Jeurridam Ch. 06: The Corridor

As Galveston drove like a mad bat out of hell he suddenly slammed on the breaks, rolling down his window.

"Get in!" He demanded. Beth scooted over, Swish climbing in.

"The fuck is going on?" He asked chuckling.

"One of my turrets is being attacked again..." Galveston said, mashing out hard on the gas.

"Ah... adventure." Swish sighed, obviously quite exhausted.

"Sorry bruh, but we might need you!" Galveston responded.

Within five minutes the rampaging analog buggy arrived at the massive barrier. Galveston pulled back the control yolks and the sturdy vehicle began climbing over the sheer vertical surface. We all were being yanked to the back of our seats by gravity. As we got to the top, the astounding beauty of the place was just unreal.

The acid pools glowed bright green, casting an ominous hue on the giant red spires. Not only that but red patches of desert clay had been dissolved into gorges were streams of the powerful acid cut through. Alien rust-like grass grew on the shores of the acid pools. Like the rest of the City of Rust, piles of various metals were everywhere. Some had the typical red rust of the surroundings while others had, blue, green even purple rust. It all was very bizarre, a massive mash of colors, illuminated by the glowing acid!

The view was cut short when Galveston jammed the yolks of the buggy to the right, forcing the vehicle to veer left. He nimble rode atop the narrow perimeter at blazing speed. We neared the spire where the turret was being attacked. It came closer and closer, Galveston not slowing down.

"You gonna stop?" I asked, bracing myself.

"Nope..." He said, pulling back on the yolks. Suddenly the buggy began driving up the spire. It was the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced. The spire was incredibly high, sloping from near vertical to horizontal the higher we went.

"Okay, Orb found our little perp!" Zanir smiled, unphased by the staggering heights. He pulled up a view of what was draining the turret. It was a vampire mech, one riddled with bullet holes and a big chunk of armor missing out of its chest. It was the same mech that battled with the Orb before!

"Shit, isn't that the mech you took control of back in Sloan?" Galveston asked, looking at the projection.

"Can you keep your eyes on where you're fucking GOING????" I asked, terrified.

The vampire mech stopped leaching circulatory fluid from the turret, looking at the Orb which was shining its flood beams on it. It began roaring out, swatting the air and pounding hard on the platform it stood on. The Orb began to wir and buzz in response! The two were arguing.

"Look!" Galveston said, pointing at something in the distance. It was the Orb hovering above the tiniest platform hundreds of meters away. All you could see was it's blinding lights.

"Oh my God, that's where we got to go?" Beth asked, excitedly.

"Please...look forward!" I begged of Galveston.

The powerful buggy began to reach the slope of the spire where the vertical column gradually turned into a horizontal plain. He stopped the buggy sighing... We all got out, the only thing I could do was peer over the edge. The ground was so far away, I got dizzy.

"Easy!" Swish said, grabbing me firmly in his hands.

"Boy..." Beth warned, looking at me in concern.

"I'm scared of heights..." I said, walking back to the buggy. I felt light headed.

Zanir and Galveston walked over to the edge of the spire... leaping off. Everyone ran over to see what exactly had happened, only to find the boys had leapt to a ledge that was just beyond sight. We all sighed, relieved to see neither of them jumped to their deaths. We followed, the elevation really pulling a number on me.

There was another platform Zanir and Galveston lept to. I couldn't go any further, this just too high up for me. Swish squatted beside me as I collapsed to the platform floor. I was just too queazy. He laughed.

"It happens to us all."

"I'm trying hard not to throw up but since I haven't eaten anything, I don't think I will." I sighed.

"Good." He chuckled.

Zanir and Galveston stood on the lower platform, greeted by a wagging tailed manticore mech. Neither boy seemed to enthused about the machine.

"So you've been the bastard that's been consuming all my turrets fluids?" Galveston asked. The mech just continued wagging it's long primate-like tail as it sat on the edge of the platform. It was oblivious to what he was saying, just glad to see people. Its wind bladder expanded and contracted, breathing. It looked on inquisitively, confusing us all.

"Oh my God," Zanir said, "I'm still in control of this thing..."

"Really?" Galveston asked surprised.

"Yeah... It still has my command program active." Zanir said putting the watch up to his mouth, "Come forth..."

The mech did so, causing Galveston to step back. It then stood there it's flowing tail, slamming into the turret.

"Watch it!" Galveston warned, very concerned over the turret.

"Something's different about this mech..." Zanir began.

"Really...?" Galveston sighed, pasting the mech to the turret. He checked to see all the damage done.

"Yeah, going through schematics now. He just has advanced sustainability programs compared to the other manticores in Sloan." Zanir said.

