Karnage turned to the last remaining window and threw himself through it. He landed in a circle of shattered glass and wood, his Sanity Patch buzzing.
“Sanity Level upgraded to Peachy Keen. Please—”
Karnage levelled the goober gun at the window and fired. The frame filled with goober, blocking the last entrance to the generators.
“Sanity Level upgraded to Tangy Orange. Please—”
“John!”
Karnage looked up. Reshmi was running towards him. “What’s going—” Karnage levelled his rifle at Reshmi and fired. She flew back with a cry and disappeared in an expanding ball of goober. Karnage’s neck buzzed.
“Sanity Level upgraded to Sharp Cheddar. Please refrain from violent behaviour.”
Karnage cursed himself. He was burning through his Sanity Levels too quickly! He had to make each one of them count. Keep the Spragmites busy. Lead ’em away from the generators. Buy Stumpy time!
Karnage ran out from behind the building. The doors to the WTF were open. Spragmites were pouring out. They caught sight of Karnage, and charged towards him. Karnage turned in the other direction. Spragmites poured out from behind and within other buildings. It was as if the creeper was giving birth to a raging, angry mob. They snarled, growled, roared.
Karnage roared back. He lobbed a triad of goober grenades in a circle around him. Mountains of goober swelled up, hemming him in, but keeping the Spragmites at bay. All the while, his Sanity Patch rocketed up the Sanity Levels: Coral Essence, Frosty Pink, Strawberry Shortcake—
He was done.
Karnage dropped the rifle and braced himself as the first of the Spragmites swarmed over the peaks of goober and threw himself at Karnage. Karnage sidestepped out of the way, only to catch a second Spragmite in his arms. Karnage staggered back under the weight, and tripped over a fallen Spragmite behind him. More Spragmites piled on top of him as they continued to pour down over the mountains of goober. Karnage quickly disappeared under the pile as more and more cultists threw themselves on. The air was forced from his lungs as the pile grew heavier. The last of his oxygen burned out of his system. The world grew dark. Get the job done, Stumpy! Get the job done!
Karnage blacked out.
CHAPTER FIVE
Karnage woke in Camp Bailey’s stockade. Shafts of yellow light poured in through the windows. He looked outside and saw floodlights illuminating the streets and buildings. Far in the distance, he could hear the angry muttering of the generator still cranking out the juice. Karnage smiled. It’s all up to you now, Stumpy.
“Good. I see you’re finally awake.”
Karnage turned around. There in the cell beside his was a woman dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and fancy cocktail dress. Despite the ludicrous contrast between the shirt and the dress, somehow she made it work. Her brown eyes stayed fixed on the book in her lap. She spoke without looking at him.
“There’s a D-pad in the wall just to your right that is watching our every move. They keep the sound turned off in here, but I suggest you show far less interest in me, lest they decide to move you and ruin your only chance of escape.”
From the corner of his eye, Karnage saw the familiar shape of a D-shaped lens hanging from the wall. He lay back in his bed and looked out the window.
“You can take direction,” she said. “Good. I take it we have you to thank for all this lovely electricity?”
“You might.”
She sighed, and flipped a page in her book. “My dear Captain, you have, at most, an hour to live. If you want to have any chance of leaving this complex alive, then I suggest you be as straight with me as possible. You are the gentleman who fired up the generators, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I offer my congratulations to you, Captain. Melvern had always intended to start up those generators himself. It’s a shame he never figured out how to get them to work. He must be very angry with you.”
“Who’s Melvern?”
She held up her book, revealing it to be another copy of Awaken The Worm Within. She discretely pointed to the blue-haired man on the cover. “He prefers to be referred to as the High Prophet. No doubt you’ve seen his pudgy face floating around the compound.”
Loud squiggling screeches rattled the bars, followed by a woman’s terrified scream in the distance. Karnage sat up in his bunk. “What was that?”
She didn’t bother to look up. “That is the fate that awaits you unless you listen to me very carefully.”
“Was that The Worm?”
“Yes.”
Karnage sprang to the window. “I’ve got to get near that thing!”
“I’m beginning to see why you are wearing the remains of a straitjacket. Do you have a death wish, Captain? If not, then please sit down. You are drawing attention to yourself again.”
Karnage sat down. “Why do you keep calling me ‘Captain’?”
“Why wouldn’t I call you ‘Captain?’ You’re ex-military, aren’t you?”
Karnage scowled. “What the hell makes you think I’m exmilitary?”
The woman sighed. “There’s that poker face again. Let’s go over the facts, shall we? You successfully infiltrated this camp without detection. With very little effort, you were able to get the emergency generators up and running. You are obviously very familiar with the layout of this complex and the technology herein. Not to mention the havoc you caused before being captured. Suffice to say, Captain, you could not have announced your military credentials any louder if you had ridden into this compound on a white horse wearing full dress uniform while rattling your sabre. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”
“I suppose it does.”
“Good. As you learn more about me, Captain, you will find that I am quite clever. It is only through the most embarrassing series of events that I have ended up in this prison. This is, however, quite fortunate for you, as I am the only person in this compound who can get you out of here alive.”
“And why is that?”
“Up until a few months ago, I was the High Priestess of the Church of Spragmos. You, however, may call me Tristan.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“You’re a terrible liar. I don’t blame you, though. I wouldn’t be pleased to make anyone’s acquaintance in here, either.”
“How are you going to help me escape?”
“I helped Melvern build this religion from the ground up. We used to rule it side-by-side until he got it into his deluded little head that I was planning to depose him and take control of it for myself.”
“Were you?”
“Of course. And I cannot tell you how put out I am that he successfully outmanoeuvred me. If I believed in Fate, I would say she had a hand in this. Fortunately, I do not. Melvern merely got lucky. But now that you’re here, his luck is about to change.”
“Why? What’s so special about me?”
“You, my good Captain, are about to become the Messiah.”
CHAPTER SIX
Tristan read from her book. “‘And he who has truly heard The Word shall step forward and show us The Light. The Guiding Light which will show us The True Path. The True Path to Awaken The Worm Within.’ Et cetera. Ad nauseam. It goes on for quite a while, but I think you get the gist of things.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Have a look outside, Captain. You have brought us The Light.”
Karnage looked out at the floodlights shining in. “That is The Light?”
“Yes.”
“You sure about that?”
“Of course I’m sure. I helped write this book, you know. Why else do we call the generator building The Temple of Light?”