Lethal Info | Frouse

Finding Clues

Chapter one

Puffer pulled himself over the ladder and onto the rock. The wind wailed and pushed against him. He never liked going this way, but it was the only way to get to the fire exit. And the only way the others don't know about. He stood up and observed the orange landscape around him, how empty it was besides the quiet hum of locusts and occasionally a flock of alien birds.

I wonder how Droid, Pezzy, and Grizzy are doing... There was a rare pang in his heart, something that he never felt. Homesickness? He missed his friends.

If I can't get back to them...I have to move on. Puffer slid down to another rock, walking across till he saw the big pipe. Jumping onto it always made him nervous. He had slipped a few times and died because of it.

Now he shivered, a fear this may be the last time he would be alive. He took a deep breath and ran. His feet left the solid ground and his hands waved in circles for balance. His heart beating fast with the feeling of nothingness below him. Then he hit it, the impact jarring his calves and making him wobble. He leaned and took a hold of the railing in front of him.

I haven't felt like that since the first time I was hired. Puffer frowned, straightening up. What is wrong with me? He tried to shake it off as he walked down the pipe, the silent atmosphere oddly peaceful.

Suddenly he felt curious. Why was this here? Wasn't this a settlement long ago? Where are the people? Why has anything weathered at all? The last question made him pause. Sure he could be revived, sure the company building had been taken care of, but the abandoned moons? It didn't make sense, something he really didn't notice until now.

Why did I never question this shit? Puffer jumped onto the next platform and readied himself to jump onto the ledge. Hell, what about the monsters? What the fuck is really going on? Puffer almost lost his footing when he landed on the ledge, he yelled in shock as he leaned over and fell onto his side. He blinked, staring up at the cloudy, hazy sky. Why are we even doing this?

The door suddenly creaked open and a face poked open, the few strands of white hair under the visor told him it was Smii7y before he even read the name tag.

"Hey buddy, you alright over here?" He snickered.

"Just fine." Puffer quickly got up, his face burning with embarrassment. "Almost fell off, that's all."

"You could've come to the entrance with us, it's easier." Smii7y held the door open as Puffer entered. The dark interior already cooling him down.

"How'd you find the fire exit so fast?" Puffer deflected.

"Matt and I raced." Smii7y shrugged. "Now I can tell him I won, and since you're here to witness he can't say shit."

Kids. The word echoed darkly in Puffer's mind, yet a flash of his friends made him not say anything. They would do the same... So Puffer just moved on into the freezing tunnels, but Smii7y kept up with him, a spring in his step.

"Have you been to all the moons yet? I'm sure you have, you've been here, what? Decades."

"Two years, asshole. I'm not old."

"My bad, my bad." He held his hands up. "But you have some wisdom you can at least share, right? Give us some tips?"

"Fuck off."

"Someone is grumpy."

Puffer sighed, with all his experience and what was going on in his mind, he had low tolerance to 'children' right now. "Get loot, meet the quota, don't die."