As the cart seemingly zoomed through the tunnels, the vibrant breeze allowed the resting divers to relax. The clanking of metal echoed throughout the stretch of dark, with torches placed on each corner which provided the only light source for the group.
Being on the track for nearly six hours, their group switched between the jobs of moving the cart every hour in a clockwise motion.
“Man…!” Jay flopped on his newly earned seat, and wiped the sweat off his brow after a full rotation of lever pulling. “How does someone keep doing that for an hour without getting tired?!”
With Jay’s rotation having finished, it was Rye’s turn to step up. Anxiety swelled within Rye’s mind as he would repeatedly glance his head backwards to check the path ahead. A sore pain swelled within his neck, but it was necessary in looking out for safety.
“If you don’t have what it takes then why come at all?” A diver teased Jay.
“Screw you prick! I may not have the same experiences as you do, but just you wait. I’ll prove myself to be better!”
The diver sneered, laughing at Jay. “Sure, if you don’t die before feeling the touch of a woman!”
The other divers joined in laughter, while Jay could only hide his brighten-red face from embarrassment. Rye ignored the entire interaction, making sure there was nothing wrong with the path awaiting them.
“R-Rye? C’mon man, tell ‘em it’ll take time for me to mature!”
Rye quickly glanced at the boy, then immediately back to the road.
“It’s your duty to stand up for yourself. Don’t rely on me to handle something.” He said matter-of-factly. “And besides, there are more dangerous problems ahead of us than our image.”
Jay twitched from his response, and stood holding the short railing. “They’re being assholes! Of course I’m not gonna take their shit!”
“Poor dropout, crying to the eldest for help! Should 'a stuck to your school when you had the chance.”
Rye glanced at Jay again, locking eyes with a desperate boy.
“If that affects you, then you have no purpose being here.” Rye looked away, focusing back on the tracks ahead. “You probably thought you needed strength and a good aim for this job. ‘Cause if so, you’re already dead. If you lack the mind, your thoughts will be the one to kill you.”
Jay watched the old man as he left him to be insulted. He felt a growing anger fester inside him as he bit his lip to control it.
“Y-You bitch…”
The divers stopped laughing, and watched Jay with observing eyes. His voice rose as it grew spiteful.
“You’re the oldest here, aren’t you? You should be watching my back, looking out for me, and keeping me in check every step of the way! So then why are you ignoring this!?”
The other divers narrowed their gazes, slowly lowering their hands to grip a safety measure while the one on the opposite end of Rye frantically looked around as he kept on doing his job.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?! Huh master diver?!”
Jay leaned closer to Rye, eagerly waiting for some kind of reaction.
But Rye’s focus was still on the tracks ahead of him. Though, his face did change drastically with a more wide-eyed look.
“Ha! I guess that ticks you off—”
“—Shit!” Rye interrupted, and stopped working the lever. He shoved his way past Jay, grabbing him by his collar.
Before Jay could react to what was happening, he was in the air watching the cart zoom without him. His hand reached out, even if it was too late to reach for the cart, until the impact of his landing.
“Hmpf…?!” Jay flew backwards, having not a single clue in what was happening. The divers on board all stood and shouted as they furthered in distance.
A sharp pain enveloped Jay’s back as he landed against rock, and after rolling over a few times, he felt pain tremor throughout his body.
Jay’s vision began to blur as he tried picking himself up. He gazed at the speeding cart, but felt his heart drop once it went up in a fiery explosion.
The explosion was blinding. Enough so Jay couldn’t help but lower his head to avoid any light from reaching his eyes, clutching his head in agony.
“So...bright…”
The blast echoed throughout the caves, causing nothing but a screeching burden in his mind.
Throughout his life, there were constant threats a diver should learn. Even if there were horrific creatures and the Mist above, humans were still the dominant threat.
A glint in the distance was enough for Rye to gather what was ahead. After the fall, Rye had been able to catch his fall with a roll. His right sleeve tore as a rock pricked his arm. He had been able to grab Jay, but his grip lost strength after the fall, and he watched him roll further than him. Rye grit his teeth as pain enveloped his body.
But there wasn’t a moment to lose. Rye readied himself and looked back at the fallen cart. From what he saw, most of the other divers had jumped out in time to avoid the fire. All but one, which had been the counterpart of Rye’s lever job, was In the explosion. The cart flipped entirely, landing on the rails which crushed the poor guy in half.
“H-hey...why won’t the flash go away?” Jay asked, confused, as he opened his eyes but still saw nothing.
“Give it a minute.”
“B-but…”
“Give it a minute.” Rye reassured him.
Jay rubbed his eyes, and sure enough, his vision slowly began to fade back. Bright flames danced above a metal box, and a burnt crisp of a corpse lay beneath.
“I-I-Is he…?”
“He’s dead, but that’s not important right now. If bandits are attacking transport carts, then without a doubt, their next move—”
But Jay hardly needed to hear what Rye said next. Instead, he witnessed it.
