Cruel Depths

by Admeet

The next installment preceding after Military Matters. The Team venture down into the depths to purify the vast underground body of water and save the military complex and maybe the entire world. What will they encounter in these Cruel Depths?

Cruel depths

Chapter 1

Journey's beginning

As the moon shun brightly over the wasteland, hundreds of Sligs slept silently in their beds. However, one Slig was up on his feet and looking for someone. The Slig opened the door to another Slig's bedroom. "Admeet" the Slig said quietly. The Slig on the bed started to open his eyes. "Admeet" said the Slig again. "What's going on" said Admeet sitting up on his bed. Looking at the Slig, he saw that the Slig was masked "Change of plan" whispered the Slig, "we are heading out now". A group of Sligs were standing outside waiting for Admeet to come with them. "Why can't we go in the morning?" asked Admeet looking very tired. "Orders" replied the Slig waiting for Admeet to get up, "I give the orders on this mission now".

Admeet hastily got up and picked up his Magnum on the brown desk next to the door and a few extra bullets. He joined the group of Sligs and saw that Zaypher was with them too. "What are you doing here?" said Admeet. "I was woken up by this masked Slig; he won't even reveal his name" replied Zaypher. The group, led by the masked Slig, made their way down through the rusty, brown corridors until they reached the main blast door. It was only then that Admeet noticed two SMGs in Zaypher's leather pockets on each side of his legs. "I see you've noticed them too" said Zaypher, "the masked Slig gave me these two SMGs because he sees me as a good soldier. I have been in a few battles, including the one with you, but I'm not exactly a legendary soldier". Admeet nodded his head as the Blast door was opened. The A.T.T stood outside, loaded and ready. The masked Slig walked across the sand and dirt but the group just stood there, not knowing what to do. "Well, you coming?" said the masked Slig to the group. Admeet stepped forward and Zaypher did as well. Then the others stepped forward and followed the masked Slig. They climbed into the A.T.T and took their positions. The masked Slig climbed up into the command centre. "Strap in people, this is going to be a bumpy ride" shouted the mask Slig down to the group. The group started to strap into their seats as the A.T.T started to set off for the cave.

The A.T.T was moving at such a speed and force that the whole ground was shaking. Admeet looked out of the cargo door to see the dark landscape of the wasteland. It wouldn't be to long before they reached the cave, so Admeet had a short time to think. "You'll definitely be the hero" said Zaypher towards Admeet, "you'll put an end to this drought and create life in this wasteland". "I only hope the plan works or the whole of the wasteland will be doomed forever" said Admeet worryingly. "Don't worry, this plan will work; trust me" said Zaypher encouragingly.

The A.T.T finally reached the rock column circle and started to crawl down into the cave. This was it. The whole team was going to dive down into deep and cruel depths. Admeet's finest hour has begun.

Chapter 2

Dark Realm (part 1)

Splash! The A.T.T started its deep sea descent down the tunnel. The pressure was starting to build as the A.T.T descended down. "We are entering a depth of 5,000 metres" said the masked Slig down the radio to the group of Sligs in the cargo bay. The A.T.T was going at such a speed that the rocks surrounding the tunnel were just black blurs in the blurry waters. "10,000 metres" said the masked Slig down the radio. He pushed a button on the console and down in the cargo bay, the diving suits were automatically equipped to the Sligs; breathing masks as well. "Oxygen flow on, approaching 15,000 metres" said Vankor down the radio. The tunnel stretched for another 100 miles but the A.T.T was going at such a speed that it didn't take too long to reach 90 miles. "Prepare for impact" said the masked Slig down the radio. As the A.T.T reached 99 miles, it started to slow down. "3, 2, 1, destination reached" said the masked Slig, "Disarm hatch". The vibrating in the cargo bay stopped suddenly as a gun rack detached from the ceiling. "Release automatic harpoon launchers and melee daggers" said the masked Slig. The Sligs in the cargo bay each grabbed a harpoon gun and a knife. "Mission objective destroy radiation source" said the masked Slig. "We are ready" said Admeet on his radio. The Sligs made their way to the airlock. The lights attached to the outside of the A.T.T blackened to camouflage it. Then the Airlock door opened and the group of Sligs started to step onto the sandy seabed.

