TW: Violence / Character Death (Long Post / Read)
✧ Wills' Sacrifice ✧
Mabel could feel her heart pounding inside of her chest as she was being pulled onwards. The haste in Wills steps made it hard for her shorter legs to keep up with the tall and lanky mudokon leading her to safety. Her vision began to cloud with exhaustion and Mabels breathing became hoarse as her partner nearly dragged her in his determination to set them both free. Only the familiar blurred outline of his peculiar square shaped navy and violet feathers were in focus. By the time they came to a stop, the small mudokon queen could taste blood in her throat from the strain their sprinting had caused.
Searchlights had barely missed them as the two mudokons ducked behind a brick wall that foreshadowed a large gate to the outside world. Will took their brief moment of safety to catch his breath. They had to keep running, they had to get free. Looking down into his frightened partners crystal blue eyes, he remembered what it was he was fighting for. They had always promised to start a life together somewhere if the two of them ever had the chance to flee the plantation. And today was that day. The stars had finally aligned to provide the young lovers a way out of here.
While William had been doing routine maintenance yesterday evening, he had overheard some of the slig guards expressing excitement about a shipment of brew that one of them had "found" on patrol. And if Will knew anything about sligs, its that they can't resist an opportunity to get drunk and slack off on their duties, and tonight there would be fewer sligs protecting the farm.
Peaking past the wall, the dark green mudokon tried to get a grasp on the time between each light and subsequent motion detector beam. 5... 3... 8... 4... his brown eyes darted over as he repeated the sequence until he was confident he and his mate could pull it off.
Will could feel her panic through the pulse in her wrist, and while he hated to admit it, he was just as terrified as Mabel was. "We can do this..." He whispered to her. "Follow my lead, and stop exactly when I do." He instructed her before they both stepped out and began to creep their way towards the final gate. Stopping as the glaring red beam of light seemingly passed over them, Will held his breath as he could feel the trembling of his partner as she tried to remain completely still. Exhaling a sigh of relief as the light disappeared behind them, he tugged her onward once again.
Realising that his mate had never been past the inner gardens, his head was flooded by the idea that the only thing sepporating Mabel from death was her faith in him. She had trusted him to first get their pet out of harm's way, and now she was trusting him to guide the three of them to freedom. As he paused again for an incoming motion detector, he could see the final gate just meters ahead of them. He parted his lips in a thin smile. Now we just have to make it across and swipe the keycard, and we'll finally be free! Hope flared in his chest like a kindling fire, one that got hotter with every footstep closer to their goal.
Coming up to the final motion detector, the two of them froze once more. Suddenly the lazer blinked as Will could feel something slowly slip out of his pocket. A cold rush of horror made his three feathers stand on end as he heard a "clink!" from the plastic keycard hitting the ground beside his foot. Moments later, a blaring alarm nearly deafened them both.
"W-What are we going to do?!" Mabel sputtered out in a panic. Without even thinking, the dark green mudokon shouted "RUN!" As he grasped her hand tighter, picked up the key and made a mad dash for the front gate. For the first time in years, he could feel a breeze emanating from the surface, so strong he almost couldn't smell the haze of unnatural smoke hovering in the air. We are so close! Wills ears flicked as he could hear the familiar drone of mechanical slig legs fast approaching.
Turning the card over, Will held it up to the scanner as the metal door began to open. The creaking sound alerted them both that the powered gate was slowly opening. Without hesitation, the two mudokons Slammed into the heavy iron gate, and pushed with all their might, trying to pry it open further with brute strength. As they did so, a loud droning beep played, which told Will that the permission request had been denied. No...no no no no NO! This CANNOT be happening-! The door stopped, then began re-closing. Realization hit him like a stone as he recalled the manuals he had read on the machine's operations and security protocols. "In the case of an emergency or security breach, electrically powered doors will only open while a keycard is present on the scanner. Failure to hold an override keycard will result in the gate closing to keep potential escapees and criminals on site grounds to be persecuted..." Will repeated silently to himself in his mind. Knowing what he must do now, he had to mentally prepare himself for the possibility that he'd never again see his beloved.
Not wanting this to be all for nothing, he put a hand on Mabel's shoulder, and turned her to face him. Looking up at him, her eyes clouded with worry. She knew that look, it was the face he made when he had to say goodbye to her for a long while. The small grey queen wanted to protest, but the right words couldn't escape her lips before Will leaned forward to plant a kiss on her cheek. Her blue eyes widened as her cheeks flushed pink. "...Will?" Her eyes searched his, finding a nearly silent plea as she tuned out her surroundings. "The security measures are trying to keep the site locked down... So I'm going to keep the gate open for as long as I can to give us time to escape. You're smaller than me, so you should be able to slide through first., then I'll wait until I can follow you, and cut the power to keep the gate open...." His voice shook with emotion, but Will continued. "No matter what happens, keep running... If I'm not outside by the time the power comes back on, leave without me."