From afar, a small red ball bounced irregularly from wall to wall with great speed, until it came to a sudden halt in mid-air. In the next instant, the ball imploded with strands of red wire in all directions, rapidly spreading by bouncing from wall to wall just as the ball did.
They kept bouncing closer and closer, adding outlines of luminous red within the dark tunnels.
“Get down!” Rye urged the lost Jay, who mindlessly watched the attaching strings. He couldn’t take his eyes off the sight, causing Rye to pull him into a small crevice, and slamming his head against the floor.
“Ow.” Jay yelped. “What’s going on?! What is that…”
His voice trailed off in horror as he lifted his dirty face up. He grew sick of being thrown around on the ground, but the crimson strings drenched with flowing red swept his thoughts away. There had to be no less than a thousand separate strings, each with a mesmerizing flow of red. And spreading out were the bits and parts of the other divers. Some of the bodies were still loosely attached to each other, but in a way so contorted that it was impossible to identify who they previously were. Jay could see shredded flesh mixed among not only the strings, but the floor and walls.
“Holy fuck…” Jay muttered as he fell to the side. His stomach churned to the point of vomiting towards the horrific event.
“We have to go, NOW!” Rye shouted knowing the crevice they took cover in seemed to go deeper, which meant it had a chance to be far enough for them to keep a safe enough distance.
Jay felt Rye nudging him to hurry, but he wouldn’t budge. The churning in his stomach felt as if his guts were spinning uncontrollably.
“Dammit boy, hurry!”
Rye grew impatient knowing any second now the tunnel would be engulfed in fire. Instead, he grabbed Jay by the collar and shoved him inside the crevice.
Jay rolled over in what felt like more agony, still unable to control the rumbling in his stomach, and rested with his back on the ground. His strength felt sapped as he blankly stared at the illuminated red ceiling.
“I feel sick.” he managed to say with a hoarse tone.
“Tough it up for a little longer kid. That’s only the beginning for this encounter.” Rye sighed, wondering if there were any more traps planned for the divers.
“I don’t think I can go for much longer.”
Rye grabbed Jay by the collar once more, and began dragging him for an escape. He expected some resistance from the kid, but instead, Jay felt lifeless.
“T-they died. They’re dead...right?”
“I doubt they’d just walk that off.” Rye grunted, lowering himself to adjust with the shrinking tunnel. “What a way to go too. The spirals, I mean.”
“Spirals?” Jay asked. That’s some kind of joke. It has to be. He mocked.
“At least, it’s what I call it. Apparently, some bandit found a whole stash of the weapon in an ancient base in the above, and started quite the business selling the damned things.”
Disgust overcame Jay by the use of such a horrid weapon, and couldn’t help but wonder how many other divers were killed in such a horrific way.
“Don’t get me wrong, it takes a lifetime and a half to find that kind of money just for one, but bandits who scrounge up enough funds to buy one can raid entire caravans with little to no trouble.”
Jay grew furious. Balling up his fist and hitting the ground in anger, he ignored the pain that came with it.
“So you mean to tell me they’ve killed innocent people with that thing?!”
“Best not to think of it. I know the thought is unbearable, but be happy you grew up where you did, ‘cause President Kelli puts forth quite the precautions in making sure those weapons are destroyed.”
“We were safe, sure, but what of the other cities out there?”
Rye let go of his collar causing Jay to fall on the rocky ground. He turned his body, and looked directly into his lifeless eyes.
“Just be happy you were born where you were, and merely thank the hard working people protecting you from the horrible shit some bandits can inflict. ‘Cause not every place is as protected and happy as our city.”
If the people themselves want change, at least they can properly fight for it without being shot on the spot. Though, I doubt he’d understand something like that at his mental age.
“Now let’s hurry before the bandits set off the ignition.”
And without another word, Rye dragged the boy until stumbling upon an actual ventilation with metal covering, to which he forcefully shoved a thin screwdriver into its cracks. He pulled out a hammer from his backpack and began bashing it with enough strength to unlatch it.
“The moment this vent comes off, we crawl.”
“C-crawl? Where does this even lead to?!”
“If there are vents here, this would mean we’re near some sort of base!”
Giving himself a boost of motivation, Rye was able to tear the vent off, revealing a rusty narrow passageway. He checked to see if there were any harmful materials or traps inside, then checked back on the quivering boy.
“Wanna go first?”
Jay looked at the dark passageway, and slightly shook his head.
“Fine by me.” Rye shrugged, fitting himself in the small space to escape.
Glancing back at the main tunnel, threads of crimson slowly began to glow. A feeling curled in Jay’s gut, telling him to hurry. Hardly wasting any time, he crawled behind Rye on all fours, and found the encasing space to be dreadful.
And not a moment later, he felt the world behind him instantly engulfed within a blaze only man could light.