The Sligs saw an endless expanse of sand and silt. "Wow" said Zaypher in astonishment, "this is unbelievable". The group started to walk further away from the A.T.T. "Now, where to start" said Admeet looking around. "I think it has started" said another Slig close to Zaypher and looking at his underwater radar attached to his left arm, "we are picking up some life forms heading straight towards us". The group looked at the direction where the creatures were coming from. They couldn't see anything for a while. Then suddenly, two white creatures came out of the darkness; they didn't look friendly however. "Ready your weapons" said Admeet. The harpoon guns were cocked and ready to fire. "Aim" said Admeet. The creatures came ever closer towards their possible prey. "Fire!" yelled Admeet. The harpoons flew out of their guns towards the creatures but all of them missed; the creatures were intelligent and agile.

The creatures suddenly swam upward and started to circle their prey. The group was still shooting at the creatures but every harpoon missed. One Slig however was not shooting at all; the Slig just stood there looking at the creatures. The creatures were just too fast for the group. Even the turrets attached to the A.T.T were not fast enough to make a direct hit. "We are wasting ammo" said Admeet ceasing fire, "we'll have to resort to our knives". Everyone on the group agreed and drew out their knives. The creatures stopped in mid air and eyed the group. The group and the creatures stared at each other, waiting for the opposition to strike. The creatures were bearing razor sharp teeth and claws. The masked Slig looked out of the command centre window and waited anxiously. Suddenly, one of the Sligs quickly drew out a harpoon gun and fired twice. One harpoon pierced one of the creature's skins and the other sank deep into the other creature's flesh. Blood started to pour out of the creatures as they swam away with fright in their eyes. Admeet just stared at the Slig in confusion.

"What the!" yelled Admeet confusingly, "how in mudo's name did you do that". "Well a girl needs to know a few tricks" replied the Slig putting her harpoon gun away. "A girl!" shouted Zaypher, "how long have you been with us". "Longer then you, brother" replied the Slig. "Hmm, the girl has wisdom" said Admeet, "what's your name". "There will be time for that" replied the Slig, "for now, we must carry on". The Slig walked on towards were the creatures went while the group looked confused. "Well" Asked one of the Sligs in the group. "We follow her; she may lead us to something" replied Admeet. The group rejoined the female Slig and carried on through the dark depths.

Dark Realm (part 2)

As the group carried on, the water slowly became murky. "What's with the murkiness" asked Zaypher. "We are getting closer" said the female Slig mysteriously. "Getting close to what" asked Admeet suspiciously. "We'll soon find out" said Zaypher. Just as the waters started to clear, a vast structure came into view. "Is everybody seeing this" asked Zaypher in astonishment. "Yeah, everyone's seeing this" replied Admeet in astonishment as well. They made their way down a sandy bank towards the structure.

The structure was built into the ground and was protected by an extremely thick grey metal wall. "Wonder what's inside" wondered Zaypher. "There must be some sort of entrance" said the Slig with the radar. "And I think I've just found one" said Admeet with confidence. They saw some sort of service hatch attached to the wall. "I'll go in" said the female Slig. "You're quite the adventurous one aren't you" said Zaypher. "Admeet can come with me" said the female Slig. "Why me" asked Admeet. "You are a good soldier and I will need the extra fire power" replied the female Slig. "So be it" said Admeet. "I'll cover you since you know what you are doing". The two walked towards the security hatch and inspected the opening mechanism. The mechanism consisted of a water proof, two-way button made to open the hatch. Just as Admeet pressed the button to open the hatch, two remote turrets shot out of the ground and locked onto the two Sligs. "Looks like we've been spotted, RUN" shouted Admeet to the female Slig.

