Arthur groaned, still tired, as something jabbed him in the side.
With effort, he forced his eyes open to see Dr. Muriler glaring at him. With a cry, he tried his best to jerk away, only to hit the back of the couch.
“What? What’s happening?” He asked, trying to blink the sleep from his eyes as he did so.
Dr. Muriler squeaked and gestured with the small stick he held in his hands. He pointed it first at the door and then downward.
“You want me to go to the basement?”
Arthur yawned, regretting it as the taste of chemicals in the air covered his tongue. He coughed and wretched, trying his best to fend off the stick as it poked at him again. More squeaking accompanied it, angry and disgruntled.
“Ok, ok. I’m up. I’ll come with you. Stop poking me. Can I put on pants?”
Dr. Muriler paused as though considering before nodding and making a hurry-up gesture with his stick. Arthur did his best to dress quickly, pulling on his new pants and his old green polo. He didn’t want to deal with his full suit as he followed a scurrying Dr. Muriler out onto the shop floor.
The first thing he noticed was that the front door was both shut and jammed with a chair. Leo stood before it, a large knife in his hands. Augustus paced past the window, swinging his baseball bat in the air at irregular intervals.
“Sir,” Leo said. “You’re needed downstairs. Mike has news, and Jemima is hurt.”
“How hurt are we talking?” Arthur asked, wincing as Dr. Muriler slapped him on the leg with a stick.
“You should go; Mike can explain. Augustus and I have the door.”
Arthur nodded and kept moving. “Right. I’ll be back up as soon as I can.”
He slid more than climbed down the ladder, expecting to see Jemima climbing out of the box. His eyes fell on Mike first, his leather jacket covered in blood as he leaned against the wall. Upon seeing Arthur, he let out a relieved sigh.
“Sir.”
“Mike. What’s going on?”
“Jemima first,” Mike said, as he nodded not towards the box but the mutagen tank.
It sat open, and Arthur winced at his first sight of the woman inside. Even her dark skin couldn’t hide the bruises that covered her. Parts of her hair were missing, and she had a variety of cuts. Her arm bent in ways that it shouldn’t, white bone poking from it.
Arthur grimaced as he saw a rib.
“How are you even still alive?” He thought as he moved over to the tube.
She was breathing, but barely.
“What the hell happened?” The question filled the room, destined for no set of ears in particular. “Jemima? Are you ok with being mutated?”
“Yes,” the whisper came out strained.
It surprised him she could talk, and he turned to Dr. Muriler.
“Do it.”
The rat mutant nodded and moved to the tank. In seconds, the glass swung shut, and he found himself in front of the screen. The words blurred together, and he wiped his eyes.
“We need DNA. More DNA. What do we have on hand?” His thoughts came in a rush as he turned to the ladder. “Crocodile and Slagsoul. crocodile, I think. There’s no time to get anything fancy from Jessib. Ok. We get the meat; come down. It should be fine. It will be fine.”
It took him longer than he wanted to grab the meat and come back down. He all but tossed it to Dr. Muriler, who placed it into the machine. With a snap, the draw clicked shut, and the nearby liquid bubbled.
From his memory of doing this with Theobold, he closed his eyes and looked away. The colors burst forth, but he ignored them as he waited for the machine to do its work. Gears ground, and steam hissed. Nearby, he could hear Dr. Muriler squeak as Mike cursed.
He should have warned the man to look away.
Once the lights dimmed, he opened his eyes and looked toward the tank. With a near-silent motion, the glass rose, and the new Jemima stepped out. A primal part of his brain panicked as soon as he saw her. Memories of the monster that killed Dylan rushing to eat him came to mind.
Jemima flexed her arm, admiring the leather hide that had replaced her skin. Her crocodile snout didn’t appear to smile the same way as before, but he understood the expression. She was as fit and tall as Theobold and seemed to enjoy being able to look down at him.
“Hey,” she said, her voice now holding a deeper gravel.
Arthur wanted to squeak, his mind automatically counting her teeth. However, he resisted. With effort, he reached up and took the locket in his hand. While it didn’t burn, the sheer memory of what it could do helped soothe him.
He did his best to take a deep breath and smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. Stronger. I bet I could arm-wrestle Theobold now. Also, no more broken ribs, so that helps.” She laughed. “Good enough to go murder the bastards who kidnapped Nyssa and Theobold and did this to me.”
“What.”
Any fear he felt left with that word as he looked at her. Mike, from his position by the wall, nodded. Dr. Muriler looked beyond angry, the stick he gripped creaking with the effort. He didn’t push away the anger bubbling up inside him. Instead, he let it fester.
“We’re going upstairs, and you’re going to explain. We’ll find you some better-fitting clothes, too. Come on. I need to understand exactly what’s going on.”
***
A scrap of white cloth sat on the counter as Mike finished explaining what had occurred.
As he talked, Dr. Muriler paced and shot dirty looks his way. Arthur tried to ignore them; he had bigger things to focus on. Plus, he figured Jemima and Leo would be enough to keep him safe.
“And that was when they jumped us. The doctor and her demons. They drugged Theobold and Nyssa right away and then kicked the crap out of us. I think they would have gone further, but both of them started waking up from the drugs. The scientist lady wasn’t happy about that, or maybe she was? It was hard to tell. Afterward, The Explorer picked us up and took us right here. Well, sorta. We were on a boat for a bit, but Jemima didn’t get any worse.”
“Where is he, by the way?” Arthur asked.
Mike shrugged. “Dunno, sir. He told Leo and Augustus to keep the place safe and then vanished.”
“Right. And this scrap is from her lab coat, I take it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Dr. Muriler hissed, and Arthur resisted the urge to let out the growl that was crawling up his own throat. He wanted to hit something, or better, someone. With effort, he forced himself to simulate calm even as his insides burned up. However, it didn’t work. His insides felt like someone had filled them with coals that were heading for his throat.