***
For whatever reason, the people were a little more active than usual. There had been much more talking and yelling, along with a scary bang which shook her little wooden home. Her curiosity tingled knowing something rare was happening outside. Luckily, she had a peeping hole to watch the shadows running across and flashing light that reached to the rear of her box. And yet, she watched as if it were her only reason to open her eyes at all.
Apart from shadows, her only view was a dim wall.
“Alright everyone: We got ourselves a group of divers! Once this baby does all the work, we’ll scavenge the bodies and get our days worth of pay!”
The girl heard an unusual push of energy behind the bossy one of the group, as well as picking up another unusual term “Divers”.
Is this what ‘excitement’ would feel like? Something ‘fun’ is happening right now I bet.
“Everyone, we’re about to ignite! Get behind a rock and cover your head ‘less you wanna end up like a fookin’ over cooked diver! And I swear, someone better make sure Traz is completely safe from this. It’ll be everyone’s asses if she even gets slightly burned.”
Her ears perked at hearing that name. She couldn’t help but feel a bit excited with what was happening, even if she knew nothing about what was happening.
I wonder what they want with me, or what a fook is?
Her home slowly began to move away from the shouting and noises. She wanted to see more of what was going on, but she only moved further away from it all.
I remember this part... She thought, having gone through this procedure since she could remember. They move me away from all the fun, and they make my home go Click!
“This should be good enough.” she heard one of them mutter.
But something was off. Instead of hearing the familiar clink, she heard the people hurry away. She gently pressed her knuckles upon the old wood, hoping she could get the people to come back. But instead of a noise, it moved.
Hmm?! She jumped back. The wood made a weird movement, scaring the girl. That…never happens!
As she continued playing with the loose board of wood, she heard the shouts of all the nearby people, along with very loud and familiar thumps!
I wonder what they’re doing. I don’t hear any happy sounds, so it can’t be a party.
As she pondered the workings of the people, an incredibly bright light enveloped the outside of her box, along with a soaring echo that ruptured and shook everything around her.
Does that have a name too? She thought, pressing her head against splintered wood with a curious expression easily forming under a grin.
“There we go! Alright people, let’s go collect our earnings!”
“Ma’am. There’s trouble in our barracks! A couple of rats got loose!”
Oh no, that doesn’t sound very good.
“Shit. How the hell does a person find their way out of THAT?! Alright, bring a couple guys with you and deal with it. C’mon people, let’s get this without losing anyone! Anyone worth a damn, at least.”
The light died down, as did the amount of movement. The girl slumped down in her corner in her world, huddling herself by tightly wrapping her arms around her knees.
The people sure say shit a lot.
***
After strenuously crawling through a cold metallic tunnel that barely gave them enough free space to move around in, Rye had found the exit. He tried picking at the screws to quietly make their exit, but had no luck. So instead…
“H-hey, what are you…?!” Jay shrieked.
…he repeatedly struck the vent with a great deal of force, until it eventually broke loose, flying off somewhere in the room.
“Someone’s gonna check out the noise, so let’s try to take them out quietly.” Rye looked back at Jay for confirmation.
Jay hesitated, before giving a timid nod. He waited for Rye to finish climbing out the vent, and once out, Jay could see the narrow path they had vigorously crawled through had led them to a dim green room with high cabinets all around. Crawling forward, he came across even more cabinets surrounding a chair soaked in red.
Laying atop the edge, Jay scanned the area to see if there was any kind of footing he could get hold of. But before he could find anything, the two heard shouting from outside their room.
“Hurry and get down, I hear their footsteps coming.” Rye calmly insisted, but still came across impatient.
“S-sure thing just let me find something to step on, then I coul—”
Thunk!
Before getting a chance at finishing his words, Jay face planted against the metal floor.
“Hey! The hell is going on in there…”
Jay rubbed his cheek as he lifted himself up. In the middle of the room with an up close view, he could now see it was some kind of chair long enough for a single person to lay down on with an immense smell of rust. Using the chair as leverage for recovering himself, he slowly lifted himself back up.
“Hmph…!”
…before, falling face first on the antiquated seat from exhaustion. In anguish, he silently muttered for everything in the world to stop. Even a mere second of bliss would be counted as a blessing.
“Hello? Is someone in there?” A male voice called out as he knocked a couple times.
Jay lifted his head with a sour expression, wanting to kill the guy for interrupting his precious off-time.
“Hello?!” The shouting intensified, and knocking turned to banging. “If you’re getting it on just say so! Just answer and I’ll just leave you alone!”
Jay glanced at Rye for an answer. But Rye was deep in thought as he held his hand steady near his holster.
“Ok, screw it, we’re comin’ in!” The man declared, pounding the door with what sounded like three people’s worth. After a few moments of noise, all noise ceased. It grew as quiet as the tunnels.
Until, the doors suddenly burst open.