The two ducked behind some jagged rocks as the turrets open fired. Hundreds of harpoons flew out of the turret barrels and jammed themselves into the rock. "We need to destroy those turrets somehow" said Admeet as the rock they hid behind was slowly disintegrating. "I noticed on each of the turrets a targeting chip on the bulk of the turret" said the female Slig, "if we can destroy those chips, the turrets will lock on to each other and destroy themselves". Admeet took out his harpoon gun and leapt behind another group of jagged rocks. As the turrets started to reload, Admeet leapt in front of the turrets and fired at the targeting chips. The chips broke of the turrets and sank to the sea bed. The turrets immediately turned on each other. Admeet leapt back as the turrets fired at each other. The harpoons pierced the metal of the turrets and the turrets started to malfunction. Finally, the turrets broke down and stopped firing. "That takes care of that problem" said the female Slig walking towards the hatch. "Yeah" said Admeet while reloading his harpoon gun, "but there are probably many more ahead". The female Slig pushed the button and the hatch opened. The two went through and closed the hatch behind them.

Chapter 3

Dangerous Territory

"Standby for pressurization and decontamination" said a voice which sounded like a computer. The water in the chamber started to seep down into the grated floor below. "Pressure reaching normal levels" said the voice again. The Sligs sank down to the floor as the water level dropped. "Pressurization complete, decontamination process starting" said the voice as beams of red light moved up and down and shun on the two Sligs. "Decontamination complete" said the voice as the door into the inside of the structure above them opened. "I think it is safe to take these suits off now" said Admeet. The two took of their suits but kept their harpoon guns and melee daggers, they wouldn't know what they would be up against. They clambered up to the floor above them and looked at the new environment.

"My guess is that the radiation source is in this structure" said the female Slig. "Yeah, but where" said Admeet looking around. "That's what we need to find out" said the female Slig. Suddenly, the two were knocked out by the butt of a syringe gun. Two figures stepped out of the shadows and dragged the two Sligs towards somewhere unknown. A spindly figure was following them. "Take them to the torture chamber" said the spindly figure.

All was strangely dark when Admeet started to open his eyes. "Admeet" whispered the female Slig who was in the same room as Admeet. "Admeet" whispered the female Slig again, "wake up". Admeet opened his eyes fully and saw just darkness. "What's going on" asked Admeet. "I don't know" replied the female Slig, "all I heard was the butt of the gun hitting my head". "That's all I need to know" snapped Admeet quickly, "we need to get out of here". The two Sligs started wriggling but they noticed that they were strapped into hard, grey chairs. "I'm afraid you can't do that" said a mysterious voice somewhere in the room. Suddenly, a blinding display of lights appeared in front the Sligs' eyes. "Who are you?" shouted Admeet. All there was silence. The Sligs just looked around; confused and worried. At least five Interns were pointing syringe guns at the Sligs. In Admeet's eyes, his life was probably about to end. The only thing now was to wait for the final blow.

Chapter 4

Name Reckoning (Part 1)

Just as the Interns were ready to fire, the door to the left of Admeet opened. Standing there was the masked Slig holding a harpoon gun in his hands. "Do you want him or me" shouted the masked Slig standing by a few dead Interns. "Get him" shouted the mysterious voice, "I will deal with these two myself". The Interns hurried out of the room after the masked Slig.

"Now, where was I" said the mysterious voice. The figure with the voice wondered towards the Sligs, picking up a surgical knife along the way. The figure revealed himself in the light. He was wearing a gold monocle and a black business suit. "A Vykker" said Admeet. "Yes" said the Vykker, "I am the very Vykker which designed this whole base, and you will be the first Slig to die within its walls". "Wow, what a privilege" said Admeet sarcastically.

