Ch36 Smart Sushi

 

Mr. Chonkers. That was his name, and he kinda, sorta, but not really, recognized it when the Apex spoke it to him. The vibrations that made up his name were often followed up with small morsels of tasty rat meat, so Mr. Chonkers did his very best to memorize the sound. It was only natural that he was smart enough to recognize the sounds of the Apex, as he was the Alpha of his troop of “nessies” (another sound he recognized, he was just that good).

 

Once upon a time, Mr. Chonkers had been small, hiding from one shallow pool to another, scraping the barest scraps of algae from the wet stones. Now? Now he was the biggest of his troop of nessies, which was the largest troop of nessies for miles around, which by right of might made him Alpha of Alphas. When he flipped his tail flukes the females crooned. When he bit other males they squealed! None could deny that of nessies he was the greatest example. Technically this meant he was Apex, and he was in the eyes of his troop, but being the wise nessie that he was, he knew that that title belonged to the many-legged one.

 

Destroyer of the hated rats, killer of the darkest beasts, bringer of meats. The many-legged one was the true Apex, and it was in her lair that the troop sheltered. While the troop rested in her protection the rats dared not attack, and all fanged ones had been turned aside. Truly this was a paradise.

 

Many ages ago (five months), Mr. Chonkers had realized that the many-legged one did not kill the nessies (after two months of being bonked), and that she did not care for the scraps of her domain. He had led his troop to her tunnel, and there they had thrived, growing fat and strong, and able to push other rival troops from the prime scraping spots.

 

Life had been good. But then the corrupted ones came.

 

They smelled of rat, but they were not rat. They had many arms and legs and claws, and they hunted his kind without mercy. There was once a balance between nessie and rat, but these newer, corrupted rats hunted everything, even the normal rats, and all the beings of the tunnels shunned them. Many an Alpha had met its end defending its troop from the corrupted ones, and Mr. Chonkers’ troop had grown large from absorbing the females and beta males that survived.

 

At first it had been pretty great, but now it was getting kind of crowded.

 

Vibrations! Movement! It was coming!

 

Another new change. Around the same time the corrupted ones appeared, had come the False One. Always hanging around the Apex, and distracting her from giving Mr. Chonkers treats. It looked like prey but was predator. Its flesh was fresh and alive, but also a carrion shell. It tried to hide what it was, but Mr. Chonkers could tell. While blind, he could smell a patch of filmy sludge from ten tunnels away, let alone a corpse, or the delicious odor that came from the False One’s sugar-rich, chemical-tainted meat shell.

 

Mr. Chonkers waited for the False One’s vibrations to draw close… and then lunged at the False One, and was bonked for his efforts. So stingy! So mean! It would never woo the attentions of a female as large as the Apex by being so selfish!

 

Speaking of which…

 

Mr. Chonkers slipped through the water, and then bit a beta male on the flank, causing it to squeal. A just punishment for getting too close to Mr. Chonkers favorite female. Know your place!

 

Admittedly, it was hard for the beta males to put distance between themselves and his harem with so little room, but that was their problem!

 

Mr. Chonkers blew some bubbles in a show of dominance, then began searching the edges of the lair for any algae or sludge that might have turned up. It really was becoming a problem how crowded it was. Maybe the Apex was feeling generous?

 

He swam back to the center of the Apex’s lair, but failed to feel any vibrations that would indicate the Apex was about to hand out tasty morsels. In fact…

 

She was gone! The False One as well! He had been too distracted, and had missed their departure. Stupid beta male! Stupid hungry tummy! Without the Apex they were all doomed! Doomed to be hunted by things with sharp teeth and no manners! Doomed to wallow- oh hey wait, what was that smell?

 

Mr. Chonkers and several other nessies all smelled it. The current had changed, and they could now detect several new patches of slime, as well as half a dead rat just beyond the boundaries of the Apex’s domain.

 

There was a mad dash for the new food sources, but Mr. Chonkers bit many flanks, and slapped his tail in many faces to get to the rat corpse first. It was a tiny morsel, only half a pound of rat, but to a nessie it was a feast.

 

He promptly ate half, before giving the other half to a new female that had only joined the troop two days ago, because Mr. Chonkers was a gentlenessie who knew how to woo the lassies (unlike a stingy fake he knew).

 

Mr. Chonkers observed the other nessies as they set about scouring the patches of slime and algae. Then he tried to think about why there was suddenly more food. The Apex had left. The current had shifted. They were all doomed. There was more food. The False One also left. Rats were tasty but mean. The Apex left. They were all doomed. Had he thought that already?

 

He put all of his brain power to work on trying to connect the dots. So many new things had happened, far too much for one being to put together, even if he was so smart and amazing. But, he knew that his troop was counting on the brilliant him to lead them to safety, so he didn’t give up, he kept thinking with all his might and- WHO THE HELL WAS MAKING A MATING CALL IN HIS TROOP!?! HE WAS THE ALPHA DAMNIT!

 

He head arched back and forth on his long neck, the tentacles lining his mouth wriggling as he tried to detect the exact source of the vibration that signaled a male was ready to mate. He was going to bite their flank so hard!

 

The signal kept coming, louder and louder (how big was this male?), until it started to overwhelm him. It thrummed, it beat, it pulsed… wait. This wasn’t a mating call… it was coming from… inside his own head?

 

The vibration pulsed from deep in his head, out of his mouth, and then out into the world. Then the echo returned, giving him a crystal clear imprint of the world around him. Nessies were good at sensing vibration, but this was at a whole other level; he was a genius!

 

Another pulse, and then another. Each echo bigger than the last, and each one giving him a more perfect picture of the world around him. First the tunnels around the Apex’s lair, then the tunnels throughout the sector, then the entire city and beyond; he sensed it all.

