Fedor licked the bones clean and let them clatter on the floor as he finished each section of the battered skeleton methodically. Mark tapped his foot with his arms crossed around his chest while looking at the ceiling. Banko cowered a bit. He scanned the cave nervously as he adjusted his tie. Carson slumped his posture and dropped his head. Nickey did nearly the same motions as Mark, but she stood further away from the group and looking toward Fedor. She listened to the discussion of the others silently.
“I’m sorry. Shouldn’t we take a rest before going any further? How are we doing this mission? Who is leader? I really need a Moanstar right about now. Sorry. I mean seriously need one or I’m gonna fold. We haven’t even figured out what’s going on here, what’s the point in rushing into a mission.”
“Gamer-boy, she’s weak as crap. It’s an easy mission. We’d be insane to ignore it. Besides, don’t you want to help put the little scrap out of her misery?”
“As a team we can compensate for each other’s strengths and weaknesses. With a comprehensive battle management strategy, we can mitigate the risk to the point of nonexistence and reap massive profits. This mission is essentially starting capital.”
“I don’t know man, sorry, I’m exhausted. I just feel like I want to collapse.”
“You require an energy drink or some kind of potion. I’m sure they’re plentiful in the dungeon. Once you’ve had one, you’ll feel good as gold. I bet even a coffee would fulfill the requirements.”
“Making me addicted to stimulants was not a fair move.”
“So you’re telling me you weren’t chugging the juice nonstop back in Michigan or wherever it was you said you were from?”
“I drank one or two cans a day, five at most. That’s not addiction. And I’m a Canadian, thank you very much. Do you even listen? Sorry.”
“Canada is just upstate Michigan as far as I’m concerned.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Anyway, paper-pusher, you can wrap her hands and feet, correct? How’s your control looking?”
“I’m improving faster than I thought possible. I can distract her and bind her up like a little stuck pig for the company picnic.”
“Good. Gamer-boy, you stay out of the way until we can get a potion. Do your best to stay alive and out of trouble.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m not with this type of quest anyway.”
“Question, would food be considered an enhancement substance? Perhaps if we give the kid a nutrition bar he’ll perk right back up?”
“I already ate one, sorry, it did nothing but made my stomach feel heavy. And I’m not a kid, I’m eighteen. Sorry.”
“You’re not an adult until you’re at least twenty.”
“Sorry, that’s sounds like something a boomer would say.”
“Back to the plan ladies! So, we try to get gamer-boy an energy drink or something to pick him up. That way, he can have our backs instead of being a liability. Once we get settled, we go all in on ambushing twerpy. We can tag twerpy’s corpse and bag her with just the paper-pusher and myself. However, where the problem arises is, we don’t know what else is waiting for us behind that door. Girlie can fight with Fatso, those two make a good combo when things go south.”
“So strap her, zap her, wrap her, and then bap her!”
“Your sense of humor is noted. I’ll take the killing blow, saves you from getting blood on your hands. Let’s move out, who wants to see if Fatso wants in?”
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“What about those two, well three, in her party? Sorry, I mean. They seemed to be friends and all. Should we invite them? Seems like they might want to say a proper farewell and all.”
“Sleepy, Dopey, and now Grumpy? Why in the world would want to invite those three clowns!? Five is the magic number for maneuvering around in this dungeon. I’m not in the business of dragging dead weight around. Much less unstable deadweight. Tell you what, if you want to leave and go join them, you’re more than welcome. Just mosey on over there.”
“That’s not what I said! ...sorry. I’m with this group, our group. It’s just... no nothing. Sorry. I’m just tired. Sorry. Brain fog. Sorry.”
“Hey big guy! You ready to get some easy points on Azoria’s quest?”