The Vykker walked around the two chairs looking at the female Slig. "Such determination to get here" said the Vykker. "Actually, we found this place by accident" replied Admeet. "Really" said the Vykker, "what were you looking for?" "Some sort of radiation source" replied Admeet. "Hmm, I guess were looking for the same thing" said the Vykker. "Then do you know where we can find the source" asked Admeet. "Yes" replied the Vykker, "there is a map in the main control room and I will show you there". Just as the Vykker was about to start his next sentence, a harpoon pierced through the Vykker's torso, spattering blood all over Admeet. Standing behind the crippled Vykker was the masked Slig with the harpoon gun in his hands. "Whoa, what's wrong with you" shouted Admeet angrily. "What?" said the masked Slig. "That Vykker was about to give me some important information" shouted Admeet. "He was evil wasn't he" said the masked Slig. "I was reasoning with him" shouted Admeet. "Hey" said the female Slig, "This reunion is very touching, but shouldn't we get out of here, unless you want more Interns to come to our position". "Your right" said the Masked Slig, "let me free you".

The masked Slig broke the locks on the chairs to set the Sligs free. "I think its time we had some names" said Admeet. "Yes I think so to" said the masked Slig as he took of his mask. "Vankor!" said Admeet looking confused. "Yes Admeet it is I" said Vankor. "How did you get back to full health?" asked Admeet, "you were wounded, scared, mauled beyond repair" Admeet hesitated but quickly turned it into a cough, "How?" "Well with the help of the doctors and a bucket full of med-packs, they nursed me back to health very quickly".

The Three Sligs were about to make their way out of the door when suddenly, Zaypher popped out of nowhere. "Zaypher" said Admeet in surprise, "what are you doing here?" "Hmm, you two have been gone for at least two hours" replied Zaypher holding his two SMGs, "no wonder you two have been captured all this time". "Anyway, shouldn't we be getting out of here" asked Vankor. "Yes" replied Admeet, "we have no time. We need to head to the main control room. Let's go". "By the way Admeet" said Zaypher, "I think you will need this". He handed over Admeet's magnum. The four Sligs started to make their way towards the main control room.

Name Reckoning (Part 2)

"Hmm, two ways" said Admeet looking at the clearly marked sign post saying Main control centre both going the opposite direction to one another. "I say we split up" said Zaypher looking at the sign post. "Okay" said Admeet, "I'll go with the female Slig and you will go with Vankor". "That's fine by me" said Vankor. Admeet and the female Slig went left and Zaypher and Vankor went Right.

Some time later and Admeet and the female Slig arrived at the main control room first. "I think we've had a bit of luck" said Admeet looking at the map that was placed on the metal table in the middle of the room. The two walked over towards the table and took a good look at the map. "I think its time I revealed myself" said the female Slig. "Okay" said Admeet. The two sat down on some stools positioned around the map. "My name is Solister. I was a Rogue-Slig like you, searching the wastelands for anything suitable to eat or drink, but it wasn't the life I chose. So I travelled to the military complex and joined the Slig Military Garrison. Since then, it's been a good life". "I guess we share more then we think" said Admeet. "More then you can imagine" said Solister. Admeet looked confused but a few moments later, Zaypher and Vankor showed up.

"What took you so long" asked Admeet. "We got stuck in traffic" replied Zaypher, "there were many Interns queuing up at the cafeteria". "Is it lunchtime already" said Vankor looking at the nearby clock on the wall. "No time for lunch breaks" said Solister, "we have found the exact location of the radiation source. It is located in an underground bunker situated in a large crater. Unfortunately, data reports show that the bunker is heavily guarded by those creatures we fought back ago". "Well what are they hiding" asked Vankor. "I don't know, but the whole thing doesn't sound good" replied Solister, "we'd better head out there now". "Whoa there sister" said Zaypher, "we need to stock up on supplies first; don't get to hasty". "We went past an armoury a while ago" said Vankor. "Right" said Admeet, "we go to the armoury, stock up on supplies, and then we leave. Agreed?" "Agreed" they said all together. The four Sligs started to make their way towards the armoury. In a few hours, the whole thing would soon come to an end.

