James writhed awake, he felt himself choke on his blood. Something felt terrible, a horrible burning ached throughout his body, his head throbbed. As he sat up, he fumbled around for his light, his clothes were soaked and he could hardly breathe past the smell. As he fumbled around for the button he heard voices, he automatically pressed his body alongside the wall, trying to slink in to the darkness.
"Where the fuck is that kid?" he heard a man ask, he could feel his own heartbeat accelerate.
"Who knows...these fucking people are everywhere down here."
"You know what we're supposed to do when we find him." stated the first voice as they walked closer and closer to where James was pressed. He could hear their boots and the rattling of their guns as they walked. He felt their heat as they stood directly in front of him, inches away from his own shoes. He thanked whatever mercy he could that the two did not bear flashlights.
"A fire can't rise without kindle." he heard the man scoff, "That's gotta be one of the stupidest things I've hea-"
"Shut up man, don't even talk like that...you saw the last guy."
"Everyone saw the last guy." replied the first voice. "That...wasn't human...yer right thou, I'll shut up."
As they walked James was careful not to move an inch, not to breathe a single breath. Silent as the grave. But he felt the man's shoe touch his, he gaped in horror as he felt the sensation of the man's weight shift.
"What the hell!?" he called out. "A rock!?" The second then turned on his light, turning it onto James, revealing his white shocked petrified face.
"IT'S ONE OF THOSE KIDS!" the man shouted. James took turn and darted down the passage.
"GRAB HIM!" shouted the first as he picked himself from the ground. Both the came, sprinting after him, James could feel his speed decreasing, he felt himself limp and the pain, the pain that radiated up and down his back and into shin. For a moment though, he allowed himself the hope of escaping, he had gotten this far, what was a few more meters? It was that hope that crushed him when he felt the hands on the back of his neck, as he tore through the air he saw stars and felt his neck jerk, they both shined their lights in his face, blinding him with the light.
"Well aren't you a slippery son of a bitch." the one spat. "You got pretty far kid, even with that leg." James looked to the trail of light that the man pointed at, he then saw that his leg had been destroyed, something stuck out of it, it seeped with blood clotting and oozing around him. It was then that James remembered, it hadn't been the water that soaked his clothes: It was his own blood. James went limp at the sight of that, he gave into his captor's arms, boneless and defeated in their arms he lay. He could barely make out what they were whispering to each other as clouded thoughts and darkness consumed him. He saw their lips smile and move, but he couldn't hear what they were saying, their lights grew dimmer and dimmer, soon James could not see at all: He was all theirs.
The rage seethed from him when Sara disappeared from his view. His vision went red as soon as Manny released her. "YOOOOOU!" he screamed, pushing aside his assailants with a strength he did not know he possessed. He tackled Manny to the ground and began striking him. "YOU BRING HER BACK! YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU MONSTER! DEMON!" Manny took the defense and caught his right cross, he wiggled his legs from underneath James and kicked him in the gut. James flew off of him, hitting the ground on his back.
"Now James," said Manny, he grinned as he wiped the blood from his lips. "Don't be gettin' stupid now. You forget, there's five of me and one of you." James glanced at the numbers through his squinted eyes, there they all stood, poised and ready to beat him to death. "If you touch me again, I'll drag your cunt of a sister up here...I will beat her to death in front of you...and I'll leave you to live, now get up. We got work to do."
James felt like sobbing at his own weakness, his inadequacies as a boy. He even took Manny's hand and stood up.
"Come on." he smiled venomously. James followed the crowd as they led further and further away from his fallen sister.
"I thought we were going to Central?" he asked absently, "Isn't that why you pushed her down there?" he didn't dare say her name, he didn't have the right anymore.
"Nah...I honestly don't know where I pushed her, there are no bats down that way."
James quivered with rage has he followed the crew down the ladder, he thought of kicking Manny down the ladder, watching him plummet hundred of feet to his death. He was so close to, but then he remembered his sister, Lara: "Killing is killing, you take a life and you can't give it back...and no matter what you do, you'll never repay that debt." Silently, then, James climbed down the ladder and into the Heart of Gotham.
The ladder led out into a wide space, where four huge waterfalls of sewage churned together in raw power at the bottom. In the middle of the space was a giant four way bridge, each leading to the different sectors of True Gotham. Stepping off the ladder, James looked around the forbidden cavern of twisted beauty that was Center. Mouth agape he stood there, never once taking his eyes off the dirty falls that crashed and melted together.
"You guys see that?" pointed Manny. James glanced at the area to where he was pointing at: A video camera was perched against the cable. It whirred as its lens zoomed in on the children. They packed together as a reaction, danger all of a sudden swirled about them, the open tunnel channels seemed lethal to James.
"What is this place?" asked a girl. "Manny what is this place?"
"I don't really know, they just told me to bring you right here to this spot." he smiled.
"Who's...who's they, Manny?" asked James. "What are you talking about?"
