"Fuck a duck…" I muttered softly as I walked in front of the grogark and aivard. The three of us were at the back of a procession into the escape tunnel. Mom and dad were at the front of the procession leading everyone through the tunnel. Mom made me bring up the rear with the evos since if we were attacked in the tunnel they could act as a bulwark against advancing thrads. Not that two evos would do that well against a tide of hundreds. Mom did this to spite dad and I was trying my hardest not get made at the fact my mom just banished me to the back of a pack and put me in the most danger just to get back at my dad.
"Chase notice anything else about the Aivard?" Andy asked as he looked back at the evos and me. He walked beside Louie just in front of me. When mom sent me to the back of the pack Louie and Andy volunteered to walk with me. Though I knew that was mostly to keep an eye on the grogark and the aivard.
"He's stable and very mentally acute. He picked up walking in a matter of minutes. It seems that he's paying attention to what's being said around him as well. His eyes seem to move to the person that's speaking. It's entirely possible that it could be trying to understand English." I observed.
It wasn't uncommon for me to give scientist like Andy and Louie my observations about evos, especially prototypes. I understood them in a way that no normal scientist could. Even though I didn't know how to splice as a splicer I could still control them easily enough with my power and even jump into their minds. That was normally a last resort though.
"Excellent! Excellent! What about your power? Is it still bouncing off it?" Andy asked, practically jumping with glee.
"Not as much. I'd barely notice it if I wasn't looking for it." I replied. Louie grumbled to himself and scratched his chin.
"Might be something to that…" He started but was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash reverberating throughout the tunnel.
I looked around the evos back at the entrance of the tunnel. When everyone in the building was through mom sealed it back up so the thrads couldn't follow us easily. Thankfully the escape tunnel entrance was still intact and we were far enough away that even if it had been breeched it would take the thrads a while before they caught up to us.
"What the hell was that?" I asked Louie.
"A section of the warehouse above might have collasped…" Louie hypothesized. The grogark suddenly started spun around and started growling and hissing at the ceiling behind us.
"That can't be good…" Andy said then spun around and started rushing towards the front of the procession. "Thomas, Maria, we should move faster!"
A large crack that reminded me of spider web formed in the ceiling that crawled down the wall as the lights flickered. A split second later the ceiling gave way. A large cloud of dust filled the tunnel as concrete, metal, and glass fell from the factory floor above. A wave of unknown liquid flowed down and washed overt the entire procession, washing us several yards away from the collapse
I groaned and pushed myself up, shaking off the fluid that I was quickly coming to realize was cultivation fluid from the main storage. The stuff had a very pungent and distinctive smell, once you've smelled it once you'll never forget it.
I looked up where the ceiling collapsed. Thankfully the it looked like whatever hole had been left was never covered with the twisted metal of some machine or tank. I could however hear the frightening screech of a thrad just beyond the blockage.
"Everyone okay?!" Dad yelled to the others. There were scattered responses, mostly just people groaning and shaking the fluid off them.
"Everyone we need to hurry! The thrads are tearing up the factory above us! If we don't want to get buried we need to get going now!" Mom yelled to everyone. "If you aren't hurt and can move do it now!"
Everyone started hustling and making their way down the tunnel. I started to follow after the group when I noticed that the grogark and aivard were not moving. I turned to find them snarling and growling at the blocked ceiling, more precisely the thrads clawing at the rubble that blocked the ceiling.
"Nope! Come one you two we need to get out of here before the ceiling collapses or those things get through and kill us!" I snapped and grabbed the grogark by the scruff of its neck and lifted it off the ground. It was surprisingly lighter than I thought it possible, seeing how bulky it looked. The grogark went limp and looked back at me with a combination of surprised and annoyed.
The aivard stopped growling when he saw me pick up the gorgark. He let out a low whine and got as low as he possibly could and slunk behind me, like a puppy who had just been scolded. I pointed down the tunnel and tossed the gorgark lightly in that direction. He landed on his feet then huffed and started rushing towards the retreating procession. The aivard took the hint and quickly followed after him.