“Hah! Who the hell’s in here causing such a lou—”
—Interrupting the man’s sudden sentence were ear piercing echoes followed with bright flashes of light.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Goddamnit.” Rye muttered to himself, hurrying through the door with a machine pistol in hand.
“What…?” Jay stared blankly at the scene, trying to take everything that had unfolded. But before he could really comprehend the sounds or movements, his sight came down upon two bodies, both lying flat dead on the floor. Blood had been sprawled across the floor and walls, as if a child had mindlessly thrown red paint around the room.
Damnit. Rye paced his mind, taking a slight moment to get his mind back on track. A bit disappointing I couldn’t kill all with a single mag. Suffering from his consequence, he bit his tongue while entering pursuit for the final bandit lucky enough to escape Rye's mag capacity.
He ran, and shot, through many different types of rooms and halls, such as a dining hall, training room, pleasure room, and even a resting area. From what he understood so far, he was in some kind of abandoned transport outpost now occupied by bandits. They were lucky enough to land in a tortoure room for their starting area, which had its discretion and secrecy from the rest of the building.
“P-please, just let me go! I don’t want to die! Not here!” The last of the three bandits pleaded. She was a woman, younger than the usual bandit he’d come across.
“Sure, I’ll consider it.”
“Y-you will? Really?” A faint glint of hope shone in her eyes as she turned her head around. But, it was quickly crushed by a bullet piercing clean through her right ear.
Shit, again?
The young girl recoiled at the impact, crying out as she fell. Her writhing became more sporadic by the second, until picking herself up and making a dash for the door.
“You have less than a second to reflect on your life.” Rye coolly muttered, putting the girl's head dead-center in his iron sights. “Sorry.”
“Not if I can warn Miss Tal—”
Rye pulled the trigger without mercy, witnessing the girl flop to the ground without further resistance. He made sure not to miss this time, and damn well not let her return to their headquarters with information. Though, doesn’t mean nobody heard nothin’. He thought as he swapped magazines for his machine pistol.
As he finished cocking the gun, a random thought passed Rye’s mind. I wonder how that boy is holding up?
Smirking to himself, Rye couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t everyday a newbie like Jay was forced to run head first in a bandit camp, though it sure wasn’t too rare either. The fact that the kid was still alive during this stage is what amazed him the most.
Readying himself for more gunfights, a blaring radio transmission roared from the dead woman’s side. “Anyone else hear gunfire in our storage units, or am I going crazy?! Report it to the Ma’am while I check things out.”
That’s a pain. Hope Jay can manage his life while I’m away.
Rye dug around his inner coat pockets, bringing out a few make-shift grenades and incendiaries. He inspected them to see if their condition was still usable before rushing out. “Hope he can handle charred corpses, ‘cause the smell’s a bitch.”
Jay hovered over a trash bin, as he slowly let out his stomach bit by bit. He made it a painstaking ode to not look at the corpse’s surrounding him, but curiosity kept edging him just for one peek. That’s why, whenever he indulged in one glance, everything within came pouring out.
Other than his brother, who he personally buried, he had never seen a dead body before today. But to see a group of people die instantly before his eyes as well as the mangled remains of his former crew, well, that was harder and much more mentally tainting than he previously anticipated.
“Mama...you’ll hate me for saying this, but I think you were right. I’m sorry I never gave education a second chance before coming out here…” Jay bit his lip, wishing he never left his mother and was still by her side. His body felt defeated, and he cried out: You were right! You were right…!
Clutching the hem of his uniform, he felt another surge come from his gut, and even more spewed out. If he kept this up, he figured there would be nothing left in his stomach before long.
“Man up Jay. You’re not dead, so quit acting like you already are!” Jay pinched his arm as it had been his way of focusing back then. For now, he knew that things weren’t the worst. At least he was alive, breathing and all. “Mom’ll definitely smack me dead once I show myself back home, though, maybe Kati would have my back. Sweet girl always did have a tweet tooth for me.”
Memories of his family flooded his mind, with some being of his mom always finding something to yell at him for. And his sister, Kati, who always had his back whenever their mom suspected him of anything.
“I won’t die. Not here. So that’s why…” Wiping his sleeve across his dirty face, Jay grew determined to make it back home, no matter the cost. “I’ll kill my way back to my family.”
Jay reached over to the pistol he had put down to vomit, and made a reassurance check with the ammo, before swiftly moving out of the room and doing machine-like sweeps to clear each room.
From beyond his area, he could hear a thunderous swarm of gunshots in the distance. “Rye?! You better not be dying...!”
Sucking up the tiny bit of dwelling anxiety he had, he made it his goal to rendezvous with Rye and clear the way of bandits to get back home.
“S-shit, he’s throwing another! By me!” A hopeless bandit exasperated, attempting to fruitlessly run from the inevitable burning hell that awaited him. “Fuck!” His screams echoed throughout the tunnels as the instantaneous burst of flames engulfed his life.
