Damp and musty the stairway led us down a seemingly unending void of darkness. A dim light far up ahead was our only guidance out. It was weird. This was supposed to be an emergency tunnel and an escape route in case of incidences such as the one we were in. Then again, this camp hasn’t seen a decent action for a good decade since it was first established. I’ve been here for nearly a year now and even I was losing sight of things. Small skirmishes with Lycans and the occasional vampire sighting became mundane choirs as I fell right in with the rest of the camp. The only thing that kept me focused was my memories of Sarah and the nightmares that would scream me to sleep each night. But even those began to fade into everyday banal routine. Wouldn’t surprise me to find out that they haven’t kept maintenance of the escape tunnels.

As we somehow reached the bottom of the pit we suddenly found ourselves encased in total darkness. Even the dim light that we saw coming down the stairs was nowhere to be seen. It had just vanished. Something was off. I turned around to head back towards the stairs we had just walked down but then I realized that Beth was no longer behind me. I squinted my eyes trying to figure out the pitch-black space to no avail.

“Beth?”

I had no choice but to call her name out as it softly echoed back. The desperation sinking in as slowly yet surely, I came to acknowledging the fact that Beth was gone. I was on my own in the pitch dark and blind to the surroundings.

Complete darkness. silence and nothingness surrounded me as the certain sense of dread crept into my mind as it struggled to grasp the surreal void. But the vivid realization of the situation I was left in, sank like stone to the bottom of my mental turmoil. I felt like I was drifting away, floating in the dark that surrounded me. The damning darkness prevented me from even seeing myself as I eyed my hands that were painted with a thick coat of black void. I felt my body being weighed down as if walking under water while my breathing became heavy and fast. Even so, I had no choice but to carry on forward.

With no other option, I closed my eyes to concentrate on my sense of hearing. As I did so, I pushed my hands in my pocket to pull out a few coins and proceeded to throw a coin in front of me. The coin flew for a few seconds until it hit something. The first time I couldn’t really make out if the coin hit the floor or a wall. But I knew it flew for some distance. So, I slowly slide my feet in front of me while sticking one arm out to feel for any obstructions.

It was a slow and frustrating journey. Sliding my feet, I made my way across the dark void. Slowly and with caution. I felt nothing, sensed nothing. I didn’t know if I was hot or cold. The terrible sense of nothingness had started to slowly creep its way through my body as I shook my head slightly to stay focused. I finally opened my eyes, no longer able to keep them closed, into a deep void of black nothingness. I felt nauseated and light-headed. I couldn’t balance myself still as if I was suddenly drunk on the darkness that I was submerged in.

I took another sliding step forward and for a split-second, thought I heard a noise. I stopped and stood still for a moment. Concentrating on hearing for a noise. But nothing was heard. I thought I heard something… a sound or whisper more like. Was my mind playing tricks on me? I didn’t know. But there was no point standing still, so I continued to move forward, slide stepping carefully through the void.

Flicking another coin in front of me, I listened. I heard the coin hitting a hard surface in the distance. This time I heard the sound clearer and with more detail. It had hit a surface in front of me. But then I heard the coin hit a second time backing my theory of a wall. I push my arm out extending it far ahead of me to touch the wall that the coin had hit. A few sliding steps in, and a cold and the tip of my fingers came into contact with a cold solid surface. It had the tactile feel of a concrete wall. I ran my fingers across the wall thinking to myself, trying to decide on which direction to move in. Now with one hand firmly placed on the wall I turned left, away from the direction I came from. Still fumbling my way slowly forward I now had some stability. My nausea had dissipated and walk more stable as if I finally found solid ground to walk on. Sliding my hand across the wall I maneuvered myself forward with newfound confidence.

Just as I was sliding my next step forward. The tip of my feet hit something. It was small and soft as I unintentionally kicked it forward, it squeaked. A damn rat or something. As I recovered from the unexpected surprise, I felt a little relief as the rat would be some indication towards an exit of some sort nearby or at least in the general direction I was going in. I started to walk forward again. As I took another step forward, something brushed pass my ankle. Startled I stopped and stood still. Was it the rat I kicked? Or was it something else? Before I decided to start walking forward again it brushed pass my other ankle and then….

“Arrrrrrgh!! You son of a!!”

