“Mayday, mayday. We’re under attack. I repeat, we’re under hostile attack,” an Apache gunner bellowed through the radio. His co-pilot was frantic in maneuvering the Apache, dodging the silver fluid spurted out from the giant stinger.

“Shoot at it!” the pilot shouted. The gunner was too occupied in relaying the current situation.

“It won’t work, you idiot.” Both started to argued within that small cockpit. More and more helicopters went down as the giant stinger tail lay havoc to the flying vehicles.

“Fucking stall that thing or else we’re going to fucking die,” said the pilot. He tried his hardest, fleeing away from the rampaging giant tail. But the giant tail was chasing them down like it had eyes on that freaking giant stinger.

The gunner made his choice and missiles went flying at the giant stinger. Explosions echoed across the sky as a giant stinger went through the cloud of smoke.

“Fuck…” It was the last word from the Apache’s pilot. The sharp end of the giant stinger smashed through the helicopter, breaking it apart as it crashed to the ground.

It was a nightmare for these pilots. The giant stinger was longer than they expected, chasing down these helicopters with ease like there was no end to its length.

Meanwhile, underneath the havoc surface, a group of people was digging for the sake of survival. Arrluk was at the front of the line with Hakeem by his side. Arrluk took the lead using a giant axe, while Hakeem aided with the big mace.

With their enhanced strength, the digging was going well with those at the back shoving off the dirt and rocks away. They couldn’t risk a collapse on the tunnel as Nuniq and Esther stacked the dirt and rocks, filling up the tunnel from behind. It was a team effort with those at the front who did the heavy lifting. Jason would have taken the job of being at the front, but his injuries were still taking its toll on him.

He made a decision to tunnel their way through freedom. The others didn’t refute as they knew that Jason could see in the dark and what he saw definitely warranted such a drastic plan. These people feared for what they heard, but Jason, who saw and heard it, felt even worse.

In the middle, the injured Jason carried the ice-figure Tapeesa. He carried her with much caution, fearing that he might shatter her.

“Jason, how is it?” Hakeem asked. Both he and the old man were working blind. They dodged the risk of hurting each other through the sheer effort of working together in tandem, avoiding a clash between one another.

“Good enough. We need to angle upwards, or else we might suffocate down here,” Jason said.

He guided these two in digging as he was the only one who could see. The group worked in silence, with only Jason’s voice echoing through the small tunnel. There was no complaint as even the rebellious Nuniq, and the ever-complaining Esther was working with their lips sealed. They knew better. The situation was graver than they thought, and both yearned nothing but the smell of freedom of the air.

Whatever that was blocking them from behind, they wished they would never meet it. These six people were digging and climbing on a slope as they approached closer to the surface. Half an hour went by, and Jason was standing on his last strand of energy. His head was spinning and looking down on his bandaged wound, it was soaked in dark crimson. It was enough to tell him that the wound was opening up with how vigorous he had been.

Not yet Jason, not now. He fired himself up, trying to stay awake. It would have been better if he some spare energy for the sake of healing himself up. But there was none.

Then, it came.

The axe in Arrluk’s hand struck the dirt and a speck of light drilled through the darkness, illuminating the blindness of the underground.

“Light! There’s light!” Hakeem said. He grew excited with the mace in his hand plowed through the spot where the axe cleaved the dirt.

One smash and the dirt went flying through the air. Hakeem was about to run out in joy, hoping to breathe in the fresh air of the surface, but a hand grabbed his clothes from the back.

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Hakeem couldn’t fight against the strength that held him back. His stride was halted even before he could step out into the surface.

“What’s wrong?” Hakeem asked.

“Can’t you smell it?” Jason asked as his nose picked up a heavy scent.

“I smell something burning,” said Arrluk. He cautiously approached the opening of their escape tunnel and poked a bit to see what was around them. His eyes went wide, and he returned back into the tunnel.

“What do you see?” Esther asked.

”Helicopters, Apaches. They’re in pieces,” said Arrluk. He stared at Jason as the injured man made the right choice for them.

Hakeem couldn’t stand his curiosity and went to take a peek. Jason didn’t stop him as the rest watched over the action of Hakeem

Hakeem scanned through the surrounding. It was like what Arrluk said, it was a graveyard of Apaches, and then he froze motionlessly. His eyes went wide, with his pupils quivering like a frightened puppy. He ducked down back into the tunnel as a giant shadow loomed over the small hole on the ground. The light they yearned disappeared, and everyone grew anxious.

