Chapter Text
The headache had started yesterday. Something had gotten into the pipes. The things from above were coming down again, and I had no clue as to why. We have killed every single one they have sent. They clear the first pipe system, and then they freeze, they run, they attempt to fight in a realm not theirs, and we win. Clearly the message hasn't set in yet. That this is our home, that the pipes will always win. Now they have sent one more to die. Oh well. Their loss. I can already hear a voice closing in, and my, this creature is a talkative one! It turned the corner, and then it saw me, its light searing into my eyes and the heat my skin. I was made for the cold, damp, dark of the pipes. Then it flicks the object off, and we lock eyes. I should try to make sounds, scare it off, and maybe play with it a little. Hopefully, it won't come back if it survives today. I scutter away, giving the creature time to breathe. They all look so strange compared to those of the pipes. Soft skin, hair thickest on the top of what could only be called their head, eyes clearly unfit for the dark, and that damn object. These things were clearly from outside of the pipes. But what was out of the pipes again? It had been a while since I had read anything that found its way down here.
After an hour, the thing that had come down was preparing to leave, so I decided to give it one last show. It turned the corner towards where it came from and was face-to-face with me again. Eye to eye. The light it carried went off. Its eyes were strange, colored with something these creatures called "blue." From what I've read, it was the same color as the water further down within the pipes. Once more I ran off, but not too far away. From round the back corner of another pipe, I heard it climb out, the passage sealing behind it. And for once, I hoped for the thing not to never come back, but to return. I wanted to see those eyes again. I wanted to test how much it could handle. How fast the creature could react. To see those eyes piercing mine again in a "stand-off." How much cold could it handle? How long could that burning light stay off before its lips turned the color of its eyes and it shivered, before it blinked, before the crunch?
For these ends, I sought help from an old friend. I dubbed it Auger when making those "ads" to expand the pipes' access to other systems. Auger was more than willing to help, and the deal we made was simple: whoever killed it got to eat it. Still, Auger didn't know I was just using its presence to test my new toy. I wanted Auger so I could catch it off guard while its blind eyes were covered by that stupid "orange" "pinger" and I could win. It would not be fair; Auger might try to argue it was their kill if they aren't scared away before I take my first bite. I guess how the argument could go would depend on my mood tomorrow towards the creature. If I still want to devour every piece of it, I will simply use the "pinger" to scare off Auger, high-pitched noise and all that. If I don't want it anymore, Auger can have its bottom half and arms. What a deal. I considered my generosity as I went back to my section of the pipes.
Over the "years" I have lived within these metal hallowed walls, I collected the bits of paper that made their way down here and began to "read." Understanding the words on the page was not easy at first until we started those fake "ads." Playing with those creatures above ground was fun; spelling out to them in the voice of a "cohabitant" what word I wanted them to demonstrate was also fun. My favorite group of words was "come here," as it drew them right to me. Consuming the heads of these things helped me with understanding their language. Then I could take what was in their house and bring it back down. My nest was made up of the pages I gathered over my life. The paper soaks in the water on the bottom layer, as the top was made of the softest pages I could find. I dig through the dry, unused pile and pull out a "magazine" with images of different creatures, both male and female. My sharper nails made quick work of the material, and I used my slime to piece together an image. Blue eyes, a male face, and a tear in the nose because none turned out like the one I saw today. I finished the image made to look like my creature and stuck it to the wall. I should practice for tomorrow. The closer I sound to one of its kind, the more uneasy it will be if it wins. Maybe it will make it more likely to come back as well.