It bit me! The bastard bit my ankle. As reflexes kicked in I jerked my feet up in the air as I felt something heavy pulled up into the air. It squealed and squeaked. Then I felt another small thing pass by my other ankles. There were more of them. As I stabled myself I had to assess my situation. Did I move myself into a nest of some sort? Rats are carnivorous if they have to be and in this dark void they may just as well be. They are not shy from attacking and consuming living animals, even humans. I had to get out of here fast. There was no telling how many of these rats there were in here. It was very obvious they’ve tasted blood before as they did not hesitate to bite into my flesh.

“Arrrrrgh!”

My hesitation resulted in another attack by the vermin. I was out of options. I started to run. Running blind in complete darkness, I just started to sprint with arms around and in front of my face just in case I came in contact to an obstacle or a wall. I ran for a good distance but my break for freedom was cut short as I stepped on something and fell backwards on the floor. Banging my head on the ground I felt dizzy. I was completely down, and my feet caught something lumpy and fleshy. As I came to my senses the thick smell of rotting flesh and blood hit me as I realized that I must have stepped on a rotting lump of carcass. Still too dark to even make out a silhouette I picked myself up. I had no intensions of investigating what I had tripped over. I had to get out of here fast. But now I had lost the wall that supported me and I was still in complete darkness. But now I can hear scuttling and squeaking noises around me.

I had no choice but to take action. The very last resort that I was saving. I swung forward my shotgun as I got ready to pull on the trigger. The blast from the shotgun will shed some light for an instant and I may get lucky or not. But now I had no choice. I pointed the gun to the direction I was going to run in and without hesitation I blasted a single round. The fire from the barrels would light up the surrounding and I would have a split second to see in the dark. Except it didn’t happen. The loud bang and loud screeching cries of rats dying all gave evidence that the shotgun indeed fired. But there was no fire. No light. I saw nothing. How was this even possible!? I didn’t know what was going on but light was not permitted here for some reason. This was definitely not normal, and I would believe it if someone told me this was witchcraft. Except I don’t believe in witches. Not the traditionally depicted ones at least. The witches I saw were mindless hag looking demonic creatures that threw balls of fire from their hands and towered over 3meters in height. They weren’t the cauldron stewing old women that crackled and flew on broom sticks that’s for sure. But one thing was for sure. I could hear a lot more rats around me now. Just as I was thinking of blasting another shot to be sure I heard something….

It was very soft and almost too small to hear. I thought it was in my head, but then I heard it again. It was high pitched then low and then high. It sounded like… a tune. No… it can’t be. Is this some sick joke? The sound I was hearing sounded like… like a flute. Terror crept up my spine as my uncertainty became more clearer as the sound of a flute playing became louder and more pronounced. The squeaking of the rats started to align with the flute as I heard the tune played around me, as if encircling me. Whatever was playing that damn flute was circling me around. I swore I could hear footsteps in a rhythmic echo. It was skipping. I listened for a while to figure out its location. But it was too confusing with the flute and squeaking of rats. I threw the rest of my coins into one direction and listened with my shotgun ready. The flute and tapping footsteps skipped around. I listened, but the more I focused on the sound the more I became distanced with my objective. I was loosing focus and my hand tapped against my shotgun in alignment with the skipping and tune of the flute. I was being synced. I couldn’t stop myself, it was as if my body had a mind of its own and wanted to take over. I fought it. It was more of a strong urge at this point but I could feel a presence of force that wanted to grab hold of me. I resisted. But I was losing. The tune of the flute sounded stronger and louder. It echoed inside my ears as I became more dazed, losing focus.

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Then, just as I was ab out to completely lose all control, I heard it. Clinking noises. It was the coins I threw on the floor. Something was stepping over them in rhythm. I took no time and shot towards the direction. There was a loud haunting scream of something that was not human. It was loud and high pitched like a damn flute. Just then my instincts kicked in and I pulled out my alpha blade. Without a moment of hesitation, I plunged my blade into the void of darkness in front of me. I expected nothing of it. But to my surprise it made contact with something soft and fleshy. The high-pitched scream became a growling echo of a beast. I pulled my blade out and just as I was about to stab it again I saw light. It was as if a veil was lifted before my eyes. As light flushed my sight I squinted while taking a step back. I raised my arm above my eyes to create shade as I adjusted to the light. Slowly I gained sight and I could see around me. The concrete walls and dimly lit emergency lighting came to sight. I looked around just in time to catch a humanoid corpse burning to ashes. It had horns and a stick in one of its hands. The sticked looked like an instrument, like a flute. I continued to look around as I saw hundreds of smaller piles of ashes around the floor. I walked pass them looking around. I back tracked towards the stairs that me and Beth had walked down from. Surprisingly I had not moved that much far from that very position. I saw a few coins on the floor indicating that I had only moved a few feet from the stairs.

