Overclocked -CH4- (Patreon)

“Exactly. Works out for xxhht and xxhht cause of xxhht,” grumbled a Tongsta to the Tongsta that was currently holding Wrench in a bag made specifically to hold Hume’s during transport.

It was a plastic like material that was beyond a Hume’s strength to penetrate or break throguh.

“Better than what xxhht xxhht xxhht would,” said the one that was holding onto Wrench’s bag. “Fine. Good. Let’s do this.”

The two Tongsta floated through an entry way and a Hab appeared in front of Wrench. It was a large cube that was five times wider than it was tall. Inside of it was a great deal of sand, dirt, a pond, a few stones, and a single dead tree.

That and a number of Hume bones.

A lot of bones.

So many bones that Wrench was now rather afraid that they were simply going to kill him. All for the sake of Club who was a petulant bully that could barely keep his thoughts straight. Someone who apparently had far more importance in him than Wrench had originally assumed.

“Well shit,” muttered Wrench when he saw the reason for all the bones.

In the center of the Hab was a large feathery, monster that moved on all fours and had a long tail. The length of it was easily fifteen-feet long without the tail being included.

Wrench had never seen the like before and that wasn’t really surprising.

The Tongsta had made a habit of taking other species as pets. Hume were just yet another of the acquired species. Earth becoming nothing more than a hunting ground to catch them in the wild.

Wrench knew that as soon as he was put into that hab that there was a fair chance he’d be forced into a fight for his life immediately. That realistically, whatever that creature was, it was more or less trained to kill and devour Humes in a live feeding.

That meant it would either attack him as soon as the bag was opened, or it would stalk him, then attack him.

In either case he only had one option available to him.

Kill it.

“Wish I understood this damn power better,” hissed Wrench as the Tongsta carried him over to the large hab. He began to mentally stab at what he thought he’d need.

Once more he dialed up his Muscular, Endocrine, and Nervous system. Sending them well past their one-hundred percent markers. Then he awkwardly tried to make it so his cardiovascular system would pump blood to his muscles, mind, and organs efficiently.

To calm it and keep it working at the right rate rather than spiraling out of control like it was trying to do already. On top of that he tried to mentally maximize the ability of his blood to carry, utilize, and pass about oxygen throughout his system.

He still wasn’t quite sure what the Integumentary, Renal, or Lymphatic systems did, and he didn’t want to toy wioth him. He’d had a few strange experiences already when he’d messed around with the Endocrine system and he didn’t want to repeat that if he didn’t have to.

Even as the Tongsta opened the Hab, in a way that Wrench still didn’t understand how, he felt the world slow down around him. Everything began slowing down at the same time that it felt like his thoughts and control was speeding up.

The time it took for the Tongsta to upend the bag and dump him into the hab felt akin to an entire minute passing, even while it’d only been a handful of seconds. That the time it took for him to fall from the bag, to the ground, felt incredibly long as well.

Before his simple shoes had struck the dirt, the feathered monster was charging his way. His clawed feet tearing up the ground as it bore down on him.

Wrench felt an odd burning in his lungs with his first inhalation. Which meant whatever this hab was filled with wasn’t great with a Hume’s needs.

He had the presence of mind to mentally push at his Cardiovascular system and demanding that it process what he was breathing the best it could. To prioritize oxygen and actively resist whatever else was in the air around him.

Opening it’s mouth wide as it lunged forward, the monster was coming at Wrench as if propelled by an unseen force. Rocketing forward with all four limbs no longer in contact with the ground.

All of his training had been in fighting Humes and Tongsta. Both of which were done with swords or bladed weapons. The hand-to-hand training he’d been part of was quite simple and didn’t go over much more than grapling and strangle holds.

None of that was useful at the moment.

Other than remembering that an elbow-strike was a wonderful way to absolutely destroy whatever you managed to connect it with. With this creature flying at him, using all it’s momentum as it was, this was an opportunity if he was willing to risk things.

The claws of the monster weren’t spread very wide, though they were still wider than what Wrench could reasonably deal with. He couldn’t exactly step out of their range.

That meant he had to go over, or under.

If I leap toward it, get my legs up and dive at it, I’ll probably get smashed off to one side. Rather than under it, or over it. That sounds incredibly painful, but it’s better than being caught by this creature.

Diving at the creature, and extending his right elbow as if it were a spear, Wrench commited himself fully to this attack. Aiming for the hinge point of the monster’s mouth.

Unable to respond to the Hume launching itself at it, the creature didn’t change anything of what it was doing. Carrying through with its attack as if Wrench hadn’t moved.

While it felt like he’d had a while to respond, and even react, this had all of course happened in a matter of a second or three. Wrench knew this because he could feel the stirring of being mentally fatigued. As if he’d been up for an entire day and was ready for dinner and relaxing.