"He's talking about us, kid." answered a foreign voice. It boomed throughout the circular pit of the hall. James turned to see a man standing in the wide tunnel entrance to the North. He was wearing a red scarf and held in his hand a weapon, he was surrounded by four others behind him. James thrashed his head in all directions, noticing that more men stood at each of the entrances, trapping the children in the pit. James turned his head to Manny.
"Who are these people?" he whispered.
"You'll find out soon enough," he muttered, he seemed almost afraid. "I had no choice, it was either you guys or me."
"Why did you leave Sara then?" James pleaded desperately.
Manny looked at him straight in the eyes. His cold psychopathic eyes, they were as black as the darkest of winter nights. Without any compassion and without any remorse.
"I have no idea who you're talking about." he stated. And then he smiled, a cruel harsh smile. James was so confused with its meaning and complexities that he hardly noticed the armed men, closing in.
"Here's the deal, you're all with us now." stated the scarfed man. "Come with us, and you might live a little longer."
"Why should we come with you?" James heard himself ask. "If you're going to kill us anyway? We don't know you, you don't know us. We could be completely worthless."
"That's not for me to decide." he replied poisonously. " I don't see how you have any choice in this matter."
"There's always a choice." came a voice from behind James. It was gruff and sounded a little older than him, for a second however he thought the voice was someone else entirely. The child took from his pocket an object and threw it on the ground. James and the rest of the crew took giant steps backwards as they saw it was an unpinned grenade from the black market. It rolled as the man shouted "N-" but the blast cut him off as the bridge of Central flew apart. Metal grate spewed everywhere, and chaos erupted. James heard a deafening ring in his ears as he observed the scene around him: Muffled bullets were fired, screaming and yelling as some tried to run or hold onto the railing while the guard tried to rip them off. James saw from his position on his stomach an open sewer channel just 10 or so feet below him. He climbed to the broken and skewed railing, perching himself for a moment to calculate the chance of a jump. Amidst all the screaming and smoke he saw a man mouthing "GET HIM!" James felt his eyes widened as he leapt from the railing and began to plummet down to the water. He felt the drop, lunged into the open tunnel, he crashed hard through the waterfall and into the tunnel. He found it strange that he couldn't hear his own cry of pain as he landed. Picking himself up, he stumbled and sprinted away, down the tunnel and back towards safety. He couldn't hear, but he felt the trembling of the ground, hundreds of men must've been down here, all searching for something. A treasure?
James stumbled around the corner to find himself face to face with some other men. They shouted mute commands and raised their weapons, James turned and fled, using the wall for a bullet guard. They became more and more distant, James smiled at himself; I'm the fastest one here, assholes he smiled to himself, never gonna catch me. And then a sensation flew through him, he was falling. James had stepped into a ladder chute without seeing, he felt himself fall and tried in vain to grab the ladder, the force ripped him from the bar and he plummeted to the ground, a sickening smack was heard. And James lay lifeless on the ground. It was dark and the energy of the tunnel swirled around him, dark shadows encompassed the boy, holding him in its embrace.
He felt his broken body being dragged, pain sheered through him each time his toes grazed the concrete. They had taken his shoes, he could feel the cold of the tunnel. He heard strange noises and saw a blurred light, he could feel his life pour out of him, his leg seemed like a dead weight. As he was dragged in he saw just where he was: In the deepest heart of the sewer, at the base level in the deepest hole where no light reached. The men roughly sat him against a wall underneath a bridge of some kind. There must've been a channel or canal or something, James could hear the water thundering against the walls and echoing throughout the chamber. He could feel flesh against his arm, he turned his head to find other children sitting and shivering. Some were bleeding others were just frozen, he could not recognize a single one.
"Don't move," spat the man, sitting him upright. "You got me? You move? I shoot."
"He ain't goin' anywhere, just look that leg." replied the second.
James did not look, he turned his head to find the other child doing so, her face was pale and drained of any color. she leaned in close to James's ear.
"Do you know where we are?" she asked fearfully, James couldn't make out half of what she was saying, his head was so fuzzy.
"No." he replied, not opening his eyes. "No, I don't." He leaned against the wall underneath the bridge, calmed by the melodic current of the water. His senses were so clogged and he was so tired. He could feel his sweat pouring down his face and he could smell his own fear like he could a skunk. Here in this place, pressed against other trembling children, James felt a sense of unity. This is it, he thought to himself. A great quiet entered the room now, all noises ceased: This must be what death feels like. But he could hear the heavy footsteps of boots, the raspy breathing: He wasn't dying, something was coming.
"Oh, god." he heard the girl gasp in horror. "It's back."
James opened his eyes halfway, looking at the girl's chattering teeth. "What's back?" he asked as he let out a weak cough.
The girl turned and looked at him, and then his leg. She spoke with clarity now, even as she trembled: "You better die now if your gonna do it, this thing won't take any pity on you." James was about to ask another question, but his heart leapt into his throat as he heard the footsteps on the stairs. An exuding pressure came from the figure, James looked to the ground like the rest of the children as it drew closer and closer. He looked at its feet, as it stood there next to the other guards.
"What are these?" it asked in an alien voice, it sounded cold and without emotion, like something inanimate and dead. "Why did you bring them here?"
