Galactic High

Jack quietly grunted with effort as slowly pushed himself forward along the vents, thankful that Kritch had already loosened the first grate when he had tried to hide here earlier, enabling him to quickly give the Klowns the slip.

Unfortunately for Jack, he was much bigger than the Lizta and the others he had managed to smuggle in the vents with him, and so felt the cold stone walls uncomfortably press against him as he edged further and further ahead. He had done his best to hide the vent behind him by quickly moving the heavy furniture around, so hopefully the Klowns wouldn’t be smart enough to uncover it. Even if they were, it would still be hard for most others to move out of the way.

He hated this. He knew this was his ‘Plan B’ escape plan, but now that he was in the vents, it was cold, dark, painful and claustrophobic. This wasn’t like the video games. He wasn’t Batman or Gordon Freeman, who could apparently just crouch and move just fine through vents. This sucked!

Feeling his head hit the end, Jack craned his head to look up and saw another grate, which was the one Kritch had been trying to unlatch. Jack was thankful to see a loosened corner as he carefully slid his arms uncomfortably around his torso, grabbing the corner as hard as he could, trying to pull it off, cursing as he realised he had no leverage to pull back. Grunting, Jack wiggled the metal back and forth, eventually loosening it enough to rip the whole thing off, though bloodying his knuckles in the process.

Keeping as quiet as he could as he painfully pulled himself through the second grate, Jack was slightly relieved as the small vent linked to a slightly larger one that went straight up, clearly to pass a lot of breathable air to the lower sections of the fortress.

“At least it’s a way up,” Jack mumbled to himself as he got the rest of his body through. It was still cramped, but at least it was easier for him to move his arms above his head to grip onto the lip of another vent above and pull himself up, using his feet to press against the walls, allowing himself to keep climbing higher and higher. He was unsure where he was in relation to the passages he had previously explored, but he knew that the way out would be closer to the surface.

It was to Jack’s disappointment, therefore, that the vents didn’t lead there.

Rather than emerge in the open, the main vent curved round at a 90-degree angle and proceeded a good long distance, though Jack could see a light at the end. Not like the multicoloured neon of the party, but a bright white light he couldn’t immediately identify.

Having no other option, Jack picked up the pace and shuffled to the end.

Putting his ear to the vent and not hearing anything Jack decided to take a risk, and carefully moved his legs around and up, before booting the vent grate off its hinges to clatter on the floor beyond.

Taking a few moments to stay still and see if there was any reaction to the sudden noise and hearing nothing, Jack silently slipped out the grate into the dark corridor, gun out. He didn’t sense any presence nearby in the minimal light, but just in case, he quickly pulled his new shades out of his breast pocket and flicked them open, dialling the setting to let him see clearly.

Strange. While the lack of bodies should have been encouraging, the lack of them here worried him.

Where the hell was he?

While the stone corridor he was in was body-free, there were still signs of regular use. Sneaking further along, he found a broom and other cleaning supplies leaning against a wall, and realised that he was most likely in some sort of staff-only area. It made sense that it was somewhere the Hoduth didn’t intend for guests to get to, but as Jack picked up his pace, it didn’t explain how the Klowns weren’t skulking around. He had seen them spread heavily around the complex up to this point, so why weren’t they here?

A muffled sound of coughing from up ahead caused Jack to speed up as he tried to locate the sound. It didn’t sound like any Klowns he’d heard up until this point, but Nika had told him about some of the powerful, rarer variants seen among the Killer Klown’s forces he hadn’t encountered up until this point, and so he remained cautious as he advanced. Moving to a bend in a corridor, he heard the cough again, still muffled somewhat. Placing his ear against the wall Jack immediately stepped back as he heard the sounds of gunfire on the other side.

“OVERCHARGE!” he growled, blasting a hole through the wall with a high-powered blast of photon energy, spraying rock and dust over the off-guard Klowns on the other side. Diving through the hole he made, Jack grunted as he took the shots the Klowns sent his way before he brought up his shield to use as cover and returned fire, melting flesh and bone as the Klowns up front tried to rush him.

Hearing noise from behind, Jack lashed back with an elbow, catching one of the Klowns in the face as it tried to grab him, knocking it back as he spun around and swiped upwards with his axe, burying the blade under its chin. Just past them, he could see several figures slumped against the wall, with at least one still alive as they grappled with a Klown for its gun.

