Welcome to
Tuesday Tales
this is going to be one crazy-insane rescue oppurration!!!
The Clockwurk Labyrinth
If mew missed the thrilling start of our latest adventure, here are the catch-up links...
And now here's this weeks chapters...
Chapter 8
What The Fluff Just Happened?
Moments later my paws connected with the ground at the base of the wall, I pulled off my mask and looked around, though I couldn’t see anyone else. Suddenly small bits of stone began to fall from above and I looked up seeing Pandora sliding down the wall towards me but nopurrdy else was in sight.
“Pandora,” I yelled as I ran towards her. She landed in a rather ungainly fashion, huffed and harrumphed loudly and began muttering in her native French tongue what she was going to do to that muther fluffer who'd just dropped her. “Are mew ok?”
I helped her up and she straightened her tactical vest and looked at me as she ripped off the face mask. “Basil, I neffur vant to do that again!” she declared in her odd, little foreign accent and pulled out her guns.
“Where's the rest of the team?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I saw nothing until I landed ‘ere near mew!” she answered as she checked a couple of ammo clips and reloaded her guns.
Touching my iPaw, the screen burst into life and I saw all 6 dots blinking away merrily and let out a huge sigh of relief knowing that we were all here. I double tapped it and the map popped up with effurypurrdys location. Amber and Smooch were together as were Parsley and Humphrey, though we were all in different locations and right in that moment I couldn’t see how to get to any of them.
Tapping my comms unit, I said. “Dudes, can mew hear me?” Static crackled in my ear and I tapped the unit again.
Pandora gave me a rather quizzical look and tapped her headset and said. “This is Team One with Team Leader Basil, can mew ‘ear me?”
My headset buzzed and hissed. “Let’s try channel 6,” I said and altered the frequency.
Pandora followed suit and tried again. “This is Team One, is anypurrdy out there?”
Pandora followed suit and tried again. “This is Team One, is anypurrdy out there?”
The channel was clearer and I could just hear a voice but it was so faint, then I heard another and another. Tapping the iPaw again I opened the message app and sent a group message, Comms on channel 6! “I hope that wurks,” I said.
“Basil can mew hear me?” Smooch’s voice echoed softly, though it sounded like he was a gazillion miles away.
“Dude I hear mew,” I shouted. “But I can’t figure out where mew are on Snowie’s map, it’s not making sense.”
At that moment I heard a harsh grating sound and the ground beneath my paws began to shake. I spun around to see that the walls were moving and I stared wide-eyed as I suddenly realised that the labyrinth was alive. Not literally alive but constantly changing and my heart sank.
“Basil I think ve ‘ave a purroblem,” Pandora noted. “It seems that the maze is shifting, though I can’t determine ‘ow regular it is or vether it is just random when new victims arrive...” she took a breath and then added as she checked her modified tablet and began to run a diagnostic on our immediate surroundings. “Oh now that is interesting, it vould appear that the entire structure ‘as a clockvurk mechanism and from my preliminary findings the maze changes effury hour on the hour and degree of change is determined via the number...” she glanced down at the screen again. “Ah, it runs in tandem vith the clock in our dimension if it is 11am in the bunker there vill be eleven shifts vithin the maze.”
It just gets better and better, I thought and checked the location of the other two teams, they now appeared closer, much closer than before and I thought what the fluff and yelled as loud as I could. “If mew can hear me send tap your headset twice!”
The static was less now and I heard two distinct taps breaking the static, followed by two more. Then I heard Parsley yell, “Dude I think we’re one wall away from mew!”
I suddenly had an idea as I pulled out the miniaturising ray gun and said to Pandora. “Did we pack a line and grapnel gun?”
She nodded and fished around in a pocket. “Of course!” she replied and placed it on the ground. “But vhy not use the flare gun?”
She nodded and fished around in a pocket. “Of course!” she replied and placed it on the ground. “But vhy not use the flare gun?”
“There are things in here, eveel things we can't even begin to imagine and if I send up a flare effurything will head this way and while we’re split up that’s so not what we want!”
“True,” she answered as the line and grapnel got zapped to normal size.
I pointed the grapnel gun towards the top of the wall I’d just slid down and fired. The hook and line soared up in the air as the reel whirred and the line disappeared offur the other side. As the line deployed and I turned to Pandora. “What’s the length on this line?"
“One 'undred feet,” she replied immediately. “These valls are approximately twenty-five feet ‘igh, so purrlenty to reach the ground on the other side.”
“One 'undred feet,” she replied immediately. “These valls are approximately twenty-five feet ‘igh, so purrlenty to reach the ground on the other side.”
