told her what is going to happen, she will be tame, so please save..." The tentacle around me starts to loosen and slide down my legs. "Ple…ase." The tentacle drops down with a smack and stops the smoking effect, turning into a fat hairy tail.
The tiny kitten makes a distressed sound and paws it, then it looks up to me with bright red eyes. Oh fuck.
I look behind me at the massive thing inside the cage. It looks like a gigantic version of a tiger, but it's black. There are no more sounds coming from the cage, even the tubes attached to its back are quiet and unmoving. Harwal must've gotten to the killswitch and the creature is now dead.
The cub next to my feet yowls loudly and paws at her mothers tail again, breaking my heart. What am I supposed to do? I don't know what the hell it is. And if it grows to be so big, how am I supposed to raise it? I don't know jackshit about pets, I've never had one.
The cub looks at me again and makes the same heartbreaking mewl as before. I crouch down and offer my hands for her, not sure what to expect. But the cub paws her mothers tail once more before climbing to my hands. Oh no… Does she really understand what happened?
I lift her up and she digs her face into her paws, turning into a smokey ball in my hands. What am I supposed to do?
Harwal appears from behind the now dimmed human abomination container with blood all over him. "We need to go," he says and starts moving.
The sirens suddenly start blaring loudly inside the place and the place floods with bright white lights, blinding me. Harwal lifts me up before I can even see. I squeeze the cub in my arms as we rush through the hideous place. I keep my eyes shut, not wanting to witness anymore horrible shit.
We're going up the stairs and I only open my eyes again as Harwal lowers me. "Keep next to me," he says with a strict tone and throws away the gas mask.
I struggle to take mine off with one hand, but somehow manage at the same time as loud bangs and roars sound around me. I bunker down behind a counter and try to get my bearings. There are guards inside the lab and Harwal is fighting them off.
I curse and try to keep the little one safe, hunching over it to protect it. "Do you understand me?" I whisper to her and she opens one red eye from the middle of the ball. "Go into my clothes."
I open up the flimsy sheer on my chest, realising it's too tight. I look around for a solution, noticing the dead scientist on the floor, its head is smashed. I gag at the sight.
Harwal doesn't need my help. I'd be just in the way if I try something, so I crouch around the counters to the corpse. I start tugging on its lab coat and the moment I manage to get it, Harwal stands at the thing's feet.
"The door is open, let's go," he says, glancing only once at what I'm doing. "Hurry up."
I get up and dress in the bloody coat while juggling the cub on my hands, then I empty the chest pocket while we run through the hallways. The lab coat is so long it reaches to my ankles and the pocket is big enough that it would fit two of the cubs. I drop the balled cub inside the pocket and try to keep up with Harwal's steps. He's purposely going slow so I can keep up, but not slow enough for my short legs.
I don't complain though, as he has to deal with the guards popping behind the corners. A blaster bangs the wall in front of me and I hiss, ducking my head as I go. Someone managed to get behind us.
"Behind!" I yell and keep running with my head down.
Harwal grabs a gun from his next victim and hurls it towards one of the assailants, rather than shooting it, then he stops at the intersection.
"Left!" I yell and brush past him. I'm guessing we're going out the way we came in. It's one of the least protected gates and Greece is on the way. I keep skittering through the hallways, bobbing and weaving as more get behind us. I get a small burn on my thigh, but it's a small price to pay if I get out.
I fling out my keyring, but Greece is already at the door. "Come in! Quick!" She yells and moves aside from the doorway.
I gasp for air as I get in, panting furiously with my dried and abused throat. I lean on the bed and kneel down on the floor.
"The guards are still moving towards the lab, not the entrance," Greece yells from the surveillance room.
"Do…do we get…the Atorus?" I pant and turn to Harwal. He doesn't look injured, but his body is covered with blood, making it hard to discern.
He looks at me and shakes his hands, splattering blood on the floor and a few drops on my face. Good fucking Lord that's nasty and scary.
"It seems to be for the best," Harwal says and wags his bloody hand at me. "Keys."
"There is only one guard at the gate, we gotta go now if we don't want too much resistance," Greece says, running back to the room.
I hand Harwal the keyring and check on Greece. She looks like she's gone through hell as well, her cheek is now massive and turning purple.
"What is he doing?" Greece whispers as Harwal goes to open the secure door. "We need to go."
I'm still trying to catch my breath, but attempt to explain about the Atorus kids. As I finish Harwal slams the door open with a kick and flings the keys to the floor before going in.
"...why is he angry?" Greece whispers with her eyes wide.
I straighten and check on the kitten in my pocket, still rolled into a fuzzy ball. "He has been drugged, it makes him short tempered or something. I don't know." Also were being chased and everyone is trying to fucking kill us, but I don't add that part.