Planting his feet firmly into the ground as he brought his shield up, Jack dug deep and roared in a burst of strength as he pushed back, staggering the Klowns in front of him. He growled in anger as the Klowns returned fire, burying his axe firmly into the neck of the biggest looking Klown. Hearing movement behind him, Jack let go of his weapon, drew his Dominator and quickly dispatched one of the Klowns that was in the open with a crude burst of fire that quickly brought it down, leaving the remaining one grappling with the figure on the wall. With a sharp intake of breath Jack recognised them as a pincer desperately grabbed onto the Klown’s gun.

Kizzarith!

The counter push by the Klowns threw him off balance, and Jack snarled in pain as a speartip got past his shield and sliced at his outer thigh, grazing off his muscle to leave a nasty cut before Jack shuffled back to give himself some room, blindly letting loose with a burst of photon fire that didn’t do as much as he’d hoped. Taking the risk and turning around, Jack fired with wobbly aim, the blast of energy smacking into the back of the Klown as they and Kizzarith struggled and flailed in desperation.

The Anicite of Lleethlux Hive wasted no time as the Klown jerked with the damage, gripping it around the neck with a pincer and squeezing tight with a terrified growl, before dropping dizzily to the ground.

Jack's inner fire burned white hot as he braced his shield with a two-handed grip, barely holding back the tide of Klowns that were piling up with horrid cackles as they tried to force him back. Taking a deep breath as he steeled himself, Jack then yelled as he shoved back with as much power as he could muster, sending a shockwave of force rippling through the mob of Klowns, knocking several to the ground as their compatriots swarmed over them…

“OVERCHARGE!” Jack growled once again, aiming down the tunnel as the powerful blast shot right above the Klowns in front of him, hitting something solid and exploding in a flash of red energy, rupturing the tunnel as rubble and splintered supports crumbled and collapsed on top of the giggling attackers in a cacophony of crunching rock and shattered bodies.

Hearing the notification that his gun was low on power, Jack quickly holstered it, also retracting his shield to allow it to cool down and repair the damage it had taken as he pushed forward and picked up his axe, punching a nearby Klown in the face as it haphazardly tried to grab him. Taking care not to extend his two-handed axe grip too much in the cramped tunnel, Jack pounced on any downed Klown he could, ripping into flesh in a blind rage as he tore through powdered, mutilated flesh, snarling in anger as he showed no mercy, and took no prisoners.

It was only when he heard a faint coughing to break the sudden silence did Jack realise there were no Klowns left alive.

“Kizzarith!” Jack called in shock as he rushed over to his friend, trying not to let his horror show as he saw the grievous injuries the Lleethlux had taken. From what he could see, at least one of his wings had been almost completely torn off, and a pincer was smashed. The rest of his friend was covered in his own blood, and Jack tried not to panic as he quickly looked him over, tearing strips of fabric and grabbing suitable rocks from whatever dead bodies were at hand to bind whatever wounds he found, pulling them as tight as he could in the style of a makeshift tourniquet.

“J…Jack?” they spoke up as they stirred awake from the pain. “Is that you? I can’t see….it’s dark….”

“Hey bro, it’s me,” Jack gently replied with a smile, examining Kizzarith’s eyes and wiping the gore away with the cleanest part of his shirt.

“That shirt…sucks…” Kizzarith faintly replied, and Jack was relieved he wasn’t blinded too. “How..bad…”

“Hey! Stay with me!” Jack sternly spoke up, gently but firmly shaking the insectoid awake. “You’ll be alright but you need to stay awake! This will hurt like hell, but it’s going to keep you alive until I can get help!”

“I’m sorry Jack…” Kizzarith sobbed. “I tried my best to save them…I’m not strong like you…”

Jack looked to the room where Kizzarith had been, and saw several forms either on the ground or up against the wall. Some even dared to peek around the corner, seeing that the Klowns had been taken down.

They were alive!

“Hey!” Jack called. “If you can, I need you to get over here and help me! Are any of you hurt?”

He did not want to leave Kizzarith, but if others were also badly hurt he would need to try and treat them too. Several terrified voices called back their confirmation.

“Hear that, bro?” Jack smiled as he pointed to several figures from the room up ahead. “You saved them!”

“Yeah….” Kizzarith dreamily replied as Jack worked on binding his wounds as quickly and as efficiently as he could, despite a complete lack of knowledge of the alien biology. “Never…got to chat up that mage from the game….think she’s into me?”

“She’d be an idiot to turn you down!” Jack grinned despite himself.

“Heh…maybe you could….” Kizzarith’s voice faded out as he slumped forward.

“No!” Jack cursed as he tried to shake his friend awake. “Kizzarith! Stay with me! You!” Jack pointed to the closest form in the distance. “I need anyone spare to get here and hold these tourniquets in place!”