And right at the moment, I heard a metal clink as it hit the ground on the other side. There were two brief tugs and I knew that Parsley and Humphrey had it. I braced myself as I felt the line tighten and a few moments later I saw Parsley then Humphrey wave from the top of the wall before they nimbly abseiled down to our position. We paw bumped and I said. “Jeez dudes, thank cod we found mew, now we have to find Smooch and Amber.
>^.^<
Smooch was desperately trying his comms unit again aftur the message pinged up on his iPaw. “Amber channel six stat!” he said. “Change your channel and mew try.”
She did but nothing happened apart from the wall they were leaning against began to move.
“Run!” she cried as the giant wall began slide to the side and she started to head in the opposite direction. Smooch grabbed her paw. “Stop!” he said rather calmly. “This might be the way to Basil and the team.”
The wall slid open wider, Smooch peered through the ever-expanding gap and that’s when he saw it. The thing was gruesome, eye-meltingly hideous; it was a creature of unknown origin and it began to shuffle towards them. Its ragged, jaundiced scaly skin was hanging off a skeletal frame. Long yellow claws making a click, click, click sound as it lumbered towards them on three misshapen limbs with an odd side-ways gate and its huge, bulbous red eyes glowed with so much malevolence it was terrifying. Foaming at the maw, with multiple rows of teeth snapping and snarling as it began to increase its speed, it was absolutely pant-wettingly scary as it loped faster and faster towards them.
Clicker, clicker, clicker... Clicker, clicker, clicker... Clicker, clicker, clicker... was the sound it made as it grew closer and closer.
Clicker, clicker, clicker... Clicker, clicker, clicker... Clicker, clicker, clicker... was the sound it made as it grew closer and closer.
"Amber pull your weapon and turn around real sloooooow," he whispered, then added. "Oh and don't scream!"
She did as he said and stiffened immeasurably as her eyes made contact and nearly bugged out of their sockets. The ground started to quiver and shake again as the wall opposite them started to close.
Smooch grabbed her paw and pulled her through the gap just before it slammed shut with a definitive crack and grey dust rained down clouding the puddles with a fine film.
"Well that got rid of that thing," he said smugly.
Amber pointed offur his shoulder and said, "Yes it did but what about those things down there?"
Smooch turned to see 6 hostiles scuttling, yep mew read that right, scuttling towards them through the piles of rubble and rotting vegetation. They had neon-green multi-jointed carapace bodies, like a scorpion, but so much bigger and instead of a stinging tail, they had multiple highly flexible tentacles covered in spikes which oozed some sort of orange fluid at the tips.
"Smooch?" Amber asked backing up and pointing her gun towards them. "What the fluff are those things?"
He bared his teeth and said in a low growl. "Dead!" And he opened fire.
>^.^<
I heard the distinct sound of suppressed gunfire. My ears pricked and I turned trying to locate the position of the sound as it echoed around the high stone walls.
"Dudes that’s defo Smooch's gun, he's using a suppressor," I said and then checked their location on my iPaw. “They are one wall offur that way!” I pointed.
Parsley was already reeling in the hook and line and as soon as it was ready he aimed and shot in the direction of the gunfire. The hook caught on top of the wall and Parsley tugged on the line and took up the slack.
Humphrey attached a carabiner clip from his tactical vest and used a small motor to propel himself up the wire in seconds, he waved from the top of the wall. “Smooch and Amber are down here, 6 bogies of unknown origin have them cornered, I’m going in… HOOAH!” And he swan-dived off the top of the wall, vanishing from sight.
OH MY COD! I thought as heinous screeching and blood-curdling screams rang out.
OH MY COD! I thought as heinous screeching and blood-curdling screams rang out.
Using another motor like Humphrey's to propel us up the wire, Pandora, myself and Parsley were atop the wall in under a minute looking down at what can only be described as total carnage.
The creatures, I called them Scorpo-pus’s – seriously what else could I name them? – but anyhoo I digress...
The creatures, I called them Scorpo-pus’s – seriously what else could I name them? – but anyhoo I digress...
The Scorpo-pus’s bodies lay strewn in pieces all offur the ground, it was like they'd been attacked by a kitchen blender. Green blood pooling all offur the rock slabs, the lethal spikes tipped with orange goo steamed with an acrid stench and Humphrey stood on a boulder in the middle of the massacre brandishing a gleaming katana splattered with green icky fluid. He whipped out a silk cloth and carefully wiped the blade before re-sheathing it and placing the harness across his body.
Dropping a line, we abseiled down the wall and I looked at my older brofur in wunderment and said. “Dude, when did mew take up the way of the samurai?”