The kind brown eyes that had captivated Mabel for so long now looked dull with pain. "Promise me Mabel... Promise me you'll get out of here, with or without me." Without saying another word, Mabel nodded her head and her eyes watered. Hearing the door begin to creak shut, the taller green mudokon held his mate tightly for what felt like the last time, and handed her one of his brilliantly colored feathers before nudging her towards the gate. Holding the keycard to the scanner panel, the door let out a groaning creak once again as it slid slowly to the right. The silver grey mudokon turned back slightly to him. "Will... I... I never got to say-" Mabel started.
"...I know..." his voice was soft, but firm as he cut her off. "Now go!"
Nodding in acknowledgment, Mabel began struggling to get between the gate and the outside world. She clung to the bars and sucked in her gut in an attempt to forcefully squeeze through. Hearing the slig footsteps get louder behind her, Mabels heart pounded with fear. Just before panic set in, she slipped through the narrow gap in the mechanical gate, her chest heaving with the effort. "I'm out!" Mabel cried out triumphantly. After a heavy sigh of relief, the mudokon dressed in white began to back away from the plantation she had lived in all her life. "C'mon Will, we can make it!" She yelled encouragingly.
Keeping a close eye on the gate, Will tried to estimate the additional space needed for him to squeeze through after her. Hearing Mabel's call, he used one hand to keep the keycard to the pannel, and the other to start unscrewing the control panel. As he got the first screw off, something loud zipped past his ear and ricocheted off the machine wall, startling him. "After 'em!"A slig yelled, which confirmed that it had to be a bullet that nearly hit him. "They're not gettin' away from me!" Another called out confidently.
Shit... shit shit! He cursed in his mind as he quickly unscrewed the pannel and cut the main power supply cord with the sharpened edge of his screwdriver. He held his breath as a droning sound and lack of search lights confirmed to him that the power was down. "IM RIGHT BEHIND YOU MABEL! FIND BEETLE AND GET READY TO RUN FOR IT!" He shouted, rushing towards the gate with no hesitation, the larger mudokon caught sight of his mate fleeing into the tall fields beyond. Sucking in as much of his gut and abdomen as he could, he desperately tried to follow her.
With a stab of horror, he realized the gate wasn't open wide enough for his more rugged frame to fit through. Oh odd no! Please no! He prayed to the stars that were starting to fade in the first colorful signs of dawn. Trying once again to push with all his might, the only thing he could hear was his pulse roaring in his ears. Tears helplessly slid down his cheeks as he fretfully squirmed, silently willing his body to somehow shrink and allow him to follow his beloved. I... I'm not going to make it... He thought dreadfully to himself. I'm too big to get through a gap this size... Gazing at the last sight of Mabels dove grey skin and pale tattered dress in the moonlight, Will was thankful she was too far away now to turn around to see this.
Feeling a searing pain in his leg, he was yanked like a fallen rag doll and pulled out of the space he had been stuck in, hearing a C R A C K! From within his ribcage. "AAGGHH!" He yelped in pain before realizing he was being held upside down by a big bro slig. It wasn't just any slig either... no, it was his foster slig; Matthias. The one who had raised him. Eyes wide with shock, Will stared at the sligs modified and mechanical body in complete disarray.
"M-Matthias..." was all the mudokon could utter before being slammed into the iron bars he had just been wedged from. the breath thoroughly knocked out of him, William gasped for air as the soulless mask upon Matthias's face showed a gleam of amusement at his pain. Blood trickled down his chin as the would be runaway mudokon tried to speak. "Wh... why...?" He choked out in shallow breaths, fearing that his lungs had been punctured.
"Why? WHY?! BECAUSE ALL OF YOU MUDOKONS ARE UNGRATEFUL SCUM !" The red striped steroid ridden slig growled. "ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN, AND DO AS OUR MISTRESS DEMANDED OF YOU! YOU RECEIVED FOOD, SHELTER, AND SAFETY IN RETURN FOR YOUR COOPERATION!" Anger pulsed through Matthias' body as he held his former responsibility in his mechanical grasp. "BUT INSTEAD OF ADAPTING, YOU CHOSE TO BE A COWARD AND RUN." He sneered.
"You want to know what I think-" Will gasped again, using what felt like the last of his energy, and he looked up at his mentor bravely. "You gave into her tyranny." He smiled smugly for a moment, "You didn't have the nerve to disobey or fight back-" His eyes rolled back as Matthias tried to silence him with another slam against the bars. "That makes you the coward...!"
With that final utterance, the rage that had been building within the slig escaped him, as he mercilessly threw the mudokon slave across the brick pavement. The pathetic scrap wasn't even able to steady himself to his feet before the new captain of the gaurd stomped over to finish what he started. Kicking Will over so that his back was to the ground, the big bro slig loomed over Wills battered and broken body like he was a piece of prey, and sadistically slammed his hydrolically powered mechanical leg straight through his chest cavity. Ending his miserable existence with great pride. "I'm no coward. I'm LOYAL ... and in this world, loyalty to the right person is your best chance of survival." The crimson striped slig lifted his head with pride as he watched the color drain from Wills eyes. In mere seconds they became nothing but blank orbs reflecting his final moments of pain, and a trace of disappointment in someone he used to trust.