“Beth!?”

I called out. But this time I heard a reply. A faint noise from behind the stair case. I hurriedly moved towards the noise to find Beth on the floor dazed and in tatters. Scars and bite marks from seemingly the same vermin that attacked me earlier. As I approached Beth I saw small piles of ashes surrounding her. As I knelt down to check on her I saw a small pool of blood originating from her stomach.

“Beth, are you alright?”

“J…ack? Arrrrgh… I don’t know… what happened. I was … following you down and… then.”

Beth struggled to sit up and realized the sharp pain that was coming from her stomach. As she sat up I could she a stab wound that was shallow but wide. It had stopped bleeding but it needed immediate attention or risked serious infections.

“Beth, you can tell me all about it later. But for now. We have to get back up.”

“B…ack up? B…but”

Beth protested but I couldn’t take Beth out into those trails like this. Also the stab wound was worrying. Rat infested area with a stab wound like that and also numerous bite marks seemingly from those rats all accumulated to a very bad day and a greetings from death itself. I saw no other choice. I picked Beth up as she protested with a unimpressive struggle to get herself free from my arms.

“J…jack. I … I can walk.”

“I know. But that stab wound is going to slow us down.”

“O…okay b…but J…ust this once…”

Beth’s struggled stopped as she unwillingly agreed to my carrying her up the stairs again. She wasn’t looking too good, and I could feel her body temperature rising. Not a good sign. Her body immune system is fighting hard. She needs antibiotics and treatment for her wounds. I start up the stairs back up to the barracks, hoping that the situation had been resolved in some way. Fast steps going up as I took less care to being discreet and more towards getting help as fast as I can. My swift climb back up the stairs carried us back to the surface in no time. But the picture I had expected was not this. The dark hall that we left behind was now lit with daylight. This was impossible. When we left the surface, it was still in the middle of the night, it was hours before sunrise. But the sun was now up and high in the sky. Something was wrong. Were we down there for hours? How could that be?

I looked down at Beth, who had now slumped quiet with heavy breathing. Not good. I decided to look for medical supplies or someone to help. I made myself towards the infirmary inside the barrack. Parts of the wall were destroyed, and I could view the outside scenery. Devastation was apparent and more importantly I didn’t hear anything. No shouting no growling no nothing. But I had no time to stop and investigate. Beth was slowly slipping under and I needed to get her on some meds right away.

“Beth, hang in there. We’re almost there.”

On the second floor up a partially destroyed staircase I came to the infirmary that was well intact. Surprisingly albeit the apparent destruction that had been inflicted to the surrounding areas of that very floor. Clearly some sort of blast had taken out most of the floor. Artillery or something of that caliber. Inside I found a bed to lay Beth on, while I searched for antibiotics and medical supplies to patch her wound up. I found some needle and thread that I could use to close her wound with.

“You’d better get some anesthetics too while you’re at it. Unless you want her to feel the needle while you patch her up.”

I quickly turn around to face an elderly Asian man standing at the door. He slowly walked in and I could immediately see his bloodied hands from blood that clearly wasn’t his. He walked over to a cabinet and started to pull out small bottles that I could only assume were medicine. He kept on taking out supplies and shoving them into a backpack he had with him.

“Are you a doctor?”

“No, I’m an acupuncture therapist…. Of course, I’m a doctor.”

“Sorry, I just never saw you before.”

I cautiously scouted the old man to check for the usual demeanors of a shape shifting entity. Lycans are easier to figure out and vampires are less obvious. But they all have flaws in their act. I wondered if he could be even a doppelganger. But I couldn’t figure anything out. If he was in a shapeshifting form then it was a very convincing one.

“I just got here and then all hell broke loose. Damn Lycans.”

“Did we fend them off?”

“Fend them off? They back off by themselves. Left a lot of casualties and people that need a doctor. Lucky me.”