Wrench felt the shock of the impact with the monster traveling through his body the second his elbow hit the hinge-point of their jaw. A complete and monstrous jarring that had almost no give at all as his arm was jammed backward.

It spun him clockwise partially before the rest of the creature’s head struck him. The force of it all send Wrench sailing through the air. Practically flying away.

Putting his gaze to the oddly-colored grass as it passed by beneath him Wrench tried to orient himself so he could land on his feet.

Or at least, not flat on his stomach.

Pulling at his muscles, straining to get himself into a position where he’d land on his hands and feet, Wrench fought against the artificial forces of gravity in the Hab. Clawing mentally at the Muscular system and demanding it respond to his wishes.

Hitting the turf Wrench managed his desire, much to his lament even as he did it.

His shoulder lit up with agony. Sending shrieking pulses of misery up and into his brain.

Something was very wrong with his right arm, or more specifically, his shoulder.

Which really didn’t mean much at all to Wrench at the moment.

If he didn’t get himself into gear than his whole body would have something very wrong with it. Being chewed to bits and turned into shit.

Mentally stabbing at the idea of his Nervous system becoming mute with it’s signals for pain, Wrench stood up and put his focus back to his enemy. Blessedly, the absolute mind-rending pain of his shoulder died away right as he got eyes on the bastard.

Both claws were raised to its snout like face and pressing at it’s very obviously broken jaw. The right side hanging open like a shattered door dangling from a single attachment.

Not wanting to lose the chance, Wrench raced forward.

He spotted a shattered, and quite sharp looking, long bone as he went. Scooping it up in his left hand Wrench charged his mosntrous enemy.

Once again he dipped mentally into his power and tried to rewire his Muscular, Skeletal, and Nervous system to treat his left-hand, as if it were his right hand. That his left side was now his dominant side rather than his right.

An odd flop occured in his thoughts and a shifting in his body mechanics as he ran. His left foot felt far more sure than it just had and his right felt far more clumsy.

The same was repeated for his hands and he was left with a misstep that he corrected for as he went. Closing the distance between him and the feathered bastard in an instant as he fixed his gait.

Two black beady eyes focussed on him a second before he arrived. They were surprised, unsure, and completely enraged.

Only to turn to absolute fear a second later.

Wrench was airborne now, his left arm reared back and clutching the impromptu bone weapon. Then he lunged forward with the broken-end.

Right into the eye of the monster, then probably into it’s brain Wrench figured.

Given that it broke through the bone that surrounded the eye-socket and went considerably deeper it seemed a logical thought. That and it’s whole skull had made a crackling noise under the weight of the blow.

The left side of the creatures body twitched, while the right went limp, causing the monster to end up flat on it’s belly. Scrabbling at the ground and taking odd moaning breaths as the other side laid completely still against the ground.

Not wanting to leave things as they were, because Wrench wasn’t going to let such a creature get back up again to kill him later, he jerked the bone out of the monster’s eye.

Scrambling over the top of the now wounded creature’s head, Wrench got to the other side. He lifted up his left-arm then drove the shaft of bone down into it’s remaining eye.

The bone didn’t go in as deeply this time, but at this point Wrench didn’t think it was an issue. Even if it survived this, it wouldn’t be running him down in any hurry.

“Wouldn’t even-be able to-find me,” panted Wrench, pushing his systems to go back to a normal state.

Only to immediately remember that there was something wrong with his right arm, and promptly turned off the pain signals once again.

Sitting there on top of the creatures skull, Wrench looked to the edge of the Hab. The two Tongsta were hovering there, watching him.

He watched them back.

Then raised his left hand and waved it at them.

“Could use a bite to eat and some water. Or if not, could I get some fire so I can cook this fat bastard up?” he asked. They wouldn’t be able to understand him, but he couldn’t resist it.

“What the fuck is this xxhht xxhht xxhht?” screamed a Tongsta. “You xxhht said xxhht xxhhtxxhht xxhht!”

The response from the other Tongsta wasn’t able to be translated at all. Nor was the response to that.

Whatever they were saying was beyond his implants ability to translate for him. He didn’t have to really think that hard about it to figure out what they were saying, though.

Clearly they were angry at the fact that he’d just merc’ed their stupid pet. Considering he’d killed a Brawler not that long ago, you’d think they’d have some reservations at making him fight again.

Then again, when would you ever think there’d be a Fixer that could fight a Brawler?

It’s just not something you’d think of ever happening. Not really.

Taking in a short breath Wrench then started to cough. The air here burned his lungs with every breath.

“Shit,” he got out in a grunt, then once more pulled at his Cardiovascular system. Wanting it to process the oxygen in the air as efficiently as possible, and reject everything else.

He wasn’t sure if that would be better in the long term, but he certainly didn’t want to breathe whatever this was if he didn’t have to.

In the next breath he didn’t feel the burning any longer, though it did feel like he still didn’t as full a breath as he wanted. That it wasn’t as fresh as he wished.

