It's apparent every day that I'm just not like other people.

Hmm.

My personal darkness was warm and comfy and it figures some fuckwit would double back and ruin it. I saw the lamp coming from the front and saw Fenis' s hulking form coming to check on me. Maybe I wasn't moving quickly enough to suit him or maybe he was worried that something had happened. His overblown, overprotective idea of chivalry pisses me off a little more every day.

"Watch where you point that lamp," I said as he came closer. I was so accustomed to the dark that his flashlight stung and brought tears to my eyes. Just what I needed - something to ruin my characteristic good cheer, but at least it sobered me enough to stop giggling. Nothing is funny about being brightlighted, especially if you've got eyes like mine.

"Are you okay?" he asked but I just walked past him. Now if I crawled up to him, gushing gore from my ears and mouth with bloody stumps where my legs and arms had been after some kind of sewer creepy crawly chomped then off, then I'd expect it would be obvious that I wasn't ok. Usually the screaming, ripping, tearing, and spraying gore is a good indicator that someone isn't feeling their best. I'd let him figure it out since I was obviously not injured, just pissed.

"You could answer me," he said after me as I splashed past.

Yeah, I COULD answer him. I could also slip my gauge under my chin and pull the triggers. He followed closely on my heels, bobbing in and out of my periphery as he tried to keep up.

"Are you mad at me?"

I snorted and kept going, stepping over some trash and making him walk through the deeper crap. He really shouldn't have stopped me back there. No, I wasn't pissed. I was beyond that, but gradually cooling down.

"Emily," he said in a much quieter voice. The change in tone caught me off guard and I stopped to look at him. His eyes sparked in the shadows from the reflected light and I could feel their intensity. The big Frother must have been trying to be dramatic, but it's kind of hard to be imposing when you're knee deep in shit and wearing a cheap tablecloth around your hips. He let out his breath in a nearly asthmatic hiss and stepped even closer, towering over me in that way that makes men cower and women swoon. Oh yeah, that's the same look he gives Gere too. Well, the "Dark Lord of the Myth" crap might work on weak-minded morons like the rest of the squad, but it sure as hell doesn't impress me, but then very things do.

"What?" I asked.

He started to put his hand on my shoulder, but his instincts told him that was a bad idea. I absolutely hate men who get all touchy feeling and decided to stop this before it got started. If he wanted to emasculate himself, that 's fine. If he wanted me to help, he'd have to pay me 350 an hour plus the costs of the whips and chains.

"I'm fine, so fuck off."

Yep, that got the point across. Without a word, he followed me towards the echoing voices. Of course, I still kept the shallows and if he wanted to walk along side me, he had trudge through the deeper crap. Guess he figured that one out for himself and fell in behind instead. I heard some chatter from my earpiece and put it back in.

"ssssssss-hhhtchk - is it guys? Whatcha find?"

Cash's voice came across the mike loud and clear. His voice always takes on this silly clipped tone when he uses slang, just like your average White Arrogant Self-worshipping Prick trying to talk to one of the Johannas in their local dialect. Cash's mouth and tongue were made for kissing ass and sucking up to superiors, not for using contractions and slang. It must be beneath his breeding.

I sniggered and saw the squad turn when they heard me. Sara's face was white and pale and it looked like she had blown something besides the cameraboy while I was gone. Hope the little fuck got it on tape because I had to have a copy.

"Em-baby, what is it?" he asked.

Why am I always the spokesperson for the squad? Oh yeah, the entire squad with the exception of the Stormer and Fenis was puking their guts out. As I swished through the floating lunches to see what had upset everyone, I accidentally splashed Gere with his property. Oops. Well, it's not nice to litter and since he paid for that lunch, he should have it back. Too bad he was a little too absorbed to notice. What I saw beyond them actually impressed me and I'd definitely have to mark it on my calendar.