"Someone brought them to us, says their the best climbers and runners in the sewer." answered the first man.
"Children?" it hissed. Its bulking figure swayed back and forth, shifting its tectonic weight from one leg to the other. The rasp in its breathing unsettled James to his very core, if he dared look up, he feared that he would be staring into the face of a monster. A dead ram's head in place of a human's, with coiled horns and flaming tar that dripped over its dead nose. "What about this one?" it asked coldly, and James knew it was pointing to him.
"He almost got away." the second man replied. "He jumped from the bridge, it was just chance that the other men foun-" An awful, sickening crack interrupted him, he dropped to the floor a dead weight, his neck had been broken: He was dead. The children around him squirmed and let out small whimpers of terror. James felt a great tug on his hair, he was blinded by pain, he felt himself dragged into the air. As he winced he could feel the creature look him over. Up and down, inspecting him, judging him.
"Put this one in the pit with the other ones." it growled, James held his eyes together like glue, his breathing came out in spurts and little coughs, until he felt himself drop to the ground. James kept silent, gritting his teeth to push himself through the pain.
"Listen well, you have two choices:" it spoke with a venomous rumble, "You're with us, or...you're with him." The monster stalked off, the other men leapt into action. Ripping James from the ground they carried him across the wide and open area. He didn't recognize this part of the sewer, no concept of where they were, all he knew was that he was in danger. They tied a rope roughly around his middle, he looked at them with a mixture of delirium and despair. "What are you...doing?" he gasped softly.
"Untie this when you're at the bottom." stated the man as he pointed at the rope. "You don't, I'll count to three and then I'll shoot you." The man then threw James into the hole before he could object. He felt his back crack when the jerk of the rope caught him. Coughing, they began to lower him roughly. James remembered calling out, thrashing and struggling until he felt his body touch the moist bottom of the pit. It was small, just big enough so that he could sit down with his legs stretched. He untied the rope immediately, he fought his tears back and tried in vain to subdue his shaking. He heard the man's voice from up top:
"You survive down there for a while and we'll pull you out." he laughed. "For now, you're on your own."
And then they slid the top over the pit. They did it slowly, so that James could feel his hope drain away. Small holes had been drilled in for air, and for small rays of what little light there was to waft through. James wept bitterly as it fit into its place, looking up he realized the inevitable truth, the horrifying and devastating truth that now child should face: James for the first time in his life faced his mortality.
He was alone.
The creature stalked back and forth, his thundering steps could be heard across the tunnels and halls of this maze. It stalked through the darkness with such ease, such well versed practice, such ease. Its hand felt the walls around him as he breathed in his new base. This pit, this labyrinth would serve it well in the months to come. The all encompassing darkness was welcoming to the creature. As it headed down the halls, it contemplated the pit's inner workings: Rotten, dying and wholly corrupt. The surface was just a mirage, but here, here was Gotham's true face. This festering and seeping wound of a place. The creature let the drumming of the hammers ring in its ears. Its opaque eyes scanned for any life that could be down here. The creature frowned as it saw something that displeased it, angered and enraged it. Crouching now, it saw the singular bat on the edge of the wall's turn: A white bat. The creature let out a rumbling growl as it ran its talons over the bat, something is down here, it thought. Their symbol has betrayed them, and its consequence will be their death.
It turned the corner and saw a glimmering light come from the end. The beast trudged towards the blinding light, the infuriating hope, walking with a steady pace, its hoofs clamored against the ground. The creature saw the figure holding the flashlight turn: A girl.
She looked horrified, her blue eyes widened and her mouth fell open. The creature reveled in her fear, her stink of horror, lumbered closer still he felt her trembles and shakes. She then turned out the light, thinking that the action would save her.
She looked around, held her light close to her chest, her short hair pressed to her forehead from the sweat. She looked around blindly, no movement came from her, she didn't even seem to breathe. The creature extended its claws towards her face, caressed the outline of her body. The pleasure of control was almost too much for the creature, the power that it held over its prey was, to him, exquisite. Helpless, the beast thinks, completely helpless. Carefully it lowers its face to the same level as hers. It knows she is aware of its presence. That's why her head is turned, afraid and rightfully so. The beast reaches out for her throat now, hearing her ragged breathing and panic its so close to touching her. But a voice rings out and a light flashes: The creature does not take its eyes from hers, they meet eyes for the first time. It pours all its hate and fear into her, cramming the waste into her sea-blue eyes. She screams as the darkness envelops them once more, the creature feels a tiny push from the back: Another child. It picks up the child by the hair, notices the blood pouring from her face. She fights in vain, lashing out her hands in desperation. Suddenly, the creature feels a familiar sensation: Pain.
Dropping the child, it hisses, struggling to control its composure; enraged at the young woman, it watches her sprint into the distance. It sways for a moment, its only sign of hesitation, the creature ponders chasing the two, but decides not to. They would come, it resides, they would eventually come back. These were children of the dark, children of the filth: Unwanted, aborted, and undeserving of the world above. And when they come they will be consumed in the fire, all would be consumed in the rising fire.