Better than the alternative, I guess.

Maybe?

Damnit.

The two Tongsta continued to what was essentially yell and shriek at one another. Wrench wished at the moment that his implant would turn off. Hearing the screeching static of speech that couldn’t be translated was rather terrible.

Thankfully, the two left him sitting there, taking their argument elsewhere.

Though unfortunately he was still trapped in the Hab without an ability to get out. It was likely they’d come back and just kill him.

Or feed him to something else after breaking his body.

Almost as quickly as the two left, one of them came back.

Or so Wrench had initially thought. He realized that it was actually a different Tongsta. One that was smaller than the other two.

“You poor little xxhht,” murmured the Tongsta. “Why does xxhht have to xxhht and xxhht? It’s always that way.”

Wrench sighed and held his hand up and waved it at the Tongsta. Clearly this was some type of family member or friend of the other. It wouldn’t hurt him any to be a friendly Hume in this situation.

“You poor thing. You xxhht xxhht and xxhht. Now xxhht is just going to feed you to xxhht,” crooned the Tongsta.

Nodding his head, that was more or less what Wrench had expected. They weren’t going to just let him go after killing the monster.

The Tongsta stood there for several seconds.

Only to then rapidly open up the Hab. A long thing tendril slipped into the Hab, wrapped around him, and pulled him out. The Tongsta tucked him up into their side and then closed the Hab.

Zooming away from it, the Tongsta carried him off.

Unfortunately, this was a true Tongsta living space which was extremely bad for a Hume.

This wasn’t like a common area that had other creatures that could move through them, but designed specifically and only for Tongsta.

Even with his enhanced abilities, Wrench promptly passed out.

***

Groaning, Wrench felt like his head was swimming. That the entirety of the world was spinning around him.

“Ooh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think about xxhht. I know Humes have issues with it but I didn’t want xxhht to have you and then xxhht you,” said the Tongsta who’d pulled him out of the Hab.

Lifting his head, Wrench managed to force his brain to kick into gear. He got his face out of the dirt and then laid his cheek down to the cold soil.

Laying there, panting, Wrench found himself looking out to the Tongsta. He was in a Hab once again and was alone.

The glass of the Hab didn’t look right and was covered in a greenish tint. As if it was covered in some type of moss or algae.

On top of that, the air had oxygen in it, but it wasn’t clean or have the right mixture either. It had a stale and long dormant taste to it that made his lungs tingle oddly.

It made his chest hurt and his throat started to tingle with the very first breath.

“I have to go, but I’ll get some more xxhht and xxhht. That’ll help you, right? For now uh… uh… just… live? Just live,” stated the Tongsta. “I’ll be back when I can. I have to xxhht xxhht xxhht. I wish I knew what you were but I can’t xxhht xxhht because they’ll just xxhht. Ooh… I’ll ask xxhht. They’ll know.”

Wrench stared at the Tongsta as his thoughts slowly solidified into something more normal. He belatedly realized he was alive and actually somewhat safe.

It seemed like this Tongsta had stolen him away, hid him in an old Hab, and was now planning on keeping him in secret. Alone in a Hab by himself.

“Okay. Xxhht then. Yes! Xxhht,” declared the Tongsta a second before they actually vanished. Disappearing from view. Leaving him in the Hab with the false sun above, poor air-quality, what was likely quite damaging mold or algae covering the walls, no food, and no water.

Laying there, Wrench just remained where he’d been put. Letting his body adjust and his mind process as quickly as it could.

After a few minutes of that, Wrench realized he needed to get moving. The longer he laid there, the more he let this Hab eat away at him, the worst it’d be later.

The harder it’d be to turn it around when he wasn’t feeling healthy or well.

Staggering to his feet, Wrench let out a slow breath.

“First things first then,” he muttered, realizing his right arm wasn’t moving very well. Whatever was wrong with him previously, was still wrong.

Switching himself back to being left-handed, Wrench nodded his head and then looked around.

“A quick survey, inventory, and then figuring out where the ducts are. Start working on the Hab and seeing what I can fix, maintain, or repair. I won’t be able to survive in this without doing that and… and I don’t think that Tongsta knows how to care for Humes,” he murmured, his eyes slowly picking over the area around him. “This is probably an old Hab she took from her family. One that wasn’t being used or utilized. That was sitting idle and unwanted.”

Feeling like he had a proper handle on the situation, Wrench clicked his tongue, then began stumbling forward. He needed to get to work and time was of the essence.

“Kinda funny though,” whispered Wrench to himself. “I wanted to be a gladiator. To be a Brawler. Put everything towards that.

“Only to end up in a Hab that desperately needs a Fixer. If I wasn’t a Fixer, I’d just probably die here and then get… air-locked. Vanishing into the dark of space.

“Ha… the irony. It sucks.”