"Don't test my patience by fooling around," Harwal says to the two Atorus as they come out of the room. Harwal leads them by the chains on their collars. The more sane one is supporting his brother as they walk, who immediately sharpens as he sees me and Greece.
"We're not taking the others?"
"No," Harwal says bluntly.
Okay. "Maybe it's faster with bait going in front," I say and grab Greece's hand. She looks at me with a confused gaze, but I ignore it and go peek out of the door.
"Hallway is clear. We can manage a grabby hand or two if something comes our way," I say, looking back at the two Atorus and Harwal. "They will work their limbs if they see us go first."
Harwal nods and I drag Greece after me to the hallway, jogging towards the entrance gate. The two Atorus really do slap their feet behind us, the chains rattle and they groan everytime they get really uncomfortably close to us.
"They've been drugged with an aphrodisiac," I explain to Greece. "If someone stops us, we gotta deal with it for a bit, okay?"
"Fucking hell," Greece mutters, but nods.
We get to the waiting room without a hitch, but there are two guards at the gates, not one. I stop at the corner as they see us and duck behind the wall. I lift up two fingers and stare at the horny Atorus.
Harwal tugs the two and throws down the chains on the floor, then he disappears behind the corner. The two guys immediately come to us, touching our legs and groaning loudly, their skin shimmers in their colours more vibrantly.
Greece smacks the other guy's hand as it gets up too close to her crotch. The one on me is literally climbing to my lap. I smack his cheeks, realising it's the more sane one, but he seems lost now. His eyes are hazy and unfocused. He opens his mouth to stick his long forked tongue out and licks my cheek.
I feel bad for him. He seemed so much more sane before, but the drug has completely devoured his mind.
Greece knees the guys nuts and the guy groans, it sounds eerily to a pleasurable one. A blaster strikes the wall on the opposite side of us and I strike my palm at the guy's chin. This should be over with already, there were only two guards.
I share a look with Greece and my cheek is licked again, then his hand starts wandering down to my bare crotch, just as I'm about to knee him Harwal yanks the chains.
"Not two, five," he says and yanks them further back. "Get up."
Greece rises before me and helps me up. I adjust my clothes and then get on the gasping train with Greece. There must've been more guards inside the side room, as there really are five corpses on the ground.
"Fucking wild," Greece says and leaps over one of them. I agree with her, but in my mind.
As we step into the decontamination chamber, it starts to blare out a loud, continuous sound. Greece curses and hammers a panel on the wall. She starts pulling out wires and flicks something, opening the doors to the outside.
"There we go," Greece says happily and flips the bird towards the loud siren. "Can't help that, let's go."
We get out to the courtyard, where there's a shitshow going on. Bright red lights are flashing on top of every tower in the vicinity and the blaring horns are louder than ever. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole city hears it.
We run to the gate and knock on the door of the tower. "We try to deal with this," I say to Harwal behind us.
The door opens and I start sobbing. "H-help!"
Greece joins me with a weep and points her shaky finger at the facility. "There are intruders!" She screams.
"Th-they killed them!" I add.
The alien, Tiran, looks horrified and angry. "Where you come from? Who dead?"
Greece screams dramatically and wobbles to the side, giving me a hint by glancing at the door. The Tiran automatically tries to catch her, so I kick the heavy door at him. The Tiran screeches, but Greece stomps his head on the ground multiple times, silencing him.
"Nice," Greece says and bobs the head of the guy with her foot.
I drag the door open and wave for Greece to go in. She's the tech savvy one and can figure out how to open the gate.
I take the moment to catch my breath and check on Harwal and the chained guys. "Where… where do we go?" They all seem worse for wear, the Atorus' aren't trying to charge around anymore and Harwal… looks annoyed.
"Ship," Harwal says. "Go back to the others."
"Are you an idiot? Nobody will be allowed to leave Joddel with this much of a mess going on, let alone aboard their ships," I say, then I realise my words. "Fuck, sorry. I'm…I'm panicking. Let's go to… to the motel. Okay? The taxi's around here can take us a bit of the way, but let's not take them near our doorstep."
Harwal grunts, narrowing his eyes. "Don't ask me questions you know the answer to."
OK. Fair. I shut my mouth and turn. I don't want to annoy the terminator.
The large door jitters, and then it starts rising up with a screech. Greece pokes out of the tower and steps over the Tiran. "Yeah we need to bail, there are camera feeds inside, shows there a ton coming out. I shut down this cam and a few other gate ones, and erased the feed, but you know… there are cameras everywhere."
"You're the best," I say and get to the door, inching through it to the street. There are no taxi's waiting, so I point straight forward at the abandoned factory buildings. "Let's go through those, there's another street behind with a taxi pole."