The figure scampered over to him on hearing his commanding tone, and Jack realised why the people behind Kizzarith had been so hesitant. This Hoduth girl was obviously on the younger side compared to his classmates, so he forced himself to be patient as he waved the others to him.

“Hold that there and don’t let go,” Jack ordered the girl, trying to keep his tone as soothing as he could as he pulled up, fulling running on adrenaline and hoping against hope that he remembered what little he knew about first aid correctly. If he was wrong, Kizzarith’s death would be on his hands.

“No peeking at the wounds either, these stay tight until I get back or he gets a medic,” Jack told the Hoduth, who nodded in terror at the human. “I need to check on the others, if I can spare anyone I’ll bring them here. Do not move!”

Jack didn’t wait for a reply as he dashed down the corridor, cursing as he tripped up on the dead Klowns to see to the others, hoping he hadn’t wasted any time. Fortunately, the ones who had made it here didn’t look too badly hurt, mostly having been shot at. The terror in their eyes, however, spoke of the horror and loss that they had already endured, and Jack knew that any partygoer caught in melee was likely dead or worse.

A horrible fate, but he swore he would save as many as he could, or die trying.

The room was a dead end, a circular relaxation room covered in various cushions with what looked like a statue of a gem tangled in streams of pretty-looking crystal. Though Jack did not allow his mind to wander far from his focus, he noticed detailed script delicately carved amidst the large and obvious white marble runes, making him think this was a shrine of some kind. Either way, it would serve as a safe zone while he forged ahead.

Though several of the partygoers had taken some injuries, none of them were life-threatening. Jack brought the ones that were capable of movement out into the corridor, ordering them to bring some cushions with them to provide better elevation and comfort to the Leethlux, who was not looking good. Taking a risk and asking about magic proved useful, as one was able to use his rudimentary knowledge of ice magic to chill Kizzarith’s body to better keep him alive.

“Stay here, I’ll try and get back if I can, or failing that make sure medics get here,” Jack told the group. “If I’m not back in good time and you think you’re in danger, head back through the hole I made and carry on until you see an open vent!”

Seeing the nods, Jack quickly clambered back through the hole he had made in the wall and carried on down the deserted staff corridor, hoping he’d at least find a first aid kit or something. Instead, as he proceeded down the corridor, he noticed indents in the rock, spaced out a fair distance apart. Checking them out, Jack realised that they were in the shape of a door, with the indents indicating a handle. There was even a peephole to look through, and Jack’s eyes widened in shock at seeing the river of Klowns on the other end.

Calming down, Jack thought rationally and realised that although he could see the Klowns, they couldn’t see him in return, and on examining the handle of the door he realised that it was a release mechanism that needed to be manually unlocked. If the Klowns could do it from their side they would have done so already, so Jack backed away, unwilling to engage the storm of Klowns on the other side.

Not yet, at least.

But if there were more secret doors around the staff passages, and if he was smart, Jack had some options to work with here…

Making speed down the snaking tunnels Jack peered through another peephole, then another, seeing more of the same - A rabble of Klowns hunting down the tunnels for more victims. It had not gone unnoticed to Jack that there hadn’t been any forks or side passages to go down, leaving him with only one way to go. He hoped there was something useful at the other end…

A sudden scream echoing through the tunnels sent a fresh jolt of adrenaline rushing through him as Jack bolted to the next secret door. What he saw through the peephole was more than enough for him to tear open the door and roar a battle cry, digging his axe blade deep into the back of the closest Klown and shooting two others with quick, clean headshots before they even knew he was there. A fourth received a thrown axe to the chest as Jack switched to a pistol and knife combo in the close confines of the small room, easily avoiding the two Klowns attempts to overpower him, using his knife to pull them close and shoot them point blank to avoid any chance of a stray shot catching the only innocent in the room, flailing on the ground in an attempt to force away the Klown on top of her, who Jack roughly pulled back, and sent his knife right into its eye.

“Vanya!” Jack panted, as the Chuna quickly backed away, staring blankly ahead of her, not even noticing Jack as he approached and tried to gently touch her shoulder.

“No! No! Stay away!” Vanya recoiled at Jack’s touch.

“Vanya! Look at me!” Jack desperately called to the shaking rabbit-girl, who was still panicking and not recognising him, before Jack more firmly grabbed Vanya’s head and forced her to look at him.

“Vanya, it’s Jack, I’m not going to hurt you!” Jack slowly spoke clearly and decisively, staring Vanya in the eyes until she calmed down.

“Jack! Oh gods!” She sobbed as she threw her arms around him tight, refusing to let go.

“It’s going to be alright,” Jack soothed as he led her up, “but we need to get you out of here!”