He grinned, “I’ve had a lot of time on paws OTRB dude and met a lot of furry interesting new furiends and learnt a lot of new skills, I’ll tell mew the story sometime when we get out of this hell-pit!”
Smooch and Amber looked stunned and I approached them softly, as they still had their weapons up and armed. Gently I said. “Guys, weapons down.”
Smooch stared at me and blinked several times as he shook his head in bewilderment. He said, “OH MY COD, I can’t believe what I just witnessed, Humphrey…” he took a breath. “Humphrey just cut those freakers to pieces in seconds with that sword, like what the fluff? Our bullets didn’t even slow them down, yet that sword cut through them like a laser beam through an ice-cube!”
I patted him gently on the shoulder and turned to Amber.
“Are mew OK Amber?” I asked pushing her paw towards the ground and taking the gun off her and flicking the safety on.
“Basil, I think Humphrey’s changed since he’s been at the bridge,” she whispered.
I nodded. “Dying will do that to a purrson Amber,” I replied quietly.
Chapter 9
Revelations
Parsley just gaped at Humphrey who casually jumped off the boulder and ambled up to us. “Humphrey dude, mew so need to teach me those sword-fighting skills!” he smirked.
“Parsley, mew already have your Pantherene claws dude!” he replied slyly. “Or did mew furget?”
Parsley looked at his front paws and 10 sleek, supurr shiny, lethally sharp 6 inch claws emerged [way back in 2014 in The Curse of The Klepto Bunny, Parsley was exposed to nano-bot technology which caused this mutation] he deftly swished them through the air and laughed saying, “Dude I’d so furgotten about those, I haven’t needed them fur so long…”
We all ogled Parsley’s deadly claws and I said. “Dude be careful, we don’t need any accidents!”
Pandora edged closer and tapped one of the metal blades with the tip her claw and said. “Parsley, that is one mighty fine upgrade mew ‘av and if I’m ‘onest, I vouldn’t mind a set of those myself!”
I gave Pandora a rather strange glance and thought; I really need to research her background a lot more, as she’s got more secrets than mew could shake your tail at.
“Basil,” Smooch said. “Thank cod Humphrey arrived when he did, that was one real close shave!”
I turned to Smooch and said with relief. “That was so lucky, and those things...” I pointed at the carcasses on the ground. “Jeez dude, what the fluff and if that’s a taster of what’s to come as we make our way through this vile place we need to be so alert and on it!”
Humphrey appeared at my side. “Basil I think we should get the ATV’s out, walking this maze will take fureffur.”
I nodded and he placed what looked like 3 dinky toys on the ground. He used the ray gun and zapped one aftur the other and they instantaneously became full-sized.
“OK Team,” I said. “Let’s check the map and see which way we need to go.”
Pandora pulled out a tablet from her pocket and tapped the screen. The map of the maze popped up and showed our exact location.
“Good thinking Pandora,” I said. “Bringing a tablet was a pawesome idea, we can see the labyrinth so much better, now which way to the centre?”
She began tapping on the screen fur the fastest pawsible route. “It vould seem that there are 3 different vays to the centre from these calculations and from vhat Snowie managed to map, the red route is the most direct, the blue route looks considerably longer and the green one takes mew all the vay around the edge and then cuts a direct path straight to the middle, but that vould mean ve ‘ave to go virtually to the opposite side of vhere ve are now.”
We all peered at the tablet studying the different ways.
Parsley said. “Dudes, is there anywhere on the map where all 3 routes intersect?”
“What are mew thinking?” I asked.
“Well, I would hazard at a guess that the most direct route will be the most dangerous one, the blue, still dangerous as by the looks of things that’s the one we’re on and the green the least amount, it’s just a guess!” he replied thoughtfully.
I pondered the pawsibilities and came to the same conclusion. “Yep, mew’re right dude the fastest route is defo gonna be the most dangerous,” I paused fur a moment and then tapped the screen. “See here, we can follow the blue route up to that point, then jump onto the red route fur a couple of turns and then hop onto that green one all the way to the centre, what do mew guys think?”
We were all completely engrossed in a huddle staring at the map and didn’t hear the rustling coming up behind us at furst. It was only when I saw Humphrey move and when I say move he was a blur, that I realised something was about to ambush us.
I had my weapons drawn and ready by the time Humphrey came into focus, his katana glinting wickedly in his left paw and an uzi in his right. The rustling was nearly upon us, though nothing was visible so I whipped out my infrared glasses and put them on.
“Humphrey unknown bogey at 11 o’clock!” I shouted urgently.