Chapter 5

Retrieval and Preparing

Getting to the armoury was not difficult since all the interns were on lunch break. It was strange that the Interns didn't know that their master, the Vykker, was dead.

The Sligs finally reached the armoury that Vankor was talking about. "Yet another preposterous obstacle stands in our way" said Vankor, "How do you think we open it". "hmm, it looks like we need some sort of key-card" said Solister. "I thought I saw one on the dead Vykker" said Admeet, "Okay" said Solister, "me and Admeet will get the card". "Okay" said Admeet and the two Sligs walked off into the corridors. Zaypher and Vankor just stood there. "Something tells me that there could be a relationship between those two" said Zaypher rubbing his chin with his right hand. "I think so too" said Vankor inspecting the door and not really paying attention to Zaypher.

Admeet and Solister stood beside the door to the torture chamber. The door opened and the Sligs saw the harpoon pierced Vykker lying on the floor beside a torture chair. The key-card could be clearly seen attached to the Vykker's suit pocket. The two Sligs walked over to the dead Vykker. Solister picked up the key-card. Strangely, the dead Vykker's right arm was torn off. "Hmm, either a ravenous creature got his arm off or Vankor is a good shot with the harpoon gun" said Admeet examining the flesh wound. Unfortunately, the two Sligs didn't notice the four legged, beaked animal that was eating in one of the corners of the room. The creature turned its head to look at the Sligs while an arm hanging out of the creature's beak spilt blood all over the wall and floor. The creature let out a mighty roar and the arm fell out of the creature's beak and hit the floor. The Sligs jumped back as the creature stepped out of the shadows. "What the heck is a Scrab doing here" said Solister. "Maybe the interns didn't keep guard of the possible holding pens" replied Admeet. The Scrab came ever closer to the Sligs. "Damn lunch breaks, RUN!" shouted Admeet.

The Sligs ran out of the room and the Scrab charged at them. The Sligs ran as fast as they could but the Scrab was dangerously catching up with them. Then suddenly, the Scrab tripped up Solister and she fell to the ground. "Admeet!" shouted Solister as the Scrab reared up and pinned her down. Admeet turned around and saw the worst. "No!" shouted Admeet as he leapt at the Scrab and punched it in the head. The Scrab shrieked in pain as it stumbled back, but it quickly regained balance. Admeet drew out his magnum and pointed it at the Scrab. He pulled the trigger and with a bang, a silver bullet flew out of the barrel and penetrated the Scrab's forehead. Blood was spilling out of the Scrab's head as it stumbled about. With another mighty roar, it then fell to the ground; dead.

"You okay" asked Admeet as he lifted Solister of the floor. "I'm fine" replied Solister, "few bumps and bruises, but I'm good. But really, you didn't have to do that". "I just want to keep you safe from harm's way" said Admeet calmly. "Well, thanks" said Solister, "we should hurry on back". "Yes, let's go" said Admeet. The two Sligs made their way back to the armoury door.