Another one down.
Rye leaned behind an overturned transport cart for cover in an open area that originally was designed as a stopping point for carts once they enter or leave. If the divers were never ambushed and it wasn’t populated, they could have discovered this checkpoint and rested for a bit. If only.
He reached in his coat, feeling three incendiary bombs and four grenades. Rye was never the type to joyfully waste the bombs he made, but with such a large area in an enclosed space, this was perfect for the job. The tunnels really were his home.
I might be able to toss one where the main leader is, if I could just see where exactly they’re hiding…
Cautiously inching his field of view upward, Rye made sure his movements weren’t too fast. But he was only able to get a view of the battlefield for a second before a bullet whizzed by.
He instinctively dropped to the ground, and as he did, a barrage of bullets pounded the transport cart.
Damn. Hard to get a sight of anyone when they attack from all over.
Rye clicked his tongue in annoyance, shoving his fist deep in his coat. “Fine, play like desperate rats...” A smile encroached on Rye as he tossed a small cylinder canister overhead while making a daring sprint towards a pile of broken down carts and debris with an SMG in hand.
From the canister, a lucrative blue mist sprayed out with extreme force, causing the canister to rapidly spin.
There were cries of terror deep inside the unknown gas, to which Rye chuckled. He found a solid place of cover behind metal garbage, snickering to himself. “Idiots, the thing’s harmless in its current state. But the moment you add a powerful force, such as a bullet…” Anchoring down in a well protected mix of carts, Rye aimed his gun over his cover, and shot a single bullet.
Seconds later, the tunnels shook as heat rapidly spread throughout. It was nowhere near the size of the spiral’s radius, but still, it was enough to take out a good bit of bandits. “…it adds up to what I imagine as a painful way to burn.”
“T-thomas? Renny? Sh-shit, you bastard! WHY the fuck kill them?! The only ones who meant anything to me!” A lone bandit furiously called out, definitely towards Rye.
Oh, one survived. Measly walking out of cover like nothing had attacked him in the first place, Rye paced himself to the area of flames. The metal port and transport carts displayed heavy charred marks, along with a uniquely burning smell—human flesh.
“You just watch Diver! Watch and cry! Once the Miss sends the rest of us, she’ll fucking kill you!”
As the bandit continued tossing threats at Rye, his ears perked as the bandit's location became more transparent with each passing insult. He followed the sound of threats, and found a young man, or maybe even teen, propped up against a broken pillar. His legs were completely fried, as was his left arm. Short black hair drifted from a draft of wind, showing that the right left half of his face had also been badly burned.
The boy expressed an emotion Rye had grown used to seeing over the long years of his life: Deep hatred. His hateful grit, his bloodshot eyes; everything clearly represented a deep loathing for him.
“DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THOSE TWO MEANT TO ME?! NOT MUCH GOOD HAPPENS DOWN HERE, BUT THOSE TWO...THEY WERE DIFFERENT!! THEY MADE LIFE ACTUALLY BEARBLE FOR ME DOWN HERE!
Rye coolly gazed at the boy who practically seethed hatred. He opened his mouth and spoke with a calm tone.
“How much exactly did they mean to you?”
“Everything… Goddamn everything.”
The boy slumped on the pillar, and every bit of resistance collapsed inside of him. He was still alive, but his spirit had died.
Rye raised his pistol, adjusting his aim directly at the temple. “Then I hope you can find them once you leave your body. And please, forgive me for ruining the relationship the three of you had.”
With no further responses, Rye pulled the trigger. A single bullet left it’s chamber, seemingly entering the head with ease. Rye dropped his arm, and wished the boy goodluck.
“If there even is a life after this.”
***
“What do you mean they’re all dead?!” A woman furiously shouted at those around her. “You people are nothing more than worthless asses! If you can’t kill a couple of divers, then use the kids!”
“Ma’am!”
“Use ‘em how you want, just make sure you use ‘em and the divers die!”
“M-ma’am!”
Each one shouted in unison, before running off to their orders.
“Now, I should see if Traz is safe…”
Shit...this too many bandits to be holding up in one rest stop. And way too many for their conventional party limit before they start killing each other for game.
Taking cover behind some waste bins to protect his life, Rye ruffled his mind as to why there were so many damn bandits. A typical bandit group would have been too stupid and selfish to begin to function like these guys were.
“So in other words, some bastard has to have these guys by the balls.” Rye bit his lip as he felt the vibration of metal as bullets pound the heap of trash.
He needed a way out. Some sort of simple clearing would be nice, but knowing how life usually played out, he was stuck to his wits and his guns. And that meant using both to the fullest extent, until he was the last standing.
For now, he scanned his area in hopes of finding any kind of escape. So far only one entrance leading back into the rest stop to the far left was his only possible way of leaving while also staying alive, and that was risky enough. The right had more carts and trash that could be used as cover, but Rye wanted to recuperate inside and have an edge at ambushing them.