He spun around so effortlessly on one paw and cut through the air directly in front of him with the katana, it was poetry in motion to watch him. The blade flicked through the air several more times, and then there was a sickening sound of steel cutting through flesh and a moment later a pool of yucky, dirty fluid eeked along the ground and the thing became visible.
“Bogey down,” Humphrey said with a forced grin as he looked at the thing. On the ground was a shapeless blob with what appeared to have paper scales – hence the rustling – as filthy, putrid fluid ran from the body all while the vile thing started to disintegrate until nothing was left.
“Vhat vas that hideous thing?” Pandora asked trying not to breathe in the stench.
We all shrugged and then Amber said. “It looked like a giant, dirty, paper spitball!”
We all laughed at the name, well what else could we call it?
“Dudes, did anypurrdy bring a motion tracker?” I asked suddenly getting an idea.
Smooch said. “Of course I did, though it’s integrated into Pandora’s tablet!”
“OK, can it run both programmes simultaneously, like a layer on top of the map, so we can see where we are and have forewarning of any incoming hostiles and where they are in comparison to our location?” I asked.
Pandora began to tap on the tablet screen and a few moments later said. “Of course, now ve ‘av our route planned and instant notification of anything that is vithin fifty feet of us, not a lot of varning but better than none, eh?”
We all nodded and were just about to mount the ATV’s when a horn blared out. Not a car horn, [but the sound that made the walls of Jericho tumble down], it was really loud and the entire labyrinth began to shake and tremble.
“What the fluff?” Parsley murmured thoughtfully, ears pricked and listening intently. “That dudes, is a hunting horn of epically epic proportions, and I think we’re the prey!”
“Saddle up guys and let’s roll,” I said quickly. “Let’s get moving as we don’t want to be sitting ducks!”
A few seconds later Pandora’s tablet began to beep, slowly at furst then faster and faster, she said. “Incoming dead ahead fifty yards and closing, forty yards, thirty yards, twenty yards...”
And then a figure emerged from around the blind corner just ahead of us. It was dirty, wearing ragged and ripped clothes, it appeared furry and was running on a direct collision course with us. We jumped off the ATV‘s pulled our weapons, ready to engage. The motion sensor was beeping almost in a continuous tone as the figure was now just ten yards away. Parsley and Smooch were in front with Humphrey as I suddenly dived between them and tackled the thing to the ground with a thwump.
It struggled and began to fight me but it had no real strength and I had it pinned before anypurrdy could pull a trigger. The entire B Team surrounded me with weapons pointed at the thing.
“Weapons on safety,” I ordered as I lifted my weight off our captive and looked straight into the eyes of Winston Magog, my second in command at the FIB. He used to be a giant maine coon, although right now he was little more than skin and bones. “Winston, Winston!” I said. His eyes were wild and terrified, darting every which way. I slapped his chops and growled. “Winston Magog ATTENSHUN!” With those three words, it was like a switch had been flicked and his eyes suddenly began to focus on me. Amber held out a canteen of water.
Winston stared at me in disbelief, rubbing his eyes and muttering in terror. “This isn’t real, this isn’t real! Mew’re not real! Mew’re not real!”
“WINSTON MAGOG, ATTENSHUN!” I growled again. “This is Commander Basil now focus dude, mew’re not hallucinating, I am here in this hell dimension with mew dude, focus, get a grip!”
“Here, drink this,” Amber said gently and held the canteen to his mouth, he drank greedily and slowly the fight or flight in him seemed to ebb away with each gulp. “That’s enough big guy,” Amber said softly. “Just take it easy fur a moment, we’re here to help.”
He took a breath and then another, his trembling form slowly releasing all terror until he sagged in a boneless heap on the ground.
“Winston,” I said crouching at his side. “Dude, I am here with mew in this realm and these guys are my new team…” I indicated with my paw in a sweeping gesture.
Winston looked at me, his paw outstretched nearly touching my face. I leaned closer and let his paw connect with my cheek. His eyes spoke volumes as recognition finally dawned and his other paw pulled me into a tight embrace. He whispered. “I purrayed day and night that mew’d come and find us Basil, I knew mew wouldn’t leave us here…” tears spilled from his eyes and I hugged him tighter, all the while thinking about what I was going to do to CJ when we got out of this hell pit.
Patting him gently on the back I slowly released him and stared back at the big dude and smiled, it was a tight smile but a smile neffurtheless. “Dude I would have been here sooner,” I said apologetically.