"What took you so long" asked Zaypher tapping his foot on the floor. "We had a bit of an encounter with a Scrab in the torture chamber" replied Admeet, "but everything's fine". "Shouldn't we be opening this door now" said Vankor. "Yes" said Admeet. Admeet inserted the key card into the slot. "Access granted" said the voice which sounded like a computer. Steam shot out of the door gaps as the door opened. "Wow" said Zaypher in astonishment, "look at all these weapons". There were advanced machine guns, 8-shot magnums, combat shotguns, missile launchers; everything that a gun enthusiast would dream of. "We are not here for the weapons Zaypher" said Admeet looking at the piles of ammo to the far right, "we are here for the harpoon ammo, med-kits and those sea grenades on the shelf on the left". The four Sligs took whatever they could while Solister was eyeing two very strange pistols. "Hmm" thought Solister as she examined the pistols. "Looks like these duel pistols have been designed for underwater purposes" said Solister holding one of the pistols, "they might come in handy". "how many pairs are there" asked Admeet". "Luckily enough, there are 4 pairs" replied Solister. "Good" said Admeet, "we will definitely need them". They all grabbed a pair of pistols and some extra ammo. Then they made their way towards the air-lock where the security hatch was. "I guess they didn't find our suits in the hassle" said Solister looking at the suits which were lying on the grated floor. Solister and Admeet 'zipped up' their suits and Vankor pushed the button to close the door behind them. "Pressurization process starting" said the voice which sounded like a computer. The water down under the grated floor started to rise. After a few of seconds, the water reached the ceiling of the air lock. "Pressurization complete" said the voice again. The door on the other side opened to reveal the endless expanse of the sea bed. This was it; the finest hour had begun.

Chapter 6

The Finest Hour

The group of Sligs waiting near the hatch made their way towards the four Sligs. "I'll send these co-ordinates to your radar ummm, whats your name again" said Admeet cautiously to the Slig with the radar. It only took 5 seconds to get the co-ordinates to the radar. "Okay, I've got a position and it's Tarios" said the Slig with the radar. "Okay Tarios lead the way" said Admeet. Tarios started walking towards the destination point and the rest of the group followed.

15 minutes later, the group came to the edge of the crater. "Hold up" said Tarios pointing his hand up with a flat palm, "I'm picking up movement over the crater edge". "It could be those creatures again" said Solister. "There's only one way to find out" said Zaypher walking over to the edge. The group followed Zaypher over to the edge and saw utter chaos.

The ravenous creatures were picking of the last scraps of meat of a dead Leviathan on the edge (A type of whale). The Bunker was clearly in sight. "We have to get to the bunker quietly" said Admeet, "follow my lead". The Sligs Agreed and followed Admeet quietly to the centre of the crater.

It didn't take that long to reach the centre of the crater, and when they did reach it, they were let down by a difficult obstacle. "How many preposterous obstacles are there in this sea?" said Vankor sarcastically, "the front doors locked!" "Then we will just have to find a way in" said Admeet looking at the door and thinking. "Found it" said Solister as an answer. Solister had found a box of sea mines with a remote activation device stored with them. "They must be used to defend the bunker" said Zaypher inspecting the mines. "They are definitely going to cause some attention" said Admeet, "so be ready for a fight".

Vankor, being the strongest of the lot, opened the box and grabbed a sea mine and the remote. He carried them towards a point where he was a few metres away from the door. He gave Admeet the Remote and activated the detonation system on the mine "Ready" asked Admeet. "Ready" replied Vankor. He pushed the mine towards the door and before the mine hit the door, Admeet pushed the button to blow it up. The mine went of with a huge boom. It definitely created a hole in the door, and water was pouring into the entrance. This did however attract the attention of the creatures. The creatures gave out a loud roar and eyed the Sligs. "Get ready, here they come" shouted Admeet as he drew out his duel pistols. Solister, Zaypher and Vankor also drew out their pistols and aimed at the creatures. The other Sligs drew out their harpoon guns. "On my command, we run through the broken door" said Admeet. The creatures came ever closer and they showed their razor sharp teeth to the Sligs. "NOW!" shouted Admeet, "RUN!" The Sligs ran straight through the broken door and the creatures swam violently after them.

The four Sligs fired their pistols and harpoon guns at the creatures that were dangerously catching up. "Just run" shouted Admeet. The entrance to a small corridor came into view. "Quick, in there" shouted Solister. The Sligs turned violently and opened the door. They all went inside and Admeet closed the door just as a creature was halfway through the door way. The door sliced the creature in half and all the Sligs could see was the body and head of it. Blood was spilling out of the flesh of the creature and turning the slightly flooded corridor into a blood bath. "God, disgusting" shouted Zaypher looking at the flesh hanging out of the sliced creature. Some of the creatures started banging at the door. "We'd better move" said Solister, "the source can't be far". The Sligs waded through the flooded corridor towards the radiation source.

