Three-sixteen's POV
With each blast, Three-sixteen felt like lightning exploded right beside him. His ears rang with every distant explosion and his chest ached with each tremor that shook the tunnel, but he pushed on regardless.
“How much further is it?” Daisy asked.
Three-sixteen glanced over his shoulder at his small group of followers. They all wore matching expressions of panic and anxiety; their eyes wide as they twitched and flinched at every echo. None of them had spoken until now, as if they'd been mute to this point and Daisy had broken the spell with her words.
Immediately three people hushed the girl, their eyes shifting between her and the darkness behind where they left the trio of sifters. She shrank away from their condemning gazes, recoiling as she also turned to look at what might be behind them.
Three-sixteen could hear each of their hearts beating like tiny drums, loud and fast; he could smell their fear almost as much as he could feel it. His skin prickled with apprehension as his chest tightened with sympathy for their plight, but he couldn't find anything reassuring to say.
He listened to the tunnel, trying his best to ignore the tense silence of the group. It wouldn’t be long now. “Maybe a few dozen yards,” he said, answering Daisy’s question. He thought that was an accurate answer; although he hadn’t taken any actual measurements. He pointed forward for emphasis, directing their attention away from whatever they imagined stalking them from behind.
Daisy nodded without turning to look at him, she moved closer to Three-sixteen as they walked together through the near blackness of the tunnel. The sounds of battle grew louder as they continued towards it, punctuated with another blast and rumble as bits of rock and dirt fell from the ceiling above them.
“Eep!” Daisy chirped, jumping with fright.
She bumped Three-sixteen, squealed again, then darted away.
Three-sixteen let out a muted sigh, shaking his head as he tried to keep focused. Given the conditions they worked under, Three-sixteen was surprised by how easily they seemed to break. He didn’t think they’d survive one day in the mines—
Low chitters echoed up the tunnel and the smell of blood brought stopped the group dead in their tracks. Three-sixteen felt a chill run through his spine, but he shook it off as he ordered, his voice sharp and commanding, “Keep moving! We need to get out of this tunnel.”
The group hesitated at first, but when Three-sixteen pressed ahead they slowly moved forward as well.
Another rumble shook the ground beneath them as another explosion went off somewhere overhead.
A section of the tunnel collapsed behind them, rock and metal rods—cell bars—cascaded into the tunnel.
Hearing more shifting above, Three-sixteen shouted, “Hurry!”
He didn’t wait for a response before dashing forward. Whether the group trusted him or followed his directions simply due to fear was impossible for him to say. He was only grateful they listened because the tunnel continued to collapse and the small group managed to escape by a hair's breadth, moving into an open cavern filled with rubble and ruined equipment.
A deafening boom reverberated through the cavern and rattled its occupants. They all cowered for a moment before slowly getting back to their feet and assessing the situation.
The area was both familiar and foreign. Blood covered boulders and scorched earth reflected the firelight cast by braziers and torches as if it were a surface of polished glass.
Three-sixteen glanced up at the ceiling, noticing a large hole several feet away. He could see into the supply room, and saw a man dangling by his belt over the edge, his body limp and blood dripping from the ends of his fingers and toes.
This was where the tunnel connected with their cells, only the stairs were gone and Three-sixteen didn’t see any sign of life.
Chitters echoed in the chamber from somewhere close by, but Three-sixteen couldn’t identify the source. He thought it might’ve been some sort of insect, but the noise sounded like it came from something fairly large.
A harsh breath whispered through his nose as Three-sixteen tried to maintain his focus, to stay calm, but he found it difficult even with the adrenalin surging through his veins. He let out a slow exhale and refocused his attention on finding a way up; the stairs were gone.
They could climb, but there was no telling if any walls or structures were stable or not. He also wasn’t sure how well any of the crew could climb. Then again, this whole place was likely to cave in on them before long.
There had to be something though, he thought; but no matter how hard he searched he couldn't find anything usable.
The group, seeming to recognize the space, spread out and searched as well. Even Daisy ventured away from Three-sixteen with an expression of dismay as she kicked chunks of rock about.
Three-sixteen doubted he would find anything new, but he kept looking until a man yelped with pain. He turned to the sound, finding Adimo with blood gurgling out of his mouth and spilling from his belly.
As Adimo fell on his face, a boulder cracked and split open. It stood up as sharp corners and jagged edges formed along a face that hadn’t been visible before. With quick jerky motions, it stepped forward on thin pointed limbs that resembled spider legs. Its bulbous body looked as heavy as a fully loaded mine car.
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Three-sixteen thought it looked similar in size to a shellator, but it was definitely something different.
Lurching forward, it lifted Adimo and passed him between a pair of open mandibles which moved like pincers to bite down on the man's head. The creature ripped the head from the man's body and swallowed, repeating the process as it quickly devoured what was left of him.
Three-sixteen felt his stomach twist into a knot as he stared in horror at the gruesome sight, but his attention was quickly drawn to something else when Trendy, who’d been trying to scale the wall, lost her footing and fell beside the rock beast.
The creature spun with blinding speed, lunging for her, but she was pulled free of its grasp by one of the others who urged her to get up and keep moving. The beast screeched with rage as it pursued her, but its chittering became a low hiss as it crept closer to its target.
Three-sixteen had to do something or it would kill them all; he just had to figure out what that was. The creature was unknown to him, but he thought a powerful blast, or maybe something like a rock breaker, would be ideal to destroy the beast.