The doctor started to move up to Beth lying on one of the beds. I followed him with my eyes as I cautiously checked his body movement and language as he walked by. He looked at Beth and her wounds and then clicked his tongue with a frown.

We’d better treat the wound first before patching it up. With that he came up to the medicine cabinet and started to rummage around. He picked up a few items as well as bandages and went back to treat Beth. As he neared her I could hear him calming Beth down as he gave her some pain meds to prepare her for the upcoming pain.

“Arrrrrgh!”

I could hear Beth’s painful moans as she desperately tried to withstand the pain. But the painful cries seeped through her tightly clenched teeth. Her tight grip on the bed cover showed how she was holding on to stop herself from crying in agony. The doctor worked fast and with profound efficiency. He was a good doctor, even I could see that from just the way he was treating Beth up. He took a good hour or so and finally bandaged the wound now neatly stitched-up and cleaned.

“She’s got to rest. Nothing too vigorous or her stitches may tear and open to infections.”

“She got bitten by rats down in the escape tunnels. Should we be worried?”

The doctor looked at me puzzled and then walked over to the medical cabinet and took out a syringe and a bottle of clear liquid. He plunged the needle into the top and filled the syringe up with the liquid. As he walked over to Beth and proceeded to give her a shot he looked at me once more.

“The escape tunnel you just talked about. You mean the one that leads out to the back forest trails?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

I started at the doctor with an uneasy feeling. The doctor lay the syringe down and stroked his chin while closing his eyes deep in thought. There was a certain hint of concern that loomed over his face. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at me.

“That escape tunnel was the first thing to go during the attack. The lycans blew it and it collapsed. Parts of the tunnel remained intact like the one under this barrack but I doubt you would’ve made it very far down due to all the rubble.”

I looked over to see Beth now staring back at me with a pale face. If the escape tunnels had been blocked with rubble due to the other parts caving in…. then how did we make it down? What did we experience down there? I wanted to ask the doctor on details about what he knew but before I could more people entered the infirmary. People we knew.

“Jack! Oh my God Beth!”

“Thank God you guys are alive!”

“Jameson, Rolland are you two okay?”

The two men that stumbled in were Hunter class operators who Beth and I were familiar with. Both had rooms assigned on the same floor as mine. They were grazed and bleeding but overall, not too badly injured. They must have come to the infirmary to patch themselves up.

“We’re fine. Nothing a few bandages couldn’t handle.”

“So…. What’s the problem?”

Both sounded fine but their speech was fast and voices heightened. I could hear stress in their voices. Clearly something was distressing them. Then suddenly both stopped their act as their faces stiffened. Jameson slowly opened his mouth.

“They… they took Sector Chief Bradley Martius and a few dozen from the science division.”

“Took? Like hostages?”

I looked at them in surprise. Lycans never take hostages or live prisoners, its not in their nature to negotiate anything for prisoners. They just forcibly take, pillaging and looting, but never take anyone live from their attacks.

“How long ago was this?”

“Several hours ago. They retreated immediately after they had the Sector Chief.”

“It’s not like them to retreat from a winning battle.”

I didn’t like all these unnatural behaviors from these entities. Whenever the deviate from their natural behavior something really bad happens. Something very very bad.

“They would have crossed into Lycan territory by now.”

“What’s the plan Jack?”

Suddenly Jameson and Rolland were back to their usual selves. They had determination in their eyes and a glimmer of vengeance. I gave a slight grin.

“We go in and get them back. Bullet Train.”

“Bullet Train!? B…but that’s…”

It was the doctor that shouted from behind us. He was listening on our conversation but had to butt in when he heard about our plan to cross into Lycan land.

“We have no time to think this through.”

“I agree with Jack.”

“I have no problem with that plan.”

Jameson and Rolland were completely in agreement and on board with my reckless plan as the doctor tried to state his concerns over it. Though Beth did not say anything I could see clearly from her expressions that she was not too happy about the plan either. But as I said, we didn’t have time to plan a rescue. It was now or too late.

“Well then, its settled.”

“I’ll get volunteers who would join the rescue party.”

I nodded at more than usually hyped Rolland as I headed down in search of supplies with Beth and Jameson. The doctor mumbled words of strong concern, emphasis on strong, but he tagged along. The sun was now very much ready to retire over the horizon as it burned the skies red and orange. Getting ready for our reckless rescue attempt into Lycan territory.