Eventually, they reached the source. They looked through a door window and couldn't believe their eyes. "My god" said Vankor, "it's a nuclear reactor. What is it doing here and why is it still operational". "Maybe the previous owners of this bunker wanted power, so they built this reactor" said Solister, "and maybe when they decided to move out when the resources were getting low, the radiation mutated the creatures when they took over". "So how do we deactivate it" said Tarios. "We need to flood the reactor first" said Solister, "then we need to activate the reactor and overload it. Because the entire core will be flooded, it shouldn't cause a big explosion". "It looks like there is a water pump room just next to the reactor" said Vankor looking at a reactor status map, "and there should be a small tunnel from the reactor to the pump room. There is also another small tunnel which leads to the sea". "Right, the radiation levels shouldn't be too bad in there" said Admeet, "Let's go".

The only way towards the pump was to crawl through the small tunnel one by one. When the Sligs finally reached it, they stationed themselves around the pump. "It says on the instructions here "to turn on pump, adjust the pressure to 80%, open the main valves and turn on the two generators at the same time"" said Vankor looking at the instructions. Tarios adjusted the pressure, Zaypher opened the main valves and Admeet and Solister turned on the generators at the same time. Within no time, the pump was up and running. The reactor chamber was slowly flooding with water. This in turn opened the valve which allowed sea water to seep in. "The controls to activate the reactor are situated beside it" said Solister, "we need to get there before the creatures can swim through the sea valve. The Sligs dived into the water and swam through the small tunnel.

The Sligs made it through and Solister positioned herself beside the controls next to the reactor. "Good thing these controls are water proof" said Solister, "I just need to push this button to overload the reactor and we are out of here". Before she could press the button, the tail of a creature whacked her onto the floor suddenly. "Too late" shouted Admeet, "open fire!" The Sligs with their pistols and harpoon guns fired at the creatures that were coming through the sea valve. "There are too many" shouted Tarios. Admeet quickly helped Solister onto her feet. "Run through the door" shouted Admeet, "it's our only way out".

The Sligs ran through the door and quickly closed it but one of the creature's long hands with razor sharp claws was stuck in the gap of the door. Admeet shot it a couple of times and the creature gave up. Unfortunately, the panel to open the door was shot and burnt out. "Seal the door" shouted Vankor looking at the rushing water coming through the door. The Sligs pushed the door as hard as they could. Zaypher however just stood where he was and thought hard.

"Oh no" shouted Solister looking at the reactor, "that creature must have deactivated the reactor and we need to close this door from the outside. Someone needs to go in there to seal the door and activate the reactor". "I'll do it" said Admeet looking at the reactor, "I was supposed to be the one to end this". Suddenly just as Admeet was about to enter the reactor chamber, Zaypher hit Admeet on the head with the butt of one of his pistols. Zaypher then entered the reactor chamber and closed the door behind him. "What are you doing" Shouted Admeet looking through the window at Zaypher. "I'm sorry Admeet, but it has to be done" replied Zaypher. "Open the door god damn it" shouted Admeet angrily, "you were not supposed to die". "I can't do that Admeet" said Zaypher. The creatures were dangerously surrounding Zaypher. "I want the heroism to live on, so I'm doing this for you" said Zaypher. He then started to slowly walk away calmly with the creatures eyeing him. He activated the reactor and pushed the button to overload it. "We've got to go now" said Solister looking worried. Admeet took one last look at Zaypher and ran for it. "Farewell cruel world" said Zaypher to himself and then he was sliced and shredded by the creatures' sharp claws and teeth.

