by Ben Ormstad
Hesitantly, I walked up to the wall, crouched a bit to see better. I met the creature’s stare. Tiny black irises spun from side to side in its perfectly circular, bulging green eyes. In the darkness of the ventilation shaft, I could only make out the contours of its big, round head. Its fingers stretched further out between the bars in the grill. I moved away from them and said: “Who are you?”
“Plea-ease, open.”
“First, tell me who you are.”
“I…” it said. “I am me.”
“Got a name?”
“I am me.”
“I understand you are you, but what’s your name?”
“N-no!” it said in a raised voice. “Li-listen: Ayamii. Name is Ayamii. F-friend Ayamii.”
“Damn,” I said, “that’s confusing as all hell.”
The long, thin fingers curled around the bars, pushed and pulled them. The metal barely moved. “Open, now. Plea-ease.”
I turned and checked how Frida was doing. She bent over the lifeless woman, inspected something. Yet again feeling somewhat sorry for her and the three lab guys, I faced the creature again. It seemed harmless enough – nasty, but harmless.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll get it open, but if you do anything unexpected, you’re dead.”
It withdrew its fingers from the bars. “Pro-promise. Ayamii is a friend. Lo-lonely friend.”
“Don’t make me regret this. Get back.” I turned to the side and elbowed the ventilation grill with enough force to break someone’s ribs. A loud crack resounded in the room, denting the metal enough for me to grip the edges. With a grunt I tore the entire grill off its hinges. The screws spat out and clattered on the floor.
Ayamii’s round eyeballs spun around their sockets as it poked its head out of the ventilation shaft. Its head was round with no nose, ears or hair, just a purplish, semi-translucent, veiny skin. The tiny mouth underneath the hole which was its nose, continuously changed between smiling, gritting teeth, bending down like in fear or twitching backward like in disgust – never standing still. In staccato movements, the humanoid creature exited further, exposing its long, lanky arms while wrapping its hands around the sides of the ventilation opening.
Involuntarily, I took a step back at the sight of this strange being. I also winced at the totally unexpected smell of… vanilla?
“Tha-thanks, friend,” Ayamii said, for a moment flashing a smile, before the mouth continued through its ever shifting expressions.
“Ew! What is that thing?” Frida’s voice echoed through the room.
Turning, I saw her gun glint in the light from the bulb in the ceiling. “Frida, wait,” I said, blocked her view with my hands. “Don’t do anything.”
“Get out of my way, Dex,” she said and tried to pass me.
I grabbed her shoulders. “Put the gun down. He’s not evil… I think.”
“He?” She grimaced. “That thing is a ‘he’?”
“Well,” I said, then had to think. Was it a he? “I don’t know, actually, but it doesn’t mean us harm. I believe.”
She breathed heavily, shook her shoulders to remove my hands, and reluctantly put away the gun. “We’ll see about that.”
When I was certain she wouldn’t suddenly whip up the weapon and kill the creature, I turned to face it again. “Sorry ‘bout that,” I said and peeked into the darkness of the shaft behind it. “So, are you alone in there?”
“Ye-yes,” Ayamii answered, looking intensely at Frida. “All alone. You’re not… y-you’re not like them.” A purple finger pointed in the direction we came from.
“The daemonorg fuckers? Nope. Not like them. Not with them. No relation whatsoever,” I said and sniffed the vanilla aroma. “And you’re not either, right?”
“No. No. Sort of not. I’m, we’re,” Ayamii said, its purple face darkened. “Our creators c-call us, all of us, they call us m-mishaps.”
“Mishaps?” I frowned. “Your creators?”
Again Ayamii pointed in the direction we came from. “Them.”
“The daemonorgs?”
“Ye-yes, when… when they splice genes from th-themselves with other species to create new life…” Ayamii’s voice trailed off as his mouth switched from laughing to being shocked and then back to disgust. The black irises flew nervously from side to side.
Queasiness coiled in my stomach. The dots connected. “Fuck,” I whispered.