 

He knew that a large metal thing would have a delay because a meat-walker would stick its foot in the metal thing’s mouth for too long. He knew that the Traveler stalked the walls of the Fortress, seeking entry. He saw the Little Things that permeated the meat-walkers, trying to save the meat from Everything. He knew things that would happen tomorrow, or a thousand years ago, for what was time but motion, the measure of change between moments. Falling rocks that hit one after the other, transferring a wave of kinetic energy that had echoed since the Everything began? The secrets of the Everything were all his to peruse! He sensed it all and he knew it all!

 

Which was why he bit the male sitting next to him on the flank. The beta was going to try and woo a female Mr. Chonkers would meet a week from now. Know your place! The confused male squeaked in submission and swam away, as was proper. Mr. Chonkers then turned back to doing…

 

…what had he been doing again?

 

Oh right. He had to move the troop to a new den.

 

This one wouldn’t be safe much longer.

 

---

“Sir?”

“Ugh.”

“Sir? I’m going to have to insist that you wake up.”

 

Abe’s head was pounding. He felt like he’d just gotten hit by a train. He tried to open his eyes, but the bright light suddenly attacking his retinas had him clutching his head in pain.

 

“Are you alright sir? And what are you doing back here? If this is Odd Summer related I’m afraid I’ll need some kind of answer from you.”

“I, ugh. Sorry, head hurts,” Abe mumbled, and tried again to open his eyes. From what he could make out, he was in some random alleyway. He didn’t recognize it.

“Understandable, but considering you had an illegal weapon on you, I’m going to have to insist that you work through it and start giving me answers.”

 

Abe finally managed to look past the blur of sunlight and see who he was talking to. It was a cop, and he had his gun drawn and aiming at Abe from a good distance away. The sudden sight of a weapon trained on him kickstarted his brain.

“I-I’m an exterminator! Abraham Cunningham. License number four-four-six, F-six-F, six-D-six, five-six-four. I have a permit for the bolter, I was-”

 

It came back to him in a rush. The dark tunnels, the ambush, the run in with various horrors, those eyes! He suddenly sat up, then clutched his head and yelled in pain at the sudden movement. Luckily the cop had steady nerves, or he might have gotten shot. He sputtered as he tried to get words out. “M-my team! W-we were- ugh.”

“Woah there, take it easy,” replied the cop, “I’ll check your badge number and you just take your time, no rush.”

The cop gingerly removed his phone and started punching numbers, not putting away the gun but lowering the aim so it wasn’t pointed at Abe. Couldn’t blame the cop for being careful; if you thought getting called in for monsters was bad, try dealing with a domestic dispute during Odd Summer. Abe didn’t envy his job.

Although some days the monsters were definitely worse.

 

“Alright, looks like it checks out,” said the cop, holstering his weapon. “Think you’re up for telling me what happened? This have something to do with what happened at the hospital?”

“Yes, my team and I were hired to try and track the creatures responsible. We were told the villain who made them was a puppeteer; our intel must have been faulty. The sewers were damn near crawling with life. M-my team… I doubt any of them made it…” Abe’s thoughts spiraled at that. You lost people in this business sometimes, but this was an unmitigated disaster. If he hadn’t had the bolter he would be dead as well. Speaking of which…

“Where’s my bolter? I had it on me.” Did the cop take it? Abe didn’t see it on him. He tried to get to his feet, but stumbled. Did he have a concussion? It felt like a concussion.

“Before that, you said there’s stuff in the sewers?” asked the cop, offering him a hand up. “A puppeteer you said?”

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“I don’t think it’s a puppeteer, I think it’s a tinker,” replied Abe. It must have been a concussion, his head felt so foggy. His brain seemed to be having trouble putting one thought in front of the other. “There were so many varieties, and the ones who attacked the hospital were different, those all had stitches… it might be more than one super. I’d bet money on at least one tinker, some of those things, they were… they were breeding down there.”

“Well. I’ll call it in and hopefully they can get a hero on it pronto,” said the cop.

“Does this sector have a hero who can handle large scale infestations? My team wouldn’t be able to handle that many even if we were … even if we were at full strength.”

“I’m sure we can find someone to handle it.”

“Are you not hearing me?!” yelled Abe, grabbing the front of the cop’s shirt. It felt waxy, almost like plastic, or maybe cheap synthetic silk. “There is a major infestation in this sector! Screw calling in a hero! This sector should be in lockdown and the sewers purged! If those things get out into the city at large we could be facing a disaster!”

“…can you let go of my shirt please sir?” said the cop.

Abe realized what he was doing and released the cop. Outburst over, he wavered unsteadily and the cop had to help keep him from falling back to the ground.

“Either way, I think the first thing is to get you medical attention,” said the cop, slowly getting one of Abe’s arms over his shoulder and supporting him so he could walk. “No worries, I’ll report this monster business in to my superiors and they’ll handle it from there. You on the other hand need to get to a hospital. Come on, it’s right around the corner.”

“Right, alright…”

 

They started heading down the alleyway, which was between tall buildings and sheltered from the main roads surrounding the block. How did Abe even get here? The last thing he remembered was the thing with the eyes in the sewer. He’d tried to shoot it, and the next thing he knew he was miraculously aboveground, if a bit worse for wear.

 

“Wait, my bolter,” said Abe, suddenly remembering. Damn this concussion. He couldn’t leave the bolter, his company had only had the four of them, and after today it seemed unlikely they’d be able to replace the ones they did lose. Bolters and similar tools were vital for people in his profession, but the tinker made weapons didn’t come cheap, and without them the company might collapse. And what’s left of my team shouldn’t lose their jobs on top of everything else.