So he decided to head right. Bandits were currently opening fire at him, but if he were to wait for their pivotal downtime in reloading, he could throw a bomb and make a shot at making it inside before being shredded to bits.
Calm, Rye. Calm. You get nothing done with a misty head. Calm. Steadily breathing, Rye readied himself. He kneeled down in a sprint position, with a machine pistol in one hand, a grenade in the other, and his gaze locked at the door.
Three...calm, two...calm, one...cal—
The moment the bullets ceased from firing, Rye sprang his body upwards, but merely took one step out of cover before watching the door he kept his eyes on burst open. His mind was sent ablaze, as a young, dark-skinned boy rushed out with a standard Assault rifle made by their city.
“Kid?! What the hell… Get to cover!” Rye shouted, losing his calm demeanor as he realized his exposure. He reflectively lifted his pistol at a bandit on the verge of shooting at him, and fired. The bullet pierced through his target's throat, causing him to stumble backwards onto the ground.
Rye was able to leap back into cover without any harm to him. But he was more worried about the boy.
The gunfire stopped, probably confused about the sudden pop-up of Jay. “Hey—what the hell are you doing? The bastards behind that pile of shit!” A female bandit yelled at him. “Shoot the asshole before he shoots ya!”
Asshole…? Do those idiots not recognize the diver uniform…? We could use that to our advantage and get a sneak attack. Good thinking kid!
Mentally praising Jay, Rye tried signaling the kid to keep up the act. But to his dismay, the kid was facing towards the bandits. His expression bore that of a deep bloodlust, and took a step forward. Then another.
—Then, Jay proceeded to unload his magazine into the unwary bandits. Rye peeked his head above the trash to get a better view, counting at least a good few corpses sprawled around the tracks. It looked as if he shot everybody and thing in his way…
“Shit, Jay! Stop blindly firing, there’s still a couple hiding behind the dead bodies!”
Rye tried reaching through to Jay, but it seemed his mind was fixated on holding the trigger. So, taking matters in his own hands, Rye dashed off in an opposite direction of the mad trigger-happy boy and behind the cover of carts and trash to the right, sprinting alongside the rocky walls of the tunnels. He took aim, and fired at the three hiding bandits that were about to fire towards Jay. He hit each of them with accurate precision, and they collapsed without ever moving again.
Clink Clink Clink!
Metallic clicks came from Jay’s rifle, causing a soft echo throughout the cave. The sound was enough for Jay to regain his right state of mind, bringing him back to reality.
“W-where...am I?” Jay seemed puzzled as he glanced at his surroundings.
“Whew, well done kid. For a moment, I was sure your mind was lost.”
Rye chuckled, taking his gaze from Jay to the pile of corpses that lay before them. Jay followed his line of sight, only to grip his stomach and grit his teeth in horror.
“R-Rye? Did I kill everyone here…?”
“It was you, more or less. Even saved my ass too.” Rye let out a deep sigh, while congratulating him with a celebratory clap.
Jay seemed as if he still wasn’t quite up to everything, but it didn’t matter for now. At least they still had their lives in the end, and they could keep living for just a little bit longer…
“Excuse me Sir?”
A younger, more frail voice with a tone of pure fear came from a hidden away crack within the walls. But to Jay’s surprise, it was an actual kid who seemed much younger than himself, probably around twelve. He wore a brown drab robe completely covered in filth from head to toe with small cuts and tears made in clear parallel patterns around his arms and legs. His brown frizzy hair was unevenly cut, where in some places it looked as if no blade ever went near, and in others, it was shaved clean off.
Wha—Turning to see the mysterious child, a chill ran down Rye’s spine. How did a child come here? And how did I miss him?
“Woah there, w-what are you doing in a place like this?” Jay was confused at first, but gave the child an awry smile, and began slowly approaching him.
“Jay I wouldn’t…” Rye had a bad feeling swarming his gut, keeping his hand in a quick-draw position in case something were to happen.
The child didn’t make any movements while Jay slowly inched closer. He merely kept his head down, gazing at the ground. “...I need you…”
“Huh? If you need something, then I’ll see if I can get it for you! You name it!”
Jay made his best attempt in playing the hero. He could tell the kid was scared, and knew he had to do everything in his power to help him out.
“Really…? If you mean it, then I need you…” The boy grumbled his words, and shivered his fragile arms under his mantle. “...to die for the master.”
Before getting a chance to react, the child had drawn a makeshift mini pistol. Jay felt a string of hopeless feelings cut at him, just now grasping that the next instant was his last. And to a child at that.
A single loud bang rang in the tunnels. Jay felt a strong force whiz by him, but not hit him. A moment later, something had slumped against the rocks not an arm's length ahead of him.
