“What now?” Frend asked.

It had been some time since Grend had unceremoniously ended the Foxling. Neither had moved from where they lay on the kitchen floor.

Beside him Grend shrugged, he was fidgeting with the keys held carefully in his hands.

“I don’t know Brother, I don’t know. Seeing as Foxling didn’t exactly hand the keys over willingly we are in a bit of bother. Soon as the other Beastlings realise they don’t got to do what we say it could be trouble. We weren’t as bad as the Creator was. But we weren’t too good either. Remember the Pigling?”

Frend gritted his teeth, “Oh the pigling, yeah that wasn’t our finest moment that. We were drunk though.”

Grend scratched at his chin, “Yeah but not enough to get away with doing that.”

“So what then?” Frend asked. “Run?”

Grend sat up and exhaled deeply.

“Yeah. We could run.”

A silence fell over them then.

“We may do something about the Creator first. Have to tell him about his Foxling anyway.” Frend helped Grend as they both got to their feet.

Grend nodded, “Yeah, we’ll get that sorted first. I’ll get the head there and you get the body. Might as well show him what happened.”

“Might as well,” Frend agreed, “specially seeing as this is basically all his fault anyways.”

Grend stopped as he bent down to pick up Gene’s head.

“It is too isn’t it. It is all the Creator’s fault.”

“Ah yeah, that’s what I said.” Frend shook his head laughing.

“I know you said it but you just said it as a throwaway comment. I said it in a deeper way.”

“What?” Frend stopped with his hands under Gene’s bare shoulders.

“How do you know it was throwaway. Don’t be stealing my words as your own, it was my thought.”

Grend sighed but waved Frend away.

“Deeper way,” Frend muttered to himself still shaking his head as he began to drag the body.

“Ah for Feck’s sake will you lift the bloody thing. It’s not that heavy. Your dragging blood all over the place.”

“I am not.” Frend replied indignant. “And there’s already blood all over the place. Makes no sense for me to be carrying it all the way out to the garden. Don’t be acting all sour now because you were stealing my thoughts.”

“I WASN’T STEALING.” Grend bounced the foxling head off the ground in anger.

“Ah now look,” Frend pointed, “Who’s dragging blood all over the place now?”

Grend kicked the head at Frend but as he did so slipped in the copious amounts of blood on the floor and went flying feet first into the air.

He landed hard, straight down on his head.

Frend’s mouth opened wide in worry and he was going to cry out when he saw Grend shaking with fury on the floor. Both of his fists were balled and gone purple with the strength of his grip. Grend began to hyperventilate. Raising one hand he placed it on his head and when he turned to look at it he saw blood. His own blood.

Frend stifled a laugh, seeing now that his Brother was not truly hurt.

Grend closed his eyes, but continued shaking with rage.

All of a sudden he slammed both fists onto the ground and leapt up, his anger giving him new found energy.

Grabbing the foxling head he barged out the door, almost slipping in the blood once more.

He roared out in anger again as he steadied himself and flung open the door leading to the garden.

Frend hurried to follow him still giggling at his Brother’s fall. He heaved the body onto his back to try and keep up.

He had to move fast, Grend moved at a ferocious speed, almost running to the well. He didn’t stop for a moment at it either, leaping down without a second look. Frend followed suit a few moments later.

Down below Grend basically charged to the door where the Creator was kept.

“Ohhh it’s you,” the Creator began, evidently surprised to see them.

“I must say I thought that….is that… is that the Foxling’s head. By all the Gods you-”

His words were cut short as Grend kicked the head of Gene again, this time with a far more cautious moment, and went forward to hoist the Creator’s head out of the jar. Yanking his hand into the mouth he pulled out the tongue of the Creator.

“Heehhyyy,” the Creator’s voice struggled to sound out words.

“Frend, your knife.”

“My knife? What are-”

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“KNIFE NOW,” Grend was still very evidently enraged.

Shrugging Frend handed it over.

Grend snatched it off him and without waiting a further moment sliced through the Creator's tongue.

A pitiful wail screeched out of the old Master’s mouth as Grend hacked away at a piece he missed on his first cut.

Frend wiped down his own tongue, he didn’t like to think what it would feel like to have it cut out. He was about to ask what Grend was going to do now when his Brother tossed the tongue up in the air and caught it in his mouth. Bringing the Creator’s head close to his own he began to chew with very obvious motions.

The act was a sudden one but the Creator’s tongue was a tough piece to swallow. As the seconds turned into minutes Grend’s jaw began to hurt with the effort.

Once his anger had subsided a little he dropped the Creator’s head back onto the table and sat down still chewing.