It would be great if the creature would obey him like sifters seemed to, but he didn’t think that would work. Even if it did, trying to test the idea might get him killed. Instead he looked for a gun, a bomb, or anything that might be strong enough to get through the creature’s rocky exoskeleton. He wasn't sure how thick it was or how effective such a thing would be, but it was the best option he had at the moment.
Unfortunately there was nothing resembling a firearm or explosives in the immediate area. He knew there were some in the storage room, but he still hadn’t figured out how to get up to it.
A rattle from one side of the cavern drew Three-sixteen's attention back to the situation unfolding in front of him. Trendy and her rescuer were scrambling up a pile of rubble, the rock beast not far behind them. Three-sixteen charged towards the creature, thinking to at least provide a distraction for the two escapees if nothing else.
As he moved forward, he caught sight of a black kitten looking at him with its piercing red eyes. It sat in a heap of ash and rubble that looked like it used to be a brazier. As his eyes met the creatures, its tail flickered like a flame then it hopped down, disappearing into the rubble.
Three-sixteen glanced back at the beast and its prey. The creature reached and lunged trying to reach them, but the two crew members were too far out of reach, for now.
Curiosity, and some strange sense of necessity, drew him to the small pile of rubble. It was like the cat was showing him something, guiding him. There must be something special about that spot, he thought. He inspected the heap, his eyes roaming over the smooth rocks and bits of ash then back to where he'd last seen the cat. Nothing stood out.
A sharp metallic snap followed by a series of clanks and hollow rings drew his attention back to the conflict. The rock beast appeared to have given up on Trendy and her rescuer. Instead it raced towards Daisy who mistakenly knocked over some sort of pipe. It twisted around itself and banged against a chain as it rang out with noise.
The car appeared again, this time tugging at his ankles. It leapt into the rubble again the moment he looked at it.
He glared down at the cat as it hopped away. It appeared to be either playing with him or trying to convey some kind of message, but he wasn’t sure which. Either way it was becoming annoying. There was nothing in the pile and he needed to—
Something whizzed past him, crashing into the spot where the cat disappeared. Several stones were knocked away, revealing the grip of some sort of weapon. He could tell that much by the handle, but he didn't think this was what the cat wanted him to see.
The sound of fighting grew closer, more urgent and violent. The creature snapped at its prey with furious growls as it stalked after them.
The cat re-emerged from the rubble, leaping over one of the small pieces of metal laying there and pawing at something sticking out from under a chunk of rock.
Three-sixteen eyed it for a moment, but just as he went to reach for it, someone slammed into him knocking him over as the man ran past, crying with fear and clutching an injured hand close to his body.
The creature screeched as it lunged after the man, catching him with a spear-like leg and tossing his body aside like trash as it continued after two others.
The man hit the ground with a thud, landing near Three-sixteen and gasping for air as blood dripped from a wound in his chest. Three-sixteen knew it wouldn’t be long before he bled out. He also knew it wouldn’t take long for this beast to make minced meat of the whole crew.
Three-sixteen had to find some way to fight back, and fast. He scrambled for the exposed handle, dodging sharp appendages as the rock beast chased after his companions.
His hand closed on the grip and he pulled free a dull black sword with a flat angled blade. The cat stared up at him with wide eyes, then pawed at his foot and ran away as the Daisy crashed into his arms.
The rock beast hissed and chittered madly as its mandibles clicked with excitement. Three-sixteen stared up at it with shock and terror as it raised two of its sharp limbs above its head ready to bring them down on them both.
Three-sixteen didn't know if he was strong enough, or if this blade could cut through rock, but he knew they would both die if he did nothing.
He raised the sword as the creature brought its limbs down, striking with enough force to shatter the blade of a normal sword and still impale Three-sixteen and Daisy.
But this sword absorbed the impact entirely and, as he slashed upward, it cut through the creature's limbs, splitting both and drawing a screeching cry from the beast.
The creature reared up, backing away from them with its broken limbs waving through the air wildly.
Three-sixteen stared at his weapon with an equal mix of wonder and disbelief as the creature shot several spines at him, piercing his arm in several places and striking daisy in the back. He flinched at the pain, but ignored it as he dashed after the creature, driving his sword into its body where he thought its heart should be located.
It jerked with each stab, shattering more and more of its limbs as its body contorted and cracked apart, but the beast didn’t seem to be dying. As bits of rock cracked off of the beast, the creature’s true form was revealed. Its body was dark black and smooth. What Three-sixteen thought were legs shrank and retracted almost completely into the beast’s serpentine body. The mandibles opened wide, revealing a mouth lined with three rows of teeth; It swung its head around at him and hissed threateningly.
Three-sixteen had no idea what sort of creature this was, but he knew it was vulnerable and exposed. He raised his sword to cut the beast down, but it retreated down a hole in the ground disappearing as it slipped away.
Three-sixteen frowned, glaring down at the hole as he considered whether or not he should follow the monster down there. It was obviously badly injured but he couldn’t know where it was going or how difficult the fight be.
Daisy whimpered with pain as Trendy worked to pry spines out of her back. Three-sixteen felt they might all die if he abandoned them here to go chasing after one creature, so he left the hole alone for now and approached Daisy and Trendy.
As he did, his vision went blurry and he stumbled to his knees. His body felt tired and sluggish as he fell over, passing out as he hit the ground.
The last thing he heard was a voice shouting, “Survivors! There’s survivors down below…”