“W-what?” Jay opened his eyes, feeling relieved that he wasn’t shot. “I’m alive! That kid nearly had the jump on me! That kid…”
Looking to where the child previously was, he saw him lying in a pool of his own blood. His brown cape now soaking to a deep crimson, and the light in his blue iris had faded away from his life.
Jay tumbled backwards in fear, collapsing on a rail. “Fu-f-f-fuck! What the fuck?! How the hell...Rye, did you…?” Jay’s emotions were everywhere as he glanced behind him.
Rye stood with his usual unfazed expression, but this time, with his custom machine pistol in hand. A small puff of smoke eased its way out from the barrel, which he waved it away, and returned the weapon to its holster.
“You shot him? You SHOT him?! A fuckin’ kid! How could you…”
“And let him turn you into shredded human garbage? I saved you.” Rye calmly replied.
“I understand that, but did you have to do it that way?!” Jay picked himself up to rush over to the dead child and dropped next out to the kid. Jay noticed his eyes were still wide open, and still expressing the same fear he held before he died. So out of respect, Jay moved his hand over the boy's face, closing his eyes to grant the child a restful sleep. “Not like this. There had to have been another way.”
“What other way was there? Unless perhaps you would’ve rather I had waited after he killed you to shoot, just so you could have lived never having to see a child murdered?”
“There has to be...another way.” Jay cried, feeling his entire body weaken the longer he looked at the kid.
Rye decided to let the boy express his feelings, though only this once. There wasn’t always room for grieving towards your enemies. Especially not in this life.
“Kenny?”
A timid voice crept from within the walls.
“Master wants to know if you were able to get the...” Coming from out of the small crevice with a dim smile, a young girl stuck her head as she called out the name once more. “Kenny…?”
Her gaze wandered upon Rye. He watched as she panicked and frantically looked around until her sight brought her onto the dead corpse of the boy, with Jay hovering over him. “K-Kenny—!”
The girl had formed an expression of that which Jay had never seen prior. It was that of seething hatred.
“Wait!” Jay shot up, trying to convince the girl not to make any haste decisions. “Please we didn’t mean to cause any harm! He pulled a gun on me, so my friend had to shoot him! I’m begging, please, don’t do anything—!”
A flash wiped the cave of its remaining purity, if there was any left, while blood marked the walls of a haunting crimson.
The girl, who wore identical clothes to the first boy, fell backwards. Different parts of her body twitched in different rhythms, and blood quickly oozed out from her system. She died almost instantly.
Jay clasped his mouth shut with his hands, and rushed over to an area where he couldn’t see the children. Vomit and spiddle poured from his system as his mind went into a blurry daze.
“Y-you bastard! How...could you?!”
“Do you recall that look in her eyes? It resonated with an empty revenge. One that, no matter what kind of pain she would have to endure, she would find those who killed her friend, and she would gladly withstand it all for that single moment of joy in killing us.”
Swapping the magazine out with a swift passion, Rye made a mental note to top off his previous mag. “Quit thinking about morals while away from the city. Here, that doesn’t exist. Only surviving, and keeping the ones you hold highest alive are what keeps people out here going, and those people should be yourself.”
Strands of tears clouded Jay's vision as he lifted himself up. He stiffly wiped them away, finding it hard to even look near the bodies.
“Can we have a burial? F-for them, I mean.” he pointed in their direction, but kept his gaze off to the side.
“We can’t.” Rye flat out rejected. “At least not until we kill the rest of them.”
“What the hell do you mean about the rest of them?!”
With a furious glare, Jay wondered who else could still be here. But as he looked at Rye, he noticed instantly that his attention was nowhere close to being on him, but off to the small ridge in the tunnels, and his hand tightly gripping around his pistol.
“Huh…?” The newbie diver mindlessly followed the professionals line of sight into the ridge. There, he saw not one, or two, or even three children…
—But seven, with each carrying some form of weapon. Though each varied in gender or looks, each shared a dead expression on their faces. One awkwardly held a pistol, another shivered trying to properly aim a heavier rifle. Jay even saw a child with only a shiv.
“H-hey...wait, Rye?! Don’t shoot!”
Rye raised his machine pistol, and took aim at the group. He moved his index finger to flip an “automatic” switch, and firmly relaxed it around the trigger. “Forgive me kid, but this is what you need to survive in this world.”
“Rye?! Please don—!”
Jay yelled with all his lungs might, but the ringing gunfire easily muted over it. He grew sick, feeling an extreme nausea overwhelming him.
He turned away, incapable of seeing such a sight.
Keeping his weapon steady, Rye made sure to not miss a single child so that they could leave this world without feeling much of anything. Be free, children. Please explore whatever awaits us from this underground prison.
Clank.
With his machine pistol running out of bullets, Rye lowered his aim. He took a deep breath, and counted each of the children with haste so he could see if it was the total sum from before.
…there’s seven, now we should see what they were forced to protect…
“Hey! Tell me, what’s your name!”
