The deep warrens groaned under pressure, the tunnel beginning to quake as the sound of creaking metal joints intensified to a horrifying screech. Rona, Cassia slung over his shoulder, staggered through the collapsing tunnels leading out of the altar chamber. Each step was a pained grunt, his whole body screaming in protest. Behind him, Lorian and Izari stumbled forward, arms wrapped around each other for mutual support, their gaunt faces streaked with grime and blood.
The black veins on the walls had ceased their grotesque pulsation, and the insidious whispers that had tormented them for weeks were finally silenced. Though no one spoke, the collective relief was palpable. Rona, however, kept glancing back, offering a reassuring, if strained, smile with each turn of his head. Lorian managed a weak thumbs-up in return, while Izari could only muster a faint nod, both men utterly spent, their potent abilities drained to the last drop from the battle they'd just endured.
Suddenly, the residual circuitry in the tunnels short-circuited with a hiss, plunging them into absolute darkness. Rona cursed under his breath, the sharp expletive echoing in the sudden void. They braved the pitch-black section, guessing their steps, relying solely on the cold, damp walls for direction. Their progress felt agonizingly slow until a faint, flickering glow heralded their arrival at the underground railroad station. Three dim, struggling lights hummed, barely illuminating the cavernous expanse.
Rona gently lowered Cassia to the grimy ground before collapsing himself with a heavy thud. Lorian and Izari, limping badly, hurried to his side. Rona lay wheezing, his face a bloodless, alarming pale. He struggled to lift his good hand towards them, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly, no words escaping. The excessive blood loss from his severed arm had finally taken its toll. Lorian immediately knelt, tearing strips from his own shirt. With a practiced urgency, he fashioned a fresh, makeshift bandage for the mutilated limb, then used the remaining cloth to create a sling.
Just as he finished, a voice, chilling and omnipresent, cut through the quiet. "Running, rebel? You're always running." The Seer's jeering tone seemed to emanate from the very air around them, utterly disembodied. "Let's see how long you can."
A raspy breathing grew closer, accompanied by the horrible sound of scratching and clawing on metal. Izari looked towards the mangled train cars stretching into the gloom. Dozens of pale hands emerged from them, followed by mutated figures. Aberrations. They lumbered towards the group, their weight shattering glass shards beneath their dragging feet, letting out a cacophony of raspy moans.
"I should thank you!" The Seer's voice reverberated, a twisted compliment. "For giving me the opportunity to see her in all her glory."
"Too bad she's dead," Izari retorted, a desperate gambit to shatter the Seer's composure, his voice surprisingly firm despite his fear.
"Oh no, child. The Womb Mind is eternal. She will come back. I will make sure of it."
Izari spun, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice, his eyes darting frantically into the shadows.
"Concentrate!" Lorian yelled, already dragging Rona and Cassia towards a barely visible exit, his raw strength fueled by sheer desperation. Izari obliged, kicking the nearest aberrant back into the lumbering, moaning crowd. He backed away slowly, ensuring none of the monstrosities gained ground on them.
"I swear I'm going to kill you before you try this shit again!" Lorian snarled into the oppressive darkness surrounding them, his voice hoarse with fury.
"Are you sure about that?" The Seer questioned, its tone dripping with amusement.
"You're a dead man, do you hear me? You're dead!" Lorian continued to shout, his rage a futile shield against the rising terror.
The Seer's laugh filled the expanse, a sound that crawled under Izari's skin. He felt a phantom chill on his shoulder and immediately lashed out, finding nothing but cold air. His fear intensified, a cold vice around his chest, and they weren't making any progress.
"Just let us leave!" he yelled, his voice cracking, making Lorian glance back, puzzled by the sudden plea.
"That's up to you," the Seer jeered, its voice receding slightly, as if it were a cat playing with mice.
"To hell with this," Izari muttered under his breath, turning his back on the advancing hordes. He dashed towards Lorian, then, with a herculean effort, helped Rona onto his shoulders. Izari's small stature didn't allow him to stand fully, but it was enough. "Can you run?" he asked the barely conscious man, who mumbled something inaudible. Without waiting for a clear answer, Izari began to drag the weakened Rona through a narrow pipeline tunnel, leaving a puzzled Lorian to cradle Cassia and scramble to keep pace.
"Get us out to the bridge before you pass out!" Izari panted, his voice raw, as he half-dragged, half-carried Rona.
"Hey, be careful with him!" Lorian pleaded from behind him, but Izari wasn't listening, his sole focus on escape. They could still hear the Seer's voice behind them, a low, maddening mumble, underscored by the stumbling and groaning of the monstrosities relentlessly tailing them.
After several minutes, the tunnel opened onto a collapsed platform beside a vast, murky reservoir. Izari slowed his pace, eyes scanning frantically for a way out. Rona, mustering a flicker of awareness, pointed a trembling finger at a raised ledge at the far end of the platform. Without wasting a second, Izari helped Rona scramble onto the ledge, then assisted Lorian. Together, they lifted Cassia up, and finally, Izari leapt onto the narrow surface himself, brushing against the grasping hands of the closest aberrations. "I don't think they can climb up here," he gasped, carefully balancing on the precarious ledge, looking down at the swarming mass below. The creatures were gathering, a writhing tide against the wall leading up to them, some still falling from the tunnel above onto the platform, then limping towards their prey. The sheer weight of the gathering horde caused some to lose their footing, tumbling into the dark waters below, where they flailed in an attempt to stay afloat, their raspy moans turning into gurgling cries.