The rest of the Sligs came out of the entrance and ran towards the edge of the crater ignoring the fact that the creatures were eyeing them. Eventually, the Sligs made it back to the A.T.T and strapped in. They heard the reactor blow up just as strapped in. Vankor took the pilot's seat and started up the motors. The A.T.T started its 100 mile ascent through the tunnel. It didn't take that long to reach the surface and the A.T.T shot through the water and shot through the rock of the cave onto dry land. The A.T.T was scratched and scraped and the Sligs lay unconscious in their seats. Admeet was the only one who was conscious. He sat there and looked depressed. Zaypher was gone, either dead or still out there; no one would ever know.

Chapter 7

Reckoning

The other Sligs started to wake up slowly after a few minutes. Vankor was the first to get out of his seat. He inspected the controls on the A.T.T. Solister opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Admeet; sitting on the edge of the cargo bay looking depressed and unhappy. She unstrapped herself from her seat and walked towards Admeet. "I know what you are thinking" said Solister calmly. Admeet sighed and looked up at Solister "Why did he do that" said Admeet, "why did he have to sacrifice himself. It wasn't meant to be like this". Solister kneeled beside Admeet. "He died a hero Admeet" said Solister, "he sacrificed himself to make the legend live on". "I suppose so" said Admeet.

"Damn" said Vankor looking at the A.T.T's engine, "it is shot and destroyed beyond repair". "Then what do you suppose we do" asked Tarios helping some of the weak Sligs up. "We walk" said Vankor looking at Tarios. The Sligs agreed and they gathered as much equipment as they could to take back to the military complex. One of the Sligs was inspecting the water in the destroyed cave. "Looks like the radiation was vaporised due to the explosion" said the Slig walking out of the destroyed cave, "we can finally drink this water". The Sligs gathered round the water and drank loads of it. Only Admeet wasn't by the water, he still felt depressed. Solister grabbed a cup from the A.T.T's storage compartment and filled the cup with water. She brought it to Admeet. "Here have this" said Solister giving the cup to Admeet, "it will make you feel better". Admeet drank the water out of the cup. "Lovely" whispered Admeet, "it's been a long time since I've had pure water". Admeet got up and looked for his magnum. "We should head out now" said Vankor, "General Sleg will be waiting for us". The Sligs started to head out to the military complex.

Getting to the complex didn't take long. The Slig sentries spotted the group and let them in. The other Sligs inside the complex were amazed to see the group alive. Some of the Sligs made way for General Sleg who was coming down the hall way. "I am truly amazed" said the general to the group of Sligs, "You managed to survive this ordeal and the water is now pure. Is everyone here?" "Yes" said Admeet, "but Zaypher is missing, presumed dead" "Why" asked General Sleg wanting to know. Admeet hesitated for a moment but he slowly regained his confidence. "He sacrificed himself to "make the legend live on"" replied Admeet making it loud enough for the other Sligs to hear, "he was brave, talented and he was a good friend. But the thought of why did he sacrifice himself still lingers in my mind. This has made me confused and depressed. But know this, He died a hero and he gave life to the wasteland and our people. He is truly our saviour". Every Slig cheered and applauded at Admeet's short speech. Little did they know however that Admeet's speech was about to be broken.

Back in the depths of the underground sea, the destroyed bunker was covered in rubble and there was no sign of life. Most of the creatures had evacuated from the crater and were out there in the endless sea. Some of the creatures however were swimming around the rubble looking for any wounded stragglers. The creatures were also being more irradiated by the radiation given off by the wrecked reactor. Suddenly, part of the rubble and debris started to move and break away. It moved more and more until a wounded and scared figure burst out of the rubble. The figure crawled out of the hole and made his way down to the base of the debris mountain. He was carrying a slightly broken harpoon gun, but it was still in working order. His visor was smashed and some of the hydraulics in his legs was bust. "Now" he said to himself, "Where was I".