Wacky Jacky

<snip>"We were the only ones who set out in this direction. It more likely means that we are not alone down here.It also means whatever it is has most likely learned to emulate human screams to attract it's prey." Pliskin said, matter of factly.</snip>

<snip>… soul-disturbing scream. Only this time, it sounded like Jacky...</snip>

Alex’s head and attention snapped towards the scream. He was like a dog who’d spotted a squirrel.
“What the SMEG?”
“Seems it learns quickly” said Plisken “it’s obviously absorbed Jacky’s sound, now, too.”
“Eugh.” Jade shuddered, making a mental note not to scream, lest her voice should be cloned. It was beyond creepy.
The three almost leapt out of their skins as there was another scream in Jacky’s voice, but right next to them this time.

<snip>Jacky had fallen into some mud.</snip>

Thank smeg, it was just actual-Jacky. Now that his parasite was removed, Alex’s weird (hormonal?) urges to spar with Jacky had dissipated. He was of course still irked by his general negativity and claims of trench foot, but he didn’t like to see the poor lad in distress.
“C’mon. Up you get.” Still looking towards the direction of the copy-scream, he helped the younger man to his feet. Once upright, the scientist swayed unsteadily for a moment, then regained his balance and walked towards Plisken. Alex couldn’t put his finger on it, but his movements weren’t quite… ‘right’. Still, no time to think of that now, the whatever-it-was had just let out another Jacky-identical shriek.
“Follow that screamer!” Demanded Plisken. It sounded like it was moving away from them. Possibly towards the others. Despite their siblingesque fall-out, Alex didn’t relish the image of Cass being mauled by a horrific screaming monster which had just sprung to mind.
“TOWARDS it? Are you mad?” Jacky protested, but he was hushed and ushered along by the others.

They stalked after it, trying to keep as quiet as they were able while moving through squelching, sucking, swamp-mud. Every time they thought they were close, to their disorientation, the scream would sound somewhere else.

As it changed direction once more, Jade ducked instinctively behind a rubbery swamp-bush and under some overhanging leaves which created a small natural shelter, and a – likely false - impression of security. “This is really freaky” she hissed.
“You’re tellin’ me.”
Alex had decided that, much as he hated to use them these days, it might be wise to arm himself with one of the bulky pistols stashed in his pack for emergencies. He pushed one into Jade’s hand too. She gave him a look but, sensibly, took it.

Slosh. Slosh. Slosh.
“Jacky!”” Plisken hissed. The boy was walking towards the latest scream-direction. The elder jumped up, surprisingly sprightly for his (currently 70+?) years. “Oh no you don’t, young man.”
He grabbed him by the lab coat and hauled him under the cover of the leaves. “Now shhh and keep still.”
Jacky turned his head peculiarly slowly, to look Plisken in the eye. “Get off me, you bearded buffoon.”
“Oi” Alex frowned, not liking the rudeness at Plisk who was a good guy, “there’s no need for that. He’s just looking out for you.” Jacky’s head now lolled around to face Alex, the movement quite jerky and bizarre.

<snip>Of course, his bitterness in the swamp had surprisingly little to do with his buildup of stress. His focus of bitterness on Alex had to do with it, since he'd always found Alex to be a bit depressing,</snip>

“Do us a favour and be quiet, you sullen-faced cretin” he said. Alex stared as the boy continued. “I have always found you to be a bit depressing” Jacky told him. The spiderparts in his brain were forcing him to speak his thoughts, and not allowing him any private internal dialogue.
“Oh.” Said Alex, pretending to study his pistol, covering his momentary twinge of hurt. “Right.”

<snip>... Besides, he didn't like Jacky, but only insomuch as he didn't particularly like anybody. He didn't dislike him...
He made a mental note: Try and be nice to Jacky when the chance arises.
As 'people he didn't like' went, Jacky was probably edging nearer to 'like' than some others.</snip>

“Hey!” Jade said. “That wasn’t very kind.”
The boy’s head snapped towards her now. She shuffled back slightly, unnerved by the odd light in his eye.
“You have nice breasts” he announced, inwardly cringing, but unable to do anything about it as the spider was gaining more control by the second.
“Um…”
“They’re very shapely.”
“Oi! Enough of that!” Barked Solvay, his anger not bug-inspired this time. “Show some smeggin’ respect.”
“Quiet” reminded Plisken.

The scream sounded off to the right…

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<TBC>