Prequel: Salvation in the Dark
Robin awoke with a sneeze. She hurt all over, and everything was pitch black. Making a small flame for light, she carefully sat up. She was in a tiny, dusty room, with no apparent windows or doors, but for an odd looking, rough tunnel in one of the walls. The ceiling was so high she could not see it, though with the musty scent of the room, it had to be there. There was rubble all around. Next to her lay Amon, still unconscious. He was covered with blood!
Looking down at herself, Robin realized that she was bloody as well, and on the floor was a great pool of blood, surely enough that they should both be dead. Examining him closely, she saw that beneath all the blood and torn clothing, Amon had nothing more than some fresh scars. But how was that possible? They must have fallen from above, because the tunnel had no bloody trail in it, but for a set of prints in the dust, made by bare human feet.
Amon opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the dim light cast by a tiny, floating flame. He rolled over and stood, carefully walking to Robin, who was standing nearby.
"What is this place?" He asked her. She shook her head, not looking at him.
"I don't know. I guess we're still somewhere in the Factory. This tunnel wasn't made by a machine. Look at the rough edges. And what are the marks on the wall? They look like claws. Big claws." She shuddered.
"Well, it looks like there's only one way out, and we don't have a choice, really. We take the tunnel, or…" Amon's stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, and Robin's answered. She fell into a fit of hysterical giggles, amazed to be alive. Amon scowled, and started along the tunnel. "I'd rather not starve to death."