Rye immediately turned his gaze towards the shouting, and saw Jay kneeling down with his arms over a child. One that must have strayed from the larger group.
“Please!” Jay sniffled, doing his all to keep from bursting into tears. “I want to do something, anything, for your forgiveness! So please!!”
“Jay, get the hell away from him!” Rye shouted, losing all traces of calmness.
“Shut up, child killer! Do you know what kind of monster you are?! A fucking serial child hunter; that’s what you are!!” Jay cried back, tightly wrapping his arms to cover the last child.
“Listen to me Jay! I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in! You need to—”
“—No! Just shut up for one second! You’re no prodigy diver; you’re just a murderer!” Jay practically screamed with everything he had. He turned his attention away from Rye, and back onto the child.
At first glance, he saw no visible injury on the kid as he thought to himself:
Something… If I can save one person down here I might mean something!! And I’m protecting him! I might have actually saved someone!!
Tears started flowing down Jay's cheek as he couldn’t help but smile to himself.
“Excuse me.” the child softly whispered. “About what you said earlier; how you want to help me...” His voice trailed.
“Y-yes! Anything you need, you just ask!”
“Please…” he looked at the pile of bodies with a distant, dead expression. He moved his hand underneath his cloak, and muttered: “Will you die?”
“What…?” Jay’s mouth went agape, releasing his grip on the child.
“Get the hell away before you—!”
But he was too late.
The child pulled what seemed like a small knot, and before Rye, a light instantly enveloped the dim tunnels. He leaped away behind a nearby cart for cover from the explosion.
Waiting for the smoke to clear up, Rye knew right then and there of Jay's grim fate. The child must have been covered in plastic makeshift explosives, and he remotely detonated by simply pulling a single thread.
While waiting, footsteps followed by a cocky laugh filled the entire tunnels. It sounded like an older woman, maybe even somewhere around his age, hollering.
“What a bunch of dumbass people! I lost a shit ton of men, but to hell with ‘em! At least I’m still alive, along with my most prized possession! Hehe...Hahahaha—!”
…and to add a final touch of the bandits in that tunnel, Rye quickly drew his machine pistol from his holster, and aimed his smg with a silent watchfulness.
And without warning, a single bullet cleanly burrowed its way into the chest of whoever this woman was. She took a few steps back in a disconnected manner, before…
…lifting her head with a strong desire to face her killer. “Who...the hell…You? You’re the one to cowardly fire a shot without announcing yourself first?!” As she screamed, blood spewed out with her words.
“Says the one who made child slaves do the fighting when she had no one else.” Rye spouted back, taking aim once more.
She opened her mouth to make some kind of response, but before getting the opportunity to speak, Rye fired another round.
“And stay dead, monster.”
This time, she flopped backwards onto the rocky surface with a hard thunk!
“I’m tired.”
Rye muttered as he looked around the rubble and bodies surrounding him.
“I’m alone.”
He muttered underneath his breath.
“Again.”
Bodies lay splattered as blood coated the walls and floor. Getting a quick look at the lump of the dead, Rye felt the back of his throat burn. He looked away, fully aware that what he had done was wrong.
-But it was a necessary horror. Necessary to survive in this painful world.
With an expressionless face, Rye quietly paced himself to where Jay was last holding the child. There, he saw remnants of small legs colored over with a charcoal black. Off to the side, was Jay's lower torso. Everything above had been completely blown off.
“Sorry about that kid. ‘Least you died believing you were doing the right thing.”
A feeling of biting regret slowly filled Rye. If only he’d been faster, had better aim, and had just ignored him, then maybe he could have saved him...
The diver crossed his arms in hopes he could calm his emotions. Remembering what Jay had said, he wanted some kind of burial for the children.
I could do that. I just need some shovels or even a pickaxe…
“Um, excuse me,” a soft voice cried. “But where did the people go?” Her tone sounded as if she was nervous, but most notably, curious.
Rye instantly shifted his body towards the emerging sound, taking immediate aim with his pistol. Shit, I missed one?! He gripped the trigger and tightly held with all his might. Yet…
Clank Clank Clank.
…nothing came out but metal sounds. He bit his tongue, realizing he never got a chance to put another magazine in.
The young girl tilted her head in confusion as she looked up to Rye. Getting a better look at her, he thought she couldn’t be much older than the others; yet, she had a unique lighter tone of blonde hair than the other kids, though it was incredibly messy. She wore an out of place tattered frilly dress that covered her safeguarded pale skin.
“Excuse me, why is everyone sleeping around? And why do they have such a strange smell?” As she asked her questions, it seemed as if her eyes glowed more and more.
Standing before the final diver, who had killed all the bandits and freed the child slaves from their lives, stood a strange, lonesome girl.
—She tilted her head with curiosity as Rye was caught in a daze. Rye couldn’t help but wonder why a little girl could be so gleeful while standing atop fresh corpses.