"And that means?"

"It means he's willing to go far and wide to find things he needs to keep himself alive. The sustainability programs have remapped his insides just to keep him alive. He feels a need to fight for survival just like a living being... You think we should add him to the roster?" Zanir asked, hoping Galveston would say yes.

"What? No!! So he can continue to consume my turrets?" Galveston countered.

"I can fix him!" Zanir said. Galveston looked at him, not caring too much about the mech. His only concern was the turrets.

"Can you fix my turrets?" He asked him.

"Sure. I have a plan... to find a solution for our cytotrolic acid issue. I want to find a simple way to synthesize it and I saw something back in the Corridor that I believe can help." Zanir smiled. Galveston looked at him, having to come over after such a bombshell.

"Is that why you offered our help to those people?" He asked.

"Yes..." He said, unsure how the big burly man would react. Galveston suddenly grabbed him, hugging him tightly.

"Is it too soon to say I love you yet?" Galveston chuckled.

"Yes!!" Zanir teased. The two kissed.

"Guys, look!" Beth said, pointing over the ledge.

A herd of plate mechs moved slowly through a pool of acid, ready to graze on the strange rust grass on the other side of the shore. The machines looked very large and cumbersome, covered in a heavy acid proof armor that allowed them to wade through the pools. They had large flat heads, short stout necks and equally stout legs. The strangest part was that they all were of varying sizes as if some were offspring.

"Oh my god, I got to get a closer look..." Zanir said walking to the edge. Orb swooped down, allowing the boy to climb on.

"ZANIR!!" Galveston screamed, worried about him getting to close to the plate mechs. They were very, very dangerous machines.

Suddenly, Big Daddy swooped forth, extending out his hand. Galveston stepped onto his hand, the massive mech placing him on his back. Big Daddy then followed the Orb towards the Acid Swamp. It left us all standing here in disbelief.

"I know that idiot didn't just leave us here..." Beth said.

The manticore then climbed up to the platform we were on, startling us all. It picked us up in it's arms, leaping off the ledge. We all screamed seeing nowhere for the mech to land but the hard ground thousands of feet below. Somehow, the mech managed to reach a fallen spire, landing on it, before jumping to another collapsed spire right in the center of the Acid Swamp. It placed us down. This induced instant vomiting from me! Beth ran up to the mech kicking and screaming at it, cursing at it in Spanish.

"You dumb shit!!" She concluded.

"That was fun..." Swish laughed, warranting a very upset look from us both.

Zanir came swooping by on the back of Orb.

"Sorry about that guys... Gave the mech the Follow Protocol. Didn't mean to traumatize you like that!" He laughed. Orb flew towards the herd of grazing plate mechs, scanning them from a safe distance. His results were amazing.

"Galveston, how long have they been isolated for?" Zanir asked, completely shocked.

"About fifteen, twenty years. Why?" Galveston asked back.

"...Because these mechs have found a way to reproduce! This isolated region has all the resources the mechs need to stay alive and thriving! Not only that, but reproduce. These mechs also have sustainability programs! We may be the first ones to discover that mechs can mutate themselves to cope with sudden changes!!" Zanir said excitedly. Galveston heard it all but said nothing, his eyes locked onto what the plate mechs were doing.

"Are they eating grass?" Galveston asked. Zanir looked.

"Oh my God, they are!" He said, very confused, "But it's like... rust. We need samples!"

"Zanir, no! That's too dangerous!" Galveston said but it was too late! Zanir and Orb were off to the grassy areas of the swamp. The orb banked to the side, Zanir hanging on to a wing. He snagged quite a few stalks of grass, uprooting them completely.

The two flew back over to Galveston, only drawing a mere glance from the 'highly dangerous' hippopotamus-like mechs. It left Galveston's jaw hanging. Zanir was just a fearless little person. After seeing how far Zanir was willing to push himself physically, not to mention his god-like mental capacity, made him never want to leave the boy's side. The two were just a match made in heaven...

*****

We're edging closer to the Chapter 7 mid-series finale for both UCAC and Jeurridam... It's gonna be big!! Then I'm gonna go on a little Hiatus for like a year or so...

Also, I haven't forgotten Dark Stag!!

Like always, comment!! I want your impressions on characters, plot progressions, what you like and what you don't!! All comments are good comments!!

*Also... I'm so sorry about the order of these stories.*

Chapter 1. The Arizona Paradise

Chapter 2. The City of Rust

Chapter 3. The Outskirts

Chapter 4. Sloan

Chapter 5. A Fool's Paradise

Chapter 6. The Corridor