“Yes, sometimes shit hits the fan and we become de-deformed, unusable mon-monstrosities. So they label us mishaps and… and dis-dispose of us,” Ayamii said, bent his head and looked away. Dark purple veins ran across the crown of his head, pulsating. The hissing of his breath increased.
“Jesus,” Frida said. “That’s horrible.”
I ignored my visceral, queasy reaction and lay a hand on his shoulder. The skin felt like latex. His body was unexpectedly warm. “Do you live in the ventilation system?”
“Some… sometimes. Usually it’s just a less dangerous way to tra-travel.”
I nodded. “You said ‘us’. Does that mean there are more of you around here?”
He looked at me again. Held a smile for over two seconds. “Ye-yes. Whenever a new mishap has been d-disposed of, some of our rangers go to check them. If… if they’re not too deformed, they’ll bring them back.”
Frida leaned closer, caught his fleeting gaze. “How many are you?”
“Most of us don’t live long, but right now I think we’re about a hun-hundred.”
“But why don’t the daemonorgs hunt you down?”
“They do when they see us, but they don’t know where we live. And even if they did, I don’t think they would want to come th-there.” His purple finger pointed downward.
Feeling sick to my stomach, I scratched my neck and took a deep breath. “And where’s that?”
“Heeheehee,” Ayamii laughed, baring stumps of disfigured teeth in his tiny mouth. The smell of vanilla spread around him. “We have establi-blished our community in the farthest reaches of the caverns beneath the sewage processing p-plant.”
Frida and I exchange stares. She looked just as disgusted as I felt.
“What are you doing he-here?”
“Well, uhm, I pretty much just spawned–”
Frida cut my sentence off with a kick to the shin.
“What?” I said.
She subtly shook her head. I realized this was an NPC, of course, and thus didn’t know anyone could spawn anywhere. I seemed to recall Lily had mentioned something about the importance of players not disclosing to the native inhabitants that their reality was merely a game, but I couldn’t remember her exact words.
“S-spawned?” Ayamii asked.
“No, well, yeah, uhm, weird wording on my part,” I said and suddenly felt uncertain what could be shared or not. “We just lost a friend to a huge demonic beast. His last wish was for us find his… things. And bring them home.”
“Oh,” Ayamii said, his tiny pupils skipped between us. “So sorry for your loss.”
“Actually,” I continued, “you seem to know your way around here. Maybe you could help us find it?”
Frida tried to kick my shin again, but I noticed it and removed my leg. She shook her head again, less subtly now. I curled my eyebrows and gave her a dissatisfied look. I’d ask anyone I wanted for help, thank you very much.
Ayamii’s expressions seemed to lighten up a bit, even if they continued flickering between all kinds of different emotions. “Y-you want my… my help?”
“Yeah, that would be great.” I said, ignoring Frida’s sigh. “Our friend told us his things lay hidden in a ventilation system close to a biotech laboratory. There’s supposed to be a locker room beside it.”
Ayamii’s green eyes lit up. He waved a thin, purple finger in the air. The shadow flew across the closest cabinets. “The things are sealed in a chest, ye-yes?”
I blew air out through half-closed lips and shrugged. “Shit, I don’t know. Maybe. I have a key, at least, so it’s not im
possible.”
“I think… think I know where it is. Yes, right by a hu-huge biotech lab where many new breeds of daemonorg are created.”
“Cool. Is it far away?”
“Not far, no. Not far,” he said and spread his fingers in front of me, one after the other, as if counting. “But it’s a very advanced lab, high s-security with many patrolling guards with assault rife-rifles.”
“Assault rifles, huh. I see.” I shifted my weight and crossed my arms. They’re no doubt higher leveled as well, I thought. Directed at Frida, I said: “What do you think?”
She sighed again. “Is there an alternate way in – you know, where there are fewer guards?”
Ayamii pointed his thumb into the ventilation shaft behind him. “Only through the ventilation sys-system,” he answered, then looked at me. “But… but you’re too big. You can’t fit everywhere.”
Frida stepped closer. “What about me?”
The humanoid creature’s flickering eyes measured her up and down. “Ye-yes, you will fit.”
“You sure?”