Big guy tilted his head. As he stood, polished bones fell from his lap with a clatter. A burp echoed through their section of the cave. Roaches returned and crawled over the bone. Fedor turned while licking his lips. With the back of his arm, he wiped the bloody saliva laced with rotting viscera from his chin. Each step towards the group caused a barely perceptible shake that only Nickey could fully perceive. He walked past Alfredo and Ebony, both of whom were on their backs and apparently sound asleep, even if one looked to be uneasy. A thin old man in sackcloth robes sat behind them in a meditative stance.
“I knew she’d be soon dying. Very unfortunate about her. I’m feeling the sadness in my heart and will bring her misery to be ended.”
Mark put a hand on Fedor’s shoulder, “You have a good heart big guy. I’m sorry about what I did earlier. It was… it was a big mistake. But when you really think about it, I was only trying to do the right thing all along.”
Fedor’s eyes narrowed, “I do not be understanding how you think. But I will still be joining you for this mission to save this woman from the deep pains of the insanity.”
“Anyway, Welcome to the team fatso.”
Fedor grunted.
“I meant it as a term of endearment big guy.”
Nickey shuddered and walked away with her arms around her chest. Her thin body felt cold despite her coat, despite the cave being close to room temperature. And yet little drops of sweat formed on her forehead. This was. She looked towards the stage where Azoria stood like the vision of some angel or a saint. Was this? Something crackled under the heel of her boot.
She squatted down and lifted her foot out of the way to see the smashed frames of a small pair of glasses. She clamped them between the tips of her middle and index finger. The lenses were cracked from being stepped on. The frames were mangled beyond repair. The bar for the left ear had snapped off. A blood stain covered the right lens.
As Nickey rose with the glasses she replayed a voice from recent memory: If my friend dies, it’ll be on you! Even if you don’t care, I’m holding you responsible! Nickey rubbed her thumb over the edge of the spectacles. A jagged splinter of metal cut her thumb and drew some blood.
This was an assassination. That girl wasn’t dead yet. The rabbit watched from the shadows. Its cold red eyes shot icy judgement through her being. She gripped the spectacles in her palm and thrust them in her coat pocket. The sound of cracking frames came from her coat.
“I don’t want to do thish! Thish... it’sh not right. I refuse. I’m not doing it. I refuse!”
“Weren’t you some kind of assassin girlie? Wasn’t expecting you to go getting cold feet on your team. You’re too good of a fighter to not be all in.”
She approached them again.
“There’s shomething wrong with this. Why can’t we forget about it?”
A firm hand went on her shoulder and gripped, “Look, you don’t even have to fight twerpy. I’ll do the honors. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“We should take a vote on it. I proposhe we skip this quest and don’t get involved. Let’s try to get Carson taken care of and get out of this cave.”
“This is a crucial quest. We can’t just abandon it. Who knows how badly we’ll be penalized. You saw what happened to the people who didn’t choose. And the idiots who resisted.”
Darrone raised his head as Megan continued clutching his clothes. Her face pushed against him. He gave her some comforting pats as he glared at the meeting among honorary Demonians.
“Anyway,” Mark snorted, then spat fat slimy snot ball on the floor, “I vote we go and complete this mission. I’m the leader. My vote counts double. That’s two votes.”
“I’m the best fighter, and I vote we get out of this place as soon as possible. My vote counts double too. That’s two voteshs against.”
They looked at Banko and Carson. Carson shrugged his shoulders.
“I need to get an energy drink before I decide anything, sorry,” Carson said, “I don’t like the sound of this quest. It has to be an optional quest. Maybe a trap quest. I vote we ignore it.”
“Following the directive of upper management is our imperative. I vote we complete the assigned task.”
“It’s a tie,” Nickey said.
“No, we have one more here and he’s kind of hard to ignore. It’s your call big guy.”
Fedor ran his fingers along the handle of his meat cleaver, a small sigh pushed past his bruised lips, “We put the small one out the misery with the care and respect deserved. Please be considering she was my friend. Let’s be going.”
He trudged reluctantly towards the exit that would take them to the quest floor. The others followed. Mark whistled softly, victoriously to himself as he put his hands behind his neck for the stroll.