“Where the hell is The Hero? No, never mind that. Where did Lisa take them?”
Mike took a step back and held up his hands. “I don’t know?”
“THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?” Arthur roared, feeling as though that single scream allowed him to eject one of the coals. His emotions were in turmoil. They’d taken Nyssa and Theobold. Kidnapped his staff. His. Staff. This was on top of the gold he was already going to need to sink.
He looked at Dr. Muriler, the single other person of sorts in the room, who showed his level of frustration. Even Jemima didn’t look as angry. She was still looking over her body, occasionally poking her abs.
“So,” Arthur growled, his throat burning up. “You’re telling me they have not only kidnapped the sewer dwellers, they’ve taken two of my staff? Correct?”
“Yes, sir.” Mike saluted the same way Theobold did.
He nodded and looked toward Dr. Muriler. “You knew this woman, or at least her company, before the collapse, correct?”
Dr. Muriler nodded.
“Do you know where the Genomian Inc. building is? Can you take me there?”
Another nod.
Leo stepped forward, though Arthur could see genuine fear in his eyes. The top of the cane dug into his hand as he looked at the bald man. He didn’t remember picking it up.
“Sir. If I may? I don’t think going on this wild goose chase right now is a good idea. If they attacked before—”
“They took my staff, Leo.” Arthur interrupted as he pointed at him with the cane. “Mine. I already wasn’t enjoying their little game. This is too far. Open the door and get the scooters ready. Now.”
“Yes, sir.”
He didn’t look happy about it as he moved the chair and opened the door, but Arthur didn’t care. This wasn’t about Leo being happy; it was about getting Nyssa and Theobold back. It was about showing that people couldn’t come in and take what was his anymore.
“Who are you taking with you?” Jemima asked, flexing once again.
“Augustus and Dr. Muriler are a must. I need people I can trust for this job.”
Jemima snorted. “And Augustus can drive one of the scooters?”
“I…” Arthur trailed off, a bit of his rationality coming back to him. “Fine. You’re coming too. Mike, you’re helping Leo guard the shop. Go tell Carla and Chris their shifts are starting early.”
“Yes, sir,” Mike said before he left the room after Leo.
Jemima slammed a fist into her open palm. “I’m going to need a bigger belt for my gun.”
“Fine.” Arthur waved her away. “Doc, do you have everything you need?”
Dr. Muriler squeaked before moving to the basement. He returned about the same time as Leo pushed two of the scooters around the back. Paint splotches covered the small bag the rat mutant carried, it also clinked ominously as he walked.
“Alright. You’re leading the way. Let’s get on with this.”
His locket wasn’t hot, but he couldn’t help but feel the heat anyway as he moved inside to get changed properly. If he was going to end up face to face with Dr. Lisa Moore, he was going to be dressed for the occasion.
***
Dr. Muriler tapped on his shoulder to indicate the turns as they moved through the streets.
They headed south-west, but not on the same route as they took to get to Diaboli Theatrum. The buildings, though decayed, still kept a more businesslike look. Arthur seethed as he drove, his stomach churning as he wondered what the crazy woman was doing.
She’d mentioned multiple times that she wanted them for experiments. His mind created images of her dissecting them. That when they found her, he’d walk in to some kind of grisly operating table. A small smile flashed across his face as he imagined burning the entire lab to the ground with her in it.
A squeak and two taps made him park and look around. They’d stopped in front of a building that looked as though it had collapsed some time ago. However, someone had cleared most of the rubble from the building and stacked neatly nearby.
Several pigeons sat on nearby piles of debris, cooing and fluttering at the sight of him. Among them was a familiar onyx-colored bird. It flew towards him, landing on a nearby sign as it looked down at him.
“And what do you think you’re doing here? Our shipment isn’t ready for you yet. Captain Swordsman will come deliver it himself.”
Arthur snorted as he looked up at the bird. “Of course you live here. Where is she, then? Where have you been hiding her?”
“Who?” Lady Pigeonette asked.
With a single step, he moved forward and smashed his cane into the pole of the sight she was on. The clang reverberated through the air as, all around him, the pigeons took flight. His breathing was heavy as he looked at the pigeon now circling in the air.
“Dr. Lisa Moore. Owner of the building you’re all squatting in. Where is she?”
“She’s never been here,” Lady Pigeonette said, voice disgruntled with a hint of fear. “I don’t know where she is.”
He didn’t respond and instead looked towards Dr. Muriler. “This is the place, right?”
Dr. Muriler nodded and squeaked.
“Great,” Arthur said, straightening his suit as he looked back to the flapping bird. “Tell whoever is in charge to come up and let us in. What we need is inside, and I’m going to find it.”
The bird landed on a nearby pile, its wings ruffling as it did so. “Why should we?”
“Because she kidnapped two of my employees, and if you don’t, I’ll have Jemima and Augustus here rip it open. Your choice.” He didn’t bother trying to hide the growl in his voice.
For a moment, the bird was silent before it bobbed its head.
“Very well. Captain Swordsman is coming to meet you. I’m not happy about this.”
“I don’t need you happy; I need you to cooperate,” Arthur snapped back, his anger rising.
He clutched the locket, but it was blissfully cool. Though he wondered why his throat seemed so hot. Beside him, he noticed Jemima and Augustus share a look. Dr. Muriler, however, was nodding in agreement with his words while watching the entrance hatch with trepidation.
It didn’t take too long for it to open, and he saw himself greeted by Captain Swordsman. The man nodded and didn’t even bother letting go of the ladder he was holding. His tone was curt as he spoke.
“So, Arthur. You’ve chosen a war, after all?”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIea6J5ZEr