Frend stood watching awkwardly, unsure of what to say or do. He didn’t imagine the Creator’s tongue tasting too good. He and Grend sometimes ate those they found trespassing in their forest, but they always had them cooked up nicely first.

Finally Grend swallowed what was the last of the tongue and opened his mouth wide to the Creator for proof.

He wiped the sweat off his brow.

Grend put an arm around Frend and led him to the back before sitting down heavily.

“So chewy. My jaw is wrecked. Don’t know what the hell it was made of.”

“Flesh?” Frend touched his own tongue again.

“Yeah I guess it was. But very tough flesh. I was going to cut his ears off and eat them too, but well after the tongue I’ll need a minute.”

“And once the ears are off?”

“I haven’t thought past that Brother. Sort of just let the anger decide for a while there.”

“You were very angry.”

“I was,” agreed Grend.

“So, I was thinking there, you know when you were going a bit mad and all. And then especially with the chewing, that took a lot of time too.”

“It did,” admitted Grend.

“I was thinking that now we can’t control the Beastlings we might as well leave the Tower. Go for good. Set up somewhere else. Just me and you. Leave all this shit behind us ya know?”

Grend nodded, “I do know. I know exactly what you mean. And in fact I’d go further.”

“Further? What do you mean further?”

“Wait.” Grend smiled.

With that he clapped his knees and got back up to his feet.

“Follow me.”

Frend regarded his Brother cautiously but did as he was told.

Grend gathered the foxling head in one hand and the Creator’s in the other.

Grend led the way back up silently, he didn’t stop in the garden but continued on and made his way back into the tower and down, down into the lower levels of the Tower.

He didn’t stop descending until they were at the very bottom standing before a locked wooden door. Frend had never been down so low before. He felt a chill, a cold that clung to his body. “What is this place,” he asked as Grend handed him the heads and pulled out the keys from around his neck.

Ignoring the question Grend took out the second key, the one not meant for the collars. Putting it in the lock he carefully turned the key and opened the door.

In his arms the Creator, until this point silent, began trying to speak again, a spluttering of strange sounds came screeching out of his mouth. Whatever was in the room seemed to be the source of his renewed protests. His eyes were wider than Frend had ever seen.

Grend took the heads back of Frend and turned back into the room. He walked much slower now, every step a measured one. Solemn almost. He stopped up in the middle of the room.

Frend’s eyes took a minute to adjust to the dark. He came to stand beside Grend.

“What is this place?” Frend whispered. Even the Creator had gone silent now. It did not seem an appropriate place for any sound to be heard.

“The lowest part of the tower, this is where our Creator disposes of his failed experiments. Or those he does not require of anymore.”

Frend frowned but as he looked down he was now able to make out a pit directly in front of them. It was huge.

“I came down here one night.” Grend stared blankly ahead, even next to him in the silence his voice was barely audible to Frend.

“It was a week or so after we got the keys. You were up in bed but I wanted to see the tower. Wanted to see all of it. It took some time before I got down here. But I did. Before I had even opened the door I heard noises, weak screams, tired screams. Screams from someone that knew their screaming was pointless. They came from down there.”

Grend gestured absentmindedly down into the cavernous pit.

“I couldn’t tell you what they were. Or even what they were supposed to be. It was hard see even with a torch. The pit is deep. I….I..” Grend shook his head, “I got scared at one point, thought I was falling in myself or something. The torch I had fell down, way, way down. I saw two faces looking up at me, pleading for help. They were Beastlings, but none that I had ever seen, or ever want to see again. Failed experiments. They were standing on a mound I thought. But it isn’t a mound. It’a burial chamber. Full of bones, pieces of flesh and whatever else remains of the Creator’s waste. Hundreds of years of his….his waste.”

Frend swallowed hard, his eyes were adjusted now. He peered over the edge, just for a moment. Still he couldn’t see much. All he could see was the faint glow of white as it gleamed off of many thousands of bones. Frend pulled back up immediately.

Grend took the Creator’s head and brought it up close to his own.

“You threw anything you thought not worthy in there. Anything which didn’t reach your required standards. But look at you eh, you can’t even speak now. Me and my brother Frend ruined you. We could keep you around, speak with you, keep giving you hope of one day becoming whole again. But you started all of this. Do you remember the first failed creation you ever put in here? I doubt it. But if you're down there long enough I’m sure it will come back to you.”

Grend held the head over the pit. Tears streamed down the Creator’s face.

“Goodbye Creator.” Grend said.

“Goodbye Creator.” Frend said.

With that Grend released.