In that moment, a massive silhouette rose from the depths, an impossible shape against the gloom. With a familiar symphony of grinding metal and a distorted, electronic voice, it declared, "Initiating containment protocol." The colossal machine slammed down, crushing the drowning aberrations beneath its immense bulk. This seemed to draw the attention of those still on the platform, and they began to stagger towards the water, drawn by the new disturbance.
With Rona leading the way, they carefully eased their way along the narrow ledge for several meters until Rona pointed a trembling hand towards a small metal bridge stretching across the wide reservoir. "Quick, while it's preoccupied," he muttered weakly. Lorian gently handed the still semiconscious Cassia to him. Rona embraced her tightly, then, with a surge of adrenaline, hauled himself onto the bridge. Izari and Lorian followed suit, their movements cautious yet swift.
"Hopefully, this goes better than the last time," Izari offered Lorian a thin, weary smile as he gripped the cold railing for support, the abyss stretching below them.
Lorian looked back, his face grim. "Please don't jinx this."
Izari merely shrugged, the brief moment of levity swallowed by the overwhelming tension.
Izari merely shrugged.
Suddenly, the mechanical whirling of the Drudge grew closer, vibrating through the very metal beneath their feet. Both men spun around, their hearts seizing as they saw the monstrosity's colossal mechanical arm descending upon the bridge. It moved with the slow, deliberate malice of a predator.
"Get back!" Izari roared, shoving Lorian with all his might towards Rona and Cassia. The bridge groaned – a tortured shriek of metal tearing apart – twisting and falling in a shower of sparks and rusted debris, plunging into the dark reservoir below.
Lorian watched in horror, his breath catching in his throat, as Izari struggled, clinging precariously to the collapsing meshed floor. His knuckles were white, his body swaying over the churning water.
"Leave now!" Izari bellowed, his voice strained as he tried to haul himself up onto the other, still-stable half of the bridge.
Lorian's hesitation was fatal. The Drudge, its red optical sensors swivelling, focused its attention on the exposed group. It swung, its massive arm a blur of steel and hydraulics, sweeping off a large section of the guardrail where Lorian had just stood. Lorian instinctively dived out of its reach, scrambling backward.
He turned to Rona, his face etched with grim resolve. "Get out of here, both of you. I'll be right back." Without waiting for a reply, he sprinted towards the collapsing section of the structure, ignoring the metallic groans and splintering sounds.
"Jump!" Lorian yelled, his voice raw as he lunged towards the edge of the stable bridge half. Izari, now standing precariously on the very last sliver of the crumbling platform, looked back at the Drudge. The monstrosity was raising its arms, its intention brutally clear: to squash him right there and then.
Izari gave Lorian a slight, acknowledging nod. Then, with a desperate surge of adrenaline, he ran towards the other half of the bridge, launching himself across the chasm. It was a forty-foot leap that seemed impossible, but he landed with a sickening crash on the unstable, meshed floor. The metal groaned, bent, and snapped under his weight, but Lorian, sliding forward on instinct, caught him, hauling him up onto the relative safety of the main structure just as the Drudge slammed its fist down.
The impact sent the last vestiges of the bridge into the water, a massive splash that echoed through the sector. The Drudge then turned its attention to the section they were on, its gears grinding ominously.
Rona stood at the entrance to a narrow maintenance shaft, his face a mask of desperation, urging them on. "Come on! Now!" The bridge crumbled and fell behind them in a constant roar of tearing metal. They scrambled to the small, grimy platform underneath the shaft entry point just as the Drudge's massive arms destroyed the last stable support of the bridge, sending it crashing below.
Rona slammed his fist against the stubborn exit panel. "Come on, you piece of scrap, open!"
With a weak flicker, the panel's light blinked, and the shaft creaked open, just enough for them to squeeze through. Rona was the first, pulling Cassia through with the combined help of the two men. Izari then squeezed through, followed closely by Lorian, who scrambled in just as the Drudge's metallic fist slammed against the outer wall, shaking the entire structure.
They began a gruelling ascent up the deep, narrow warrens, their labored breathing punctuated by the echoing thuds and metallic screams of the massive machinery continuing its destructive rampage below them.
After an exhausting climb through the massive underground tunnel, a labyrinth lined with precarious scaffolds and massive, greasy pipelines, they finally reached the top. Hands raw and muscles screaming, they clambered up the last ladder, emerging into the desolate remains of the clinic back in the forgotten sector.
They all collapsed onto the ash-filled floor, gasping for air. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the air was still, silent save for their ragged breaths.
Lorian was the first to stir, pushing himself up on shaking arms. He looked at Izari, his voice a breathless whisper. "You're bleeding."
Izari wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth. The raw exhaustion on his face was quickly replaced by a stern, familiar resolve. "I'll live."
Rona, who had been supporting Cassia, stumbled back against the ruined entrance, his eyes darkening. A shudder went through him, and his grip on Cassia faltered. He tried to speak, tried to push himself upright, but his strength abandoned him. His eyes rolled, and he began to lose consciousness, sliding to the ground.
A heavy silence descended, broken only by a low groan from Rona.
"We need to get help, quick!" Lorian's voice was sharp with renewed urgency. He moved instantly, carefully picking up Rona and cradling him. Izari, seeing Cassia's pale face and limp posture, followed suit, lifting her as gently as he could.
Lorian looked at Izari, his desperation plain. "Do you have a place in mind?"
"Follow me!" Lorian ordered, his gaze falling, for a brief, agonizing moment, upon the charred remains of someone unmistakably familiar near the clinic's entrance. A single tear tracked a path down his ash-smudged cheek, but there was no time for grief. He rushed out of the burnt clinic, Izari tailing him, carrying Cassia through the narrow, crowded streets of the underground sector
, a new, desperate race for survival beginning.