It was difficult to coax Vanya through the open door, but Jack managed it, also pulling any nearby bodies of unfortunate innocents in that he could to deny the Klowns any further recruits before shutting and locking the door, and potentially allowing them the chance to be resurrected. Though he knew it was possible from what he was told about at the school, he knew nothing else. He hoped they would all get a second chance, but there was no chance of that happening if the Klowns weren’t turned back.

Looking over Vanya, Jack could see that she hadn’t suffered many obvious open wounds, with the exception of a few lacerations that indicated she was likely bruised and battered underneath her thick brown fur.

“Are you hurt?” Jack asked the Chuna.

It took a few repeated questions before she answered, “I ache all over…” with a shudder.

“Okay,” Jack acknowledged. “You’re safe here, Klowns haven’t gotten to these tunnels. Take some rest, and when you’re able, follow the tunnel that way and meet up with some others and help them if you can. Don’t attempt to open the doors, it’s a hole I blasted in the tunnel, you can’t miss it.”

“Please don’t go!” Vanya jerked in hysteria, holding on to Jack for dear life. “I don’t want to be alone!”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Jack tried to reply soothingly, gently dislodging his friend’s arms from around his waist. “But I have to go, other people need my help.”

He was able to dislodge himself, and although Vanya tried to keep hold of him, she winced in pain.

“Don’t try to move,” he told her. “Conserve your strength. Apparently there’s some type of magical interference preventing long-range teleportation, but if you are able, I need you to be prepared to teleport yourself to safety in case I can’t get medics down here, and meet up with the others if you can. Can you do that for me?”

Vanya simply nodded in a quick, jerky motion.

“Alright. I’ll make sure you get help as soon as possible,” Jack reassured the Chuna as he turned and jogged ahead. He absolutely hated the idea of leaving her alone, same with Kizzarith, but he knew that the longer he stalled, the more lives would be at risk.

It still left a rotten feeling in the back of his mind, though.

Moving along, Jack eventually came to the end of the tunnel, a chunky bulkhead door in his way with no peephole to speak of. Gripping the circular valve at the centre, he grunted with effort as slowly the wheel turned, resisting the human every step of the way before it finally gave enough for Jack to roughly rip the door open enough to let him in.

Squeezing through the exposed gap, Jack entered the room. Several batches of screens were either along the walls or along several rows, complete with computer workstations. If he had to hazard a guess, Jack would assume this was a security hub of some kind.

Though it was the many dead bodies that gave it away, all of them Hoduth and bearing the sigil of Clan Bharzum.

Checking the closest one still seated at their station and steeling himself, Jack swivelled the chair and took in a sharp breath as he saw the horrified death mask of the unfortunate woman. From the expression, it looked like they had been taken by surprise, and though Jack wasn’t an expert in forensics by any means, he guessed that the nasty -looking wound on her chest was an exit wound judging by the gruesome nature of the gore, confirming it when he checked her back. A quick glance at several of the other guards confirmed that most if not all had been killed stealthily.

Something didn’t seem right to Jack, beyond the obvious of course.

From everything he had seen of the Klowns, they were little better than a swarm, content to throw fodder at their targets, unheeding of the cost. A horde of crazed killers to send their foes running in panic.

But this was something different. It was too precise. Too tactical.

Jack knew very little of the Klowns aside from what the girls had told him, but from everything he had seen, his instincts were telling him one simple fact.

The Klowns were not responsible for what happened here.

Keeping his breath calm, Jack stayed alert as he backed up into a corner, staying as quiet as he could as he listened out for any other noise. Keeping his gun pointed out and using his offhand, he flicked through the various vision settings on his shades, keeping his eyes wide open as he looked for any hidden foes in the area, though he found none.

Whoever had done this had likely moved on.

Not relaxing for even a second as he stayed on full alert, Jack headed to a workstation right at the back of the room, elevated from the rest with a clear view of everything else, assuming that it was where the person in charge would have been situated. He didn’t really know what he was looking for, as none of the security screens appeared to be on. It seemed likely to Jack that the Klowns had hit the generator for the complex by now and cut the power.

Jack sighed in annoyance. He was really hoping to find something useful he could either do or make use of. There were no racks of weapons, nor any medical kits he could see. Just a bunch of powered-down workspaces, a few powered-down robots at defunct charging points along the walls and….

Oh hello.

Nestled on the right hand side of the manager’s desk was a thick lever, though it completely lacked any label or indication regarding what it did. It was pulled upwards in a standing position on the wall, almost invitingly to the human boy.

Should he pull it? He had no idea what it even did, if anything.

Meh. Fuck it.