This was another pumping station, flooded with brown water to about thigh level, but someone had really done their decorating. It looked like a dump for the parts left over from a slaughterhouse that had been taken over with a madman with a nailgun. Entrails and flesh hung from the rafters, body parts were nailed to the walls, and everything was coated in layers of gore. Whatever sick fuck did this had entirely too much time on his or her or its hands/paws/claws/whatever and I doubted any psychiatrist on Mort could fix his issues.

"The things kids do when they're bored," I mumbled.

"What was that Em?" Cash again.

"Nothing," I mumbled and sloshed through the mess. Yep, this was definitely a little more than the work of disgruntled teens who didn't get enough hugs from their mommies when they were growing up. When I tripped over a carved up torso, the floor gave beneath me and I and realized that I wasn't standing on metal. Aiming my wrist lamp down, I used the toe of my boot to prod under the water and confirmed it. The floor was covered with corpse parts so deep that I couldn't see the grating. I kicked at a severed head and it floated free from someone's armpit. Somewhere behind me, Sara and Gere resumed the retching.

"Damn, someone sure loves their work."

"EMILY, WHAT is going ON?" Cash asked again, about to lose his composure. I imagined his makeup artist flying into a frenzy while she to keep his eye shadow in place and blot out beads of sweat. Sometimes you just half to laugh at things like this. Most of life and death is pretty damn funny if you squint hard enough and all it takes is the right perspective. Fenis spoke up since I was a little too preoccupied with examining the mess.

"Cash, this is Fenis. We've got a room decorated with body parts. It's a little too much for most of the squad and we're moving on. Out."

"How's Emily? She ok?"

I was stunned to hear him ask about me and I guess it showed on my face.Why the hell would he ask about me? Oh yeah - it was more of that forbidden fruit "it only takes once' sort of thing. Fenis looked at me with a puzzled look then keyed his mike again.

"She's fine but everyone else is a little disturbed."

"That's funny that you would choose those words, Fenis. You see, our friend Em-"

Right then, something screeched from a side passage. It was loud, high pitched and painful sound that made even me jump. I spun around with my flashlight, but only caught a glint of red from something's eyes but it was at least man sized. That sound was all it took to get the squad moving again and they fell back on their training. Hey, it beats standing around puking your guts out any day and I was thrilled that we had actually found ourselves a monster.

Kick Murder Ken, er- Mitch, led the way and grimaced as he ducked his head to get past loops of intestine hung like tinsel. As they passed me, I realized that they were doing everything possible avoid looking up, so I of course raised my flashlight to study the ceiling. Fenis stayed with me, probably to keep me from getting lost.

"What do you think is going on Emily?" he asked.

The ceiling, some fifteen or twenty feet above me, had been carefully decorated with various skins and other parts with the same care as every place else. It would take a lot of patience and strength to get up that high and I shook my head, wiping the gore that had dripped off my forehead.

"I'd say it's all part of Cash's little surprise."

He let out a minor growl and nodded, then trotted after the others. A thought occurred to me and I held back for a moment.

"Cash, what were you about to say?" I asked in my best "come hither" sugar sweet voice. He laughed, probably struck a pose, and then tried to be dramatic. If I drew out the conversation too long, I knew he'd disgust me to the point that I'd be tossing my cookies too so this was going to be short.

"I just thought that I'd like to give a clue to the surprise I promised."

I nodded but didn't speak as I followed the others. Humoring the innocent child within myself, I gently kicked parts out of my way as I went. I always loved soccer and sent the head I found bouncing ahead of me off the walls.

"Aren't you curious?" he asked.

"No, should I be?"

"I just thought you'd like a clue since the surprise is for you." His voice sounded like a little kid trying to tease an adult and that annoyed me. I stopped again and shook my head since this had the potential to be the most interesting thing going on. As far as I'm concerned, plenty of gore, but no death or action makes for a really lame BPN.

"I don't like surprises Cash dear. Don't forget that."

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