“Is it the stinger?” Jason asked at the silent Hakeem.

Hakeem didn’t say a word as he only nodded.

“Stinger? What do you mean by stinger?” Esther asked. She was in the dark about what had frightened them. Jason kept his silence and didn’t say a word about it as it would only be a hindrance, and now the time was up.

He toned down Esther from speaking too loud with a few hand signals. He brought the group a bit deeper into the tunnel once more, as speaking near the hole might alert the giant stinger. It was a bit paranoid, but Jason wasn’t going to take any dumb chances.

He sat them down and explained what he saw and what had happened back in the cave. He let it all out, sparing nothing but the most detailed description of what it might be. Esther felt goosebumps hearing about it, and Hakeem did too.

Nuniq, on the other hand, looked down in shame. He knew he was the cause for them being in that situation. If it wasn’t for him, the stinger wouldn’t have noticed them. Then a pat rested on Nuniq’s shoulder. He turned and saw the shadow of Arrluk’s face. It was hard to see as the tunnel barely had any light. Arrluk didn’t say a word and gave his grandson a hug. They were no need for words as the family shared their hugs.

“So? What are we going to do?” Esther opened up the main question.

“Make a run for it?” Hakeem chimed in.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Esther replied.

“What? I’m just giving my opinion no need to get aggressive,” said Hakeem.

“Stop it, both of you.” Jason didn’t think these two would argue in these circumstances. He thought they would rational about it, but he guessed that the mental fatigues were starting to sink in.

“We’re going to stay here for a while. Our chances out there are close to zero with that giant stinger roaming around,” Jason said.

“Hakeem, build a bigger space, and cut down the slope. We need proper rest,” said Jason.

“Got it,” Hakeem didn’t mind doing more labor. The digging was physically draining, but his stats kept himself standing strong. A few more swings of the club wouldn’t be bad, but a worry came by. “But what about food and water? I don’t think we can stay here without…” even before he could finish words, Jason pulled out an ace from his sleeve.

Simple dried foods like biscuits and crackers were laid out in front of these people with a few bottles of water. Jason came prepared for the second time, except for that set of clothes he wished he bring.

“Esther, rations these for six. We don’t know how long we’ll be staying here but make it count,” said Jason.

Hakeem and Esther went on to their respective tasks, and then came Arrluk and Nuniq.

“Mr.Park,” Arrluk called him out. “I know you have done a lot for us, for my family, but can you please do something for my granddaughter?”

Tapeesa lay there on the ground, unconscious in her ice-figure state. Jason stared at her for a while and returned back to the sight of these two.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do a thing, not without my energy. You all know this, without energy, I can’t use my heal on her,” Jason said.

Arrluk looked down as tears fell down on the ground. The sentimental old man grew soft once more. There was no more the valiant vanguard that fought against the Orc Chieftain as to the core of this old man, the fisherman, he was just a man who cherished his family.

“I’m sorry,” said Arrluk, wiping off the tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry you have to see the pathetic sight of an old man crying.”

Jason kept quiet, staring at the old man. He knew he was partly responsible for what had happened to Tapeesa. Then, out of sudden, the old man went for a hug. Jason didn’t dodge it and accepted it.

“Please have a rest, Mr.Park, please,” Arrluk said. He left Jason and Nuniq and went to the side of his granddaughter. He sat beside her and stroke gently over Tapeesa’s head.

“Jason,” Nuniq said. Jason looked and saw the burning eyes of this teenage boy.

“Can you please give me a mace?” said Nuniq.

Jason didn’t question him as he took out one of the maces he looted and gave it to him. Nuniq didn’t say a thing and accepted it. He went towards Hakeem and aided him in building a bigger space.

Jason witnessed in silence as he looked around and saw these friends and allies of his doing their best, not to be a burden. They were doing their own thing, and none complain.

“Ugh,” he staggered on his feet as the dizziness grew worse. He held himself up, leaning over the wall of the tunnel. He knew he won’t be much of use in this pathetic state. He dropped down on the ground and rested his head on the wall. Slowly his eyelids grew heavy. With his vision narrowing down, he hoped for only one thing.

Please. Please recover, dear energy.