“Ninety-nine p-percent. Or more.” He nodded quickly. “Very sure.”
I didn’t like it one bit, but knew it was better than any alternatives. “Okay, so this is what we do. Together, we first go as close as possible without drawing too much attention,” I said and gestured at Ayamii. “Then you escort Frida through the ventilation system – and you make sure you take the safest route leading to the tech-lab’s locker room. Meanwhile, I’ll sneak up on the guards in the area, throw a few grenades and keep ‘em busy until you’ve entered the locker room.” This time, I gestured at Frida. “When you’re in, you take care of any daemonorgs present. I’ll come when I hear the commotion. Sounds doable?”
Biting her lower lip, Frida gave me a devilish smile. “Indeed it does.”
“Ye-yes,” Ayamii said. Still moving staccato, he crawled out of the ventilation shaft and stood beside me. Standing tall, he reached me to my stomach, and Frida to her chest. He’d wrapped a daemonorg guard tunic around his lower body. It was way too big for him, but by utilizing belts and string he’d made it fit adequately. What looked like a ripped green lab coat was draped around his waist, held up by leather straps around his shoulders, leaving his arms and shoulders bare. I noticed light reflecting off knives in sheaths at his sides.
“You know how to defend yourself?” I said, indicating the knives.
“Defend or d-die,” he whispered. “Always.”
I nodded. “True. Need a gun?”
“Tha-thanks, but no thanks. But… If I help you, will you he-help me as well?”
“Sure, man,” I said. “What do ya need?”
Ayamii wiped his purple forehead with a lanky hand. His throat clicked audibly as he swallowed. “I’m a scavenger for our community. Many of us are very s-sick, just from living as mishaps. I’m searching for very specific medical equipment. Our doctor needs two parts to complete his Genetic Re-Assembler.”
“Let me guess,” Frida said, “a machine able to fix the dysfunctional properties of your genes caused by the daemonorg’s dubious experimentation?”
“Ye-yes.”
“That’s why you’re here on the second floor, because this is where that kind of equipment is most likely to be located,” I said.
“Correct,” Ayamii whispered.
“So, what kind of parts do you need?”
“The fi-first part,” he said, lifting one shaky finger in the air, “is a Nuclear Modulator. The second and most impo-portant,” he said and lifted another finger, “is an XP Transmutation Core.”
Frida and I exchanged looks, shaking our heads.
“Uhm,” I said, “Wow. That’s not exactly something you’ll find at Wallmart.”
Ayamii squinted his bulging green eyes. “Wa-Wallmart?”
“Never mind. You’re sure the components exist here?”
“Yes, a hun-hundred percent sure.” Stretching his neck to look directly at us, he said: “So… d-do we have a deal?”
AVAILABLE QUEST
LOCATE GENETIC RE-ASSEMBLER PARTS
Help Ayamii find the two parts needed for the mishaps’ community doctor to complete the Genetic Re-Assembler:
1) Nuclear Modulator
2) XP Transmutation Core
Rewards
Assistance: Guide to Darius’ Hidden Stash
XP: Unknown
Cash: Unknown
Items: Unknown
“Yes,” I said. “We have a deal. Let’s not waste another second.”
“Tha-thank you so muh-much,” Ayamii said and bowed.
“Oh, by the way,” I said, placing a hand on Ayamii’s warm shoulder. “I’m poisoned and have about two hours and forty minutes left to live. You don’t happen to know where I can get an antidote of some sort?”
“We mi-might find it where we’re g-going.”
“Great, here’s to hoping,” I said and checked my health and consumables.
92 / 120 HP
Consumables: 50
I gobbled up enough of ‘em to replenish my health. For some reason they all had a subtle taste of vanilla.
+28 HP
We backtracked to the room where we found the scientists around the circular table. Leaving the room, I caught something glimmering behind a glass door in one of the cabinets.
