Night descended quickly on the Wranglers District. The busyness of the day was being put to rest for fear of the unscrupulous encounters that came with the shadows. THUD! The quasi-calmness was shattered by the abrasive growl of a truck pulling into Vicky’s compound. The truck's headlights sliced through the creeping darkness as it came to a halt. Vicky, Scar, Raven, and the drivers had made their return from their mission.
“Whew, it’s good to be back. I could kill for a nice bath right now.” Flexing her arms, Raven dismounted the vehicle with her garment still adorned with bits of the Slum Rats’ blood.
“You women and your baths.” Scar grunted at what Raven said. He seemed to relish the stench of blood all over him. “Come.” He called Raven over. Together, they lowered the ramp at the truck's rear. This paved a smooth path for Vicky to roll out with her wheelchair.
Vicky navigated her wheelchair with a finesse that was the product of years of practice. As she rolled out, her eagle-eyed gaze locked onto a plume of smoke billowing from behind the shack. “Is that a fire?”
“Hmm?” Scar and Raven, following her line of sight, also clocked the smoke.
"What has the gang been up to since we left?" Vicky pondered aloud, wondering what that high blazing fire was for. “I’m going to take a look.”
Steering her wheelchair towards the shack, Vicky spotted the Sword Fishes, Boulder, Hao, and some of the little ones lugging bags from the shack towards a fire heap. The bags were bulging and misshapen, they also carried a poignant scent.
Standing by the heap was Lanor, her face was stern and focused as she directed Hao and Boulder to place the corpses. "Is that the last of them?” She inquired.
“Yep, this is the last of them," responded Hao.
“Hurry and toss them on before the fire dies down." She ordered.
“Alright boss.” Hao assented.
The Sword Fishes, accompanied by Hao and Boulder, hurled their bags onto the fire. The fire, which had been a regular orange, suddenly erupted into a blaze of bright emerald. The chemical reaction caused by the Grey Biters' green slime was a sight to behold.
Wiping the sweat off his brow, Hao spoke again, "The shack is clean now, right?" He posed this question to Boulder to clarify.
“It is.” Answered Boulder while rubbing his palms together, scraping away ash.
"Good, all that's left is that Grey Tissue thingy," Lanor noted, darting her eyes towards the shack.
Boulder grunted in agreement. "I still say we toss the damn thing into the fire with the rest of these critters."
Hao disagreed, “No way. As I’ve told you earlier, that might have an unpredictable effect.”
Boulder shot back, “What do you know? The last I check, you have no clue what the damn thing is either.”
“I don’t but based on what has occurred so far, I truly believe that…”
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“Hey!”
Their discussion was cut short by Vicky's commanding presence on the scene. "What is going on here?" Her voice coupled with her disposition carried an air of authority that demanded answers. And rightly so.
The group swivelled to face her, slightly startled by her presence. "Mum, when did you get back?" Lanor queried.
"Just now, what is this fire for?" Vicky was eager to know why her compound was burning. She swept her ice-cold gaze over the group. If it had lingered long enough on the flames, then maybe it would have put it out.
Scar, who had followed Vicky, spoke up, "Yeah, what the hell is this damn green fire for? Are you punks doing a ritual?" His voice was gruff, and his eyes held a hint of suspicion.
“Hmm.” Raven, on the other hand, stood silently, scanning the scene with an unreadable expression.
"The thing is... we had a bit of unexpected trouble earlier today," Lanor started off a bit hesitant, but eventually mustered the courage to share what happened. During her explanation, she subtly implied that it was all Hao's fault.
“Oh?” Vicky listened attentively as she took in the information. "What creatures?" She asked finally.
“They were this small and very scary looking with big teeth like this, and…” The children demonstrated what they saw using gestures, confirming Lanor's story.
Vicky also noticed that Hao's left arm, Wheelz, was busted and in need of repairs. Once Lanor's explanation was over, Vicky decided to investigate the shack for herself. Hence she rolled on over there. The sight that greeted her was one of destruction. Holes were present at all corners of the shack, mainly from the multiple tendrils; the floor still had some slime scattered about, and in the corner, a large transparent container held a strikingly odd object - the Grey Tissue, oozing green substance that filled the container by half.
"What the heck is that?" Scar blurted out in shock.
Raven, too, looked taken aback. "What has this bastard brought to our doorstep?" She glared at Hao, who, despite his blindness, could sense her malicious intent but chose to ignore it.
Unlike her underlings, Vicky was more intrigued than angry. She moved closer to the mysterious object while scanning it with a scientist's curiosity. "You say this came from a bone?" she asked, glancing back at Lanor.
"Yes, I witnessed the whole thing," Lanor confirmed, pointing at Hao. "After he tapped it with the hammer, it transformed into an orbital portal that poured out the creatures that we burnt."
Hearing this, Hao spoke softly, “I'm not so certain it was the hammer itself that caused that.” What he said added another layer of mystery to the situation.
"A strange portal and creatures...?" Vicky's mind worked to piece together the information, but she came up blank. Her area of expertise was in crafting expertly forged blades, not understanding biological and fractal phenomena. She turned to Hao who she suspected knew more than he was divulging. "You're going to tell me everything you know about this thing. Where did you acquire it and what was its original formation?" Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.
But Hao had his own demands. Gesturing to Wheelz he began, "Before that... this arm needs repairing and I have questions of my own that need answering." His response was met with a moment of silence.
Scar, unable to contain his anger, snapped. "You little shit, are you trying to bargain with the boss? Have you forgotten who saved your despicable life?" He was going over to smack him properly, but Vicky's stern voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Settle, Scar." With her gaze still on Hao she continued, "We both have something that the other wants. Come, I shall repair that arm." She started moving towards the exit. Hao followed her without a word. The Sword Fishes trailed behind him, leaving Acadian who was chained in the corner.
In the shack, Raven’s eyes darted about briefly before she turned to Lanor. "Where is the other bloke?" she was referring to Mentos who she didn’t see since she got back.
Lanor shrugged, "I don't know. When I finished my bath, he was gone."
“Gone?” Raven frowned, her instincts telling her that something was amiss. She didn't trust Hao or Mentos. Their actions only served to deepen her suspicions. “I’m going to ask Boulder if he knows.” She left the shack apace to question Boulder who was still by the fire.
“Wait for me.” Shortly, Scar followed in her footstep.
“Those two…” Instead of heading behind them, Lanor went towards Vicky’s workshop to observe the repairing process of Wheelz.
The green fire outside continued to burn throughout the night until ashes remained of the Grey Biters.