Citadel

“My father’s extra guards are arriving now, we can all rest a little easier for the ceremony tonight. I know everyone is stressed about the situation with Jack, but I promise we will clear his name” Mary was standing with Aiden in the tower overlooking the courtyard where troops were marching into the courtyard. Aiden looked at Mary and squeezed her hand. “Soon we will be King and Queen” Mary looked into his eyes and smiled. Neither of them noticed the officer in gray camo armor that stared at the tower.

Secret Tunnel

Water dripped into murky puddles, and the air stank of mildew. The occasional drips and their footsteps were the only sound. “God damn, I never thought i’d miss the beating heat of the sun so much” Sug muttered. Jack couldn’t help but agree. He glanced over at Rook a little worried. The man had been extra quiet since the death of Cro. He knew they hadn’t been that close, but Cro was a good man and everyone liked him, but Rook seemed almost like he was pondering the great mysteries of life. Xyla, fell back and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her and she gave him a sad smile. Of all of them she might be having the hardest time, Cro had treated her like a daughter. He gave her a smile and a nod, and didn’t push her away. “It’ll be okay” He told her awkwardly. He wasn’t great with emotions. Xyla put her hand down and took his fingers in hers. Jack had to resist pulling away. He needed to keep his hand free for his weapons. But he knew she needed the support so he let her have her moment. “When were done with this” she said. Nodding toward the box strapped to his forearm. He didn’t say anything, just looked in the edge of the darkness that their torches made. At that moment he saw a flicker of movement at the edge of the light. “To arms!” He yelled, releasing Xyla and grabbing his Katars. Through years of training they were ready in time. Weapons in hand as the black creatures hurled out of the darkness. With a slash Sug split one clean in half. Rook crushed another's skull, his malaise had not made him slower. Xyla had pulled her daggers and only slashed one which made a mewling screech as it flew by, claw raking her armor. Jack finished it by stabbing down into the back of its head as it landed. Jack heard an unusual sound in behind them. Jack took a moment to look at the creature in the light of his torch. It was near three feet long, with black and gray striped fur, two sharp front fangs, and long claws. It was clearly some unusual form of rodent. “Run” He said. Then as the sound grew louder. “Run” he screamed as they all started sprinting forward. Taking a fireball out he cracked the tip of the red stick and threw it behind him. In the darkness hundreds of the creatures surged across the walls and even ceiling towards them. It was as if the tunnel itself had come to eat them. Sprinting, avoiding the puddles and rocks as best they could, the less they fell and became monster food, they raced on.

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Xyla was the fastest, and the farthest ahead when she noticed the rubble blocking the tunnel ahead. “No, no, no” she yelled. Her eyes scanned for a way through, and lit upon a doorway up on a ledge in the side of the tunnel. “There” she yelled, leading them towards it. She jumped the ledge and slammed into the door and it pushed open. It led down a long narrow tunnel to another door on the end. She toward it and again put her shoulder into it, damn near breaking her arm as it didn’t budge. She kicked the door, and tried the handle, no movement. “Fuck!” She screamed. Rook was the next one there as he was squeezed by Xyla and hit the door with a slam of his shoulder. He quickly pulled some explosives from his pack and started lining the door. “Buy me a minute” He yelled. Jack looked back. Sug looked at him and smiled, then pulled his tags from his neck and flung them at Jack who caught them in his fist.. “No” Jack said as his voice cracked. Sug unslung his Buster from his back and aimed it at the tunnel entrance. He pulled the trigger and the blast in such a small space echoed like a thunderclap. For a moment the world stopped, then the tide of fangs and claws resumed. Sug pulled the trigger again and again. Jack looked for a way to help, but in the narrow tunnel there was no way around Sug. He couldn’t even fire his own Katar without risking hitting him. Jack screamed at Rook to hurry up but the shout was lost in the constant wail of the Buster. And then they were out of time. The buster slashed and the first Rodent was destroyed, but he couldn’t stop the tide. One after another latched on to him with their fangs. The trigger never let up, even as blood flowed. The bang behind him was lost on Jack as he looked on in horror. He felt the tug behind him, he turned and saw Xyla tugging at him, her mouth was moving but he could hear nothing. He stumbled after her one foot in front of the other. Once he was through the blasted door, he saw Xyla say something to Rook. Rook looked to Jack then pointed. He had rigged it to blow behind them, caving in the passage. Jack took one last look at Sug, who was barely visible underneath the fur, and nodded. The shock of the explosion made him fall to his knees, or so he told himself. They sat like that for a moment, before Jack pulled his pieces back together. “Duty” he said and then they were moving. They were almost there now, he had to finish this.