“Wait a sec,” I said, turned left and inspected it. Through the glass I saw a row of test tubes, bottles and small containers. Three vials the size of soda cans basically screamed for attention every time a reddish hue flashed around them, showing their potential usefulness. Trying not to feed the hope for an antidote, I opened the cabinet door and picked up a vial. As I touched it the movement turned the red liquid inside luminescent. It lit up my hand with a soft red glow and disappeared. A notification got rendered in my field of vision:
+10 MP (Magic Points)
So that’s what MP boosters look like, I thought and said: “Frida, check this.”
She was about to leave the room, but came back. “Yes?”
“I found–”
“Magic vials!”
“Yep,” I said. “Take ‘em.”
“Both?”
“Yeah, I took one before realizing what it was, but have no use for MP yet. So those are yours. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Well, unless maybe Ayamii could use one of them, too?” I looked at the purple, humanoid creature.
“It will he-help me assist you better,” he said, bulging, uncertain eyes moving from Frida to me.
“How?” Frida demanded, her sharp tone revealed just how deeply she wanted the vials entirely for herself.
The green eyes flickered to me while his expressions changed from scared to apologetically smiling, before his mouth twitched in uncertainty. “I… I use it to fog minds.”
Frida crossed her arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I in-induce like a fog of confusion in the enemy’s mind.” Barely visible smiles formed at the corners of his tiny mouth. “For a few seconds they can’t… d-defend themselves. Heeheehee.”
His eerie laugh sent shivers down my spine, but I nodded. “Done, you get a vial as well.” I caught Frida’s eyes with my stare. “Right?”
A displeasured micro-expression flickered across her face. “Right,” she said and grabbed a vial.
Ayamii snatched the last one. “Thank you so m-much.”
“Let’s go find those parts of yours,” I said and left the room. “We’re not getting any younger.”
24
Back in the corridor where the windows showcased the gloomy interior of the lava-decorated mountain, I threw a glance back to the elevator. Nobody had removed the pile of dead guards yet. I heard the elevator doors helplessly trying to close again and again, but kept bouncing back up. Good.
“This w-way,” Ayamii said and moved toward the iron-framed metal door at the end of the current hallway, beside the one we just exited. A surveillance camera in the t
op left corner paid silent attention as I strode past him and inspected the door.
“Gotcha,” I said and ran my hands across the cool, smooth surface. My silhouette reflected hazily in the brushed material. Except for a small orange-blinking box on the right side of the door frame, I found nothing of interest. Not a door knob – not even a screw sticking too far out.
Frida appeared beside me, jumped and destroyed the camera with a swing of her blade. Following the sparks, the pieces tumbled to the carpeted floor.
“They already know we’re here.” I immediately had a déjà vu from the last time she sliced a camera.
“Still don’t want them to know what we’re doing here,” she said, half smirking.
“Yeah, yup, I’m just looping,” I said and crouched to get a better look at the box. A transparent plastic cap covered the orange-blinking LED-light. “It doesn’t seem to have a slot for cards, keys or anything, really.”
“A slot?” Frida said. “This looks a tiny bit more high-tech than that.”
“C-correct,” Ayamii said and calmly pushed us aside, moving staccato as if inflicted by a glitchy software bug. “We need to manipulate its internal lo-locking mechanism.” He stuck his hand inside the makeshift pants and came out with some sort of crystal. Holding it with two fingers, he lifted it in the air. As he rotated it, the orange glow streaming in from the windows reacted with the translucent material and resulted in streaks of blue shimmering through it.
Frida uncrossed her arms and moved closer. “Ooh, a crystal!”
“A new-ager’s wet dream, eh?” I said and elbowed her jokingly.
Ayamii ignored both of us, lay the crystal on top of the little box and kneeled before it. Placing one hand flat on the door and wall on each side, he proceeded to stare directly at the crystal. The smell of vanilla intensified.
Not even a second passed before the box’s blinking, orange light switched to a steady green. A click sounded and the door automatically slid up, revealing another corridor.
“Great work,” I said, raised my gun and scanned every detail of the new hallway. More windows and potted plants atop stone columns. Another green carpet matching lamps on the walls with green shades casting mellow light across nature paintings. Illuminated, unreadable signs hung from the ceiling in front of four closed doors. But most importantly: No enemies.