I brought up the rear, occasionally looking back to make sure the thrads hadn't broken through. Ten minutes later the front of the procession reached the end of the escape tunnel. From my spit at the back I could see a door opening up in the wall and sunlight flooding the dimly lit tunnel.
Multiple people exclaimed happily and rushed forward trying to push their way forward, wanting out of the tunnel. I hung back, not wanting to end up getting trampled because people were too eager to get out.
The grogark and aivard suddenly became alert again and spun around and started growling. I spun around in time to see a section of the ceiling collapse seven hundred yards away. A cacophony of screeches and growls echoed down the tunnel as I saw at least twenty thrads energy from the cloud of dust and start rushing towards us.
The group panicked and started shoving and screaming. I drew my Jasko and took aim down the tunnel. Thankfully dad gave me a few more clips of ammo when mom made me stay at the back of the procession.
I fired at the fired at the first thrad, actually nailing it in the leg. It let out a pained screech and fell behind in the pack only go be replaced by a healthier and hungrier looking thrad.
"CHASE BREATHE!" Dad roared.
I glanced back and saw him trying to push his way through the crowd and make his way to me. The growl of a thrad brought my attention back to what was in front of me. I followed my dad's advice and took a breath. I felt my anxiety and panic slowly fading away as I lined up this shot. I squeezed the trigger and the thrads head exploded and flew back, crashing into four thrads behind it and knocking all four of them over of course the other thrads just climbed over them and kept advancing.
Grogark suddenly rushed forward a few yards then spun around and lifted his tail up. He hissed loudly as he sprayed a stream of red gas down the tunnel. The cloud flew a few dozen yards and the thrads raced through it. When they came out of the cloud all the thrads were coughing and gasping for air.
At first I thought the grogark's gas was just similar to the average skunk spray but I was quickly proven wrong when the thrad's scales started dissolve and large chunks of flesh started to slide off its arm, reveling bone. I watched in horror as the entire pack of thrads slowly dissolved into puddles of fleshy goop and bones, the entire time screeching in agony.
The gas soon dissipated and only the soupy remains of the thrads remained. The grogark hissed at the now dead thrads and quickly flicked his tail like he was flipping off the thrads then waddled over to me and sat up on his hind paws and held his front paws out like he was asking to be picked up.
I complied without thinking and reached down to pick up the evo. He clung to my short as I brought him close to my chest then then climbed over my shoulder and repositioned himself so that he clung to my shoulders and rested his head next to my next.
"That's a good little…war crime…don't spray me. I'm the good guy!" I said in the calmest, most positive voice I could muster. The grogark purred and rubbed his cheek against me.
'I think it likes me…' I thought then glanced over at the aivard. It looked down at me with these giant pitiful eyes like if was begging to be praised or picked up.
While there was no way I was picking up that eight foot monstrosity I could manage a head scratch. I reached up and scratched his head right behind the neck where the feathers and fur connected. It let out a loud yip and angled his head where it wanted to be scratched then nearly slid to its belly when I scratched that spot.
"Chase!" Dad exclaimed as he quickly rushed over to me having made his way through the crowd.
"I'm fine dad." I said then glanced over my shoulder at him.
"War crime here took care of all the thrads." I said.
"War crime?" Dad grumbled then took a few steps back when he noticed the thrad soup sloshing around on the ground. "What the hell is that?!"
"The thrads…" I said calmly then pointed to War Crime on my back. "Turns out grogark's can create a acidic gas strong enough to melt the flesh off a thrads bones."
"Goddammit Chase what did I say about naming Evos!" Dad snapped and slapped his forehead.
"I mean…" I glanced over at the thrad soup and remember the expressions of agony that was on their faces as they died then back at War crime who looked happy as a clam on my back. "…the name fits though…"