He clasped my paw in his and said. “Basil mew’ve neffur let us down yet and I knew mew’d come even though mew’re retired, I knew mew’d come to get us!” Tears were streaming down his cheeks, his shoulders shook and he sobbed as I hugged him again. “I knew mew’d come…”
The B Team had my six, scanning effury which way fur incoming hostiles as I knew that we just couldn’t take off, so I said softly. “Winston dude, just take a breath.”
Smooch sidled up to me and pressed a high-calorie protein bar into my paw and then nodded at Winston.
“Here eat this, mew look like mew haven’t eaten in…” my voice trailed off as the hunting horn rang out again.
Winston looked at me, dread and panic flashing across his eyes. “They’re coming Basil, they know mew’re here…”
I nodded and pointed at the protein bar. “Dude eat that, then we’ll mount up and go save the rest of the team, right?”
He chewed so fast that I gave him another 5 bars which he devoured in under a minute and then passed him my hip-flask and said. “Finest Nip Scotch, fur medicinal purposes only,” as I winked at him.
“Still using that medicinal line Basil?” he half laughed and half choked as he took a large swig from the flask.
“Ah, mew know me too well big dude,” I answered as I put the cap back on the flask and tucked it into my tactical vests inner pocket.
Pandora handed me a spare tactical vest and a spare gun. “For Winston,” she whispered. I gave her the nod and helped my old buddy into the vest and zipped it up.
“Dude can mew ride with me and Smooch.”
Smooch was already adapting the rear seat on my ATV so we could all fit. A few minutes later and he’d fixed a small platform with a grab rail on the back so he’d got stability due to his tri-paw impediment. “Basil,” he said quietly, a worrisome tone to his voice aftur taking me on one side. “Are mew sure this is the real Winston Magog and not some trick?”
I gave him a one-shoulder shrug and replied. “The same thing has been going through my mind too dude, and I’m sure through effurypurrdy’s as well.” I sighed. “Honestly I don’t know if it is really him right now, but we can’t leave him behind either, my instincts tell me it’s him so that’s what I’m going on right now… though we’ll just have to be extra vigilant just in case the Old One is trying to pull a flanker on us.”
Smooch nodded. “I’ll tell the guys to be extra watchful.”
“On one paw, it seems unreal that he’s still alive aftur all this time and looking at the state he’s in, we could say that this scenario seems quite real,” I continued. “Though on the other paw there’s always a chance that all my old team are dead and the Old One got all the info it needed from them before it created their doppelgangers to dupe us, mew know the old Trojan horse scenario.”
Smooch nodded again. “Yep that’s what I was thinking dude, but how will we know if they’re real or created by that eveel freaking sack of flea excrement?”
I glanced around furtively before saying. “That Smooch is the question and one that will no doubt be revealed in due course.”
I could see he was worried as he answered. “I think mew should ask him if he’s seen Fudge.”
Turning to Winston I said. “Dude have mew seen a ginger ninja, he would have only got here in the last few hours?”
Winston stared straight at me and I saw him stiffen. He cleared his throat and asked. “Big bushy tail, like supurr floof?”
I saw all the B Team prick their ears and look at Winston, waiting expectantly fur him to elaborate.
“A cat with a tail like that was captured earlier, he’s chained to the Plinth of Pandemonium in the centre of the labyrinth,” Winston said as he began to shake and tremble, as his legs began to give way.
Pandora leaned closer to Amber and said. “Jeez, whateffur that dudes been through must have been bad, just look at him!”
“Plinth of Pandemonium?” I asked carefully, seeing Winston’s reaction.
Parsley put a steadying paw around the Maine Coon, and Winston reached fur a water canteen drinking deeply again. He wiped his mouth with his paw and closed his eyes tightly as he mumbled something incoherent and seemed to be focused on something elsewhere.
“Dude?” I pressed gently. “Tell us about it…”
Winston took a deep breath and opened his eyes, and this time when I looked there was a spark, a flicker of something, just like the Winston I'd known all those years ago, and that’s when he said in the voice of my old, trusty #2. “We’ve got to go, The Wild Hunt is on the move and we need to get to a safer place.”
“Wild Hunt?”
He nodded, “Yes they’re the most savage and vile creatures, the Old One only lets them out once a month as they tend to kill effurything, and they can smell fresh meat miles away!”
“I’m not fresh meat!” Amber declared with a snorty harrumph.
“To them,” Winston answered gravely. “Mew are nothing more than fresh meat.”
Pandora had been tapping away furiously on her tablet and she quipped. “Fresh meat, PAH, let’s see ‘ow they like my little surprise!”
**AND CUT**
OH MY COD!
See mew same time, same place next week fur the next thrilling chapters
in
The Clockwurk Labyrinth
This is
commander Basil and the b team
Offur and Out Until Next time
Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com
