Stoke is Full of Mutants

An Unwanted Facial

Boss Marlot was on the war path. Her hands with sore from whipping, her voice hoarse from screaming, her blood pressure through the roof. The slaves were also tired of the whipping, screaming and bleeding. There was little to be done though. The Elder ordered Marlot to go to bed and to give the slaves a rest. There was no progress being made on the mill project. It was a fabulous idea, a way for the Ark to grind corn and produce better quality food. However, there was simply no wood coming down from the north to provide the raw materials needed for the project.

There were rumours flying around the Ark as to why the logging team had stopped sending their wood from the forests of the north. It was known that Eli had been complaining about the tough working conditions and the dangers involved in working outside the safety of the Ark. Yet the Elder had ignored his concerns. Still, there had been nobody from the logging team that had come to report any problems. The Elder was worried, not least because the delay was holding up the mill project.

The people of the Ark worked fast and adapted quickly to new technological advances. The sundial allowed to greater working efficiencies, the apples from the apple trees were nutritious and healthy, and the slaves provided by the Overseer worked quietly and efficiently. Those with logical minds were methodically planning and experimenting with the artefacts that had been recovered. There was confidence that in the near future the Ark's best and brightest might find a use for the radio, though it was felt further technological advances were needed. Whilst the nerds worked at the radio, many of the other Ark residents were trying to figure out how the Overseer managed to get his daughter-girlfriends into the family way, so to speak. Though they weren't making much progress, they were having a great deal of fun with their experiments.

For the first time that she could remember, Flora woke up in her quarters feeling happy and content. As a hero of the Ark, she was allowed more space and amenities. As her husband was also a hero of the work, it meant the quarters they shared together were larger and more luxurious than even the Elder's accommodation. Flora wondered where Craig was and debated with herself whether to go and look for him. She looked around at her room, which was filled with trinkets and memories, but also kept tidy and clean thanks to her husband. She felt cosy and safe there in the darkness. Craig would return soon enough she thought. She decided that she would stay in bed. After all, there was nowhere else she'd rather be.

Craig, Gramslinger and Steve were gathered outside the Elder's private quarters as they had been ordered to. All four heroes had been ordered to report there, though Craig explained that he felt Flora would benefit from catching up on her sleep. The Elder told them of the situation, which most of the residents were already well aware of, but then began to whisper in hushed tones about conspiracy. He suspected that Eli, leader of the logging committee, was up to no good. Eli was ambitious and had few friends outside of the men under his command. Steve asked what they were to do. The Elder gave them their orders: they were to investigate the logging station and bring it back into working order, killing Eli if necessary. The men exchanged looks of grim determination. They knew their mission was a dangerous one and that they may end the day by killing a powerful man.

Steve, Gramslinger and Craig discussed their plan of action. Firstly, they decided that they would need the toughest guy in the Ark to support them on their mission - Elvis. This seemed to be a wise decision, after all his mutation gave him crocodile skin and a huge amount of strength, but to mention his natural mean streak and love of brawling. Yet they had not accounted for one added complication: Elvis was a good friend of Eli's and saw him as the Ark's next leader-in-waiting.

Flora was wakened from her sleep by the gentle kicking of her husband as he softly pummelled her rib cage with his size eleven Doc Martens. "Time to get up my sweet", he cooed, throwing her formal rags over her head. "We have an important and dangerous mission", he began to report, ending with the explanation that Elvis would be accompanying them on the trip so they would have nothing to worry about if violence did break out. Flora was greatly frustrated at being left out of the mission briefing with the Elder. She worried that the party would next be going on missions without her, leaving her abandoned and alone. She felt agitated, low on self-esteem and short of confidence. "Stop being such a stupid moron", Craig told her, "I would never leave you!" Flora was not convinced, "Well what about that Rose from the Other Ark? You seemed very keen to get her back here!" Craig had no answer to this, other than to say "I haven't got time to reassure you, now put your rags on you great nit!"