hey guys! Just want to say thanks for all the reviews, faves, follows, etc. This chapter was going to be bigger but I felt that it would be better to spilt the action so it wasn't too long or messy. So this chapter is all about Gaius and the guys in the catacombs. Might have a bit of northern clans in there too! Let me know what you think!
Chapter 37
The Catacombs
"I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain - and back in rain.
I have out walked the furthest city light.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
A luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night"
Acquainted With The Night,
Robert Frost
Gaius sat in the dirt and watched the flames rage through the pyre.
The intense heat reached him even where he rested which was itself a good distance back from the burning pile. Marcus stood near him. His companion's face was unreadable.
They watched in silence the sparks fly into the night, almost seeming to join the countless stars that gazed down on them from above. It had been a terrible few hours for both hybrids but now here they were, watching and thinking on what had been.
Five hours before...
The descent into the catacombs was a long one.
The aged stone stairs they walked down was full of unstable steps and even missing sections entirely, requiring the hybrids to jump over what seemed like vast chasms until the lights from their omnitools illuminated the gloom.
The three were not naturally skittish individuals but something about the almost endless dark and the strange creaking noises of the deep passageways called out to primal fears in them all. Faint scurrying noises had them on high alert as they moved downwards.
To their faint relief, the descent slowly evened off until they no longer were travelling on stairs but instead found themselves in a vast tunnel system. As they slowly advanced, Gaius took a good look around.
The turians who had built this place had covered the stone walls with murals and carvings which time had worn down or chipped away at. He was fascinated by the ancient battle scenes carved into the rock, the creators writing down their history into the fabric of Palaven itself.
Marcus took point as they moved on. He had a copy of the map given to them by Aurelia and was attempting to decipher where they were. He led them eventually to a small chamber.
"Right. Its official. I have no clue where the hell we are. I mean Aurelia marked out where we would find the groups but this place is worse than a labyrinth."
Gaius was more taken with a vast mural that was painted on the wall behind a small cracked altar.
"Take your time. Figure it out," he mumbled as the hybrid gazed at the drawing.
It was a fascinating fresco and, although faded and chipped, he could clearly make out what it depicted.
It was three scenes telling a story, starting at the top and moving downwards.
The first scene was of a turian holding two ancient looking axes in hands that had strange symbols glowing yellow on them. He stood in front of jagged mountains painted black with the sun between the peaks.
At the turian's side stood five others, three to the right and two to the left. They all shared the same intensely intricate face markings of deep blue. It had to be a northern turian clan as they were the only ones to paint their faces if the time period he guessed was correct he thought.
The next scene was split in two. The first section depicted the death of one of their number; the lone female of the group being kidnapped by barefaced others before throwing herself into what looked like a lake. The axe wielding turian reached out with one hand to stop her as the other covered his face in grief.
Its partner scene showed the turian putting on a mask that appeared to have no eyes and was raising one hand with an axe clenched in it. The remaining four companion figures were depicted in the act of either trying to calm him or run from the figure's rage.
The final scene interested him the most. The masked turian was shown being trapped in something like liquid that was oozing up over his body. There was no clues to what it was or where but it was clear it was against his will.
The four who stood with him from the start and had run from him, now were there in judgement it seemed. The four males pointed at the masked turian as if condemning him to his fate. What intrigued him more than anything else was the markings.
They had changed. Each of the four now had a simpler one. As he flickered his gaze between the first part depicting the intricate markings of the group to the last where that intricacy had disappeared, he figured it out. They had divided their clan markings to form four new ones. He stared at one very familiar marking in particular. One with a blue line across the nose, cheeks and on the mandibles.
He noticed some names in a vaguely familiar written language on the bottom of each of the four. His grandfather had taught him to read that particular dialect when he had been a boy and he desperately racked his memory to decipher what it said.
"Makasian... Latros... Moebius..." He stared intently at the final and most familiar one.
"...Vakarian..."
The light from his omnitool flickered over the fresco once more.
Gaius nearly jumped out of his plates when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"SPIRITS ALIVE! You frightened the shit out of me!" he hissed out to Marcus.
"Sorry but you were in a whole other world, Sidonis. I have tried to tell you for a few minutes now that we have found where we are supposed to go."
"Excellent. I suppose we best make a start."
Marcus and Peter headed off down a connecting hallway. Gaius took one last look at the fresco. He made up his mind to ask Kato or Avitus what it all means when he next saw either of them and took off at a run to catch up with his squad mates.
They continued on into the eternal darkness with the constant sound of dripping water and faint creaking as a soundtrack.
"How far are we now?" asked Peter who was stretching out his limbs.
"Not too far. I'd say another kilometre or so before we hit where Aurelia's marked."
Gaius was suddenly aware of a strange feeling of being watched. He subtly eased up from the group and lagged behind. He could hear faint whispers and murmurings. He stopped and let the others move on.
Marcus and Peter continued on, each becoming steadily more aware of what Gaius had figured out earlier until they heard the very familiar sound of weapons being readied. Two young turians, no more than fifteen, pointed some pretty old hardware at them.
"Freeze!" shouted the young female. "What are you doing down here?"
Marcus stared intently at her.
"You are both pretty brave to be holding us up like this," he said with a smirk.
The female pointed her gun at his face.
Suddenly, the male to her side was disarmed and shoved to the ground. She turned and pointed her gun to empty space. The female lowered her weapon as she felt cold metal press into the back of her neck.
"You are very brave indeed. But misguided. Hand over the weapon," said Gaius smoothly. Marcus had already helped the young male up while Peter was standing at the ready to tackle the girl. The turian hesitated before handing her weapon over. Peter immediately disarmed it.
Gaius stepped out from behind her.
"So, how about you lead us to your crew? Aurelia sent us."
The turian teenagers perked up. "Aurelia sent you?" asked the young male.
"Yeah. Gave us a map and marked out your hideout. She wanted us to let you know that she now has plenty of room for you all and you should make your way back up to the surface."
The teenagers glanced at each other nervously.
"Whats wrong?"
"It's just... some of our number are sick. They are too ill to be moved."
Gaius frowned.
"Take us to them."
"But..." sputtered the female.
"Take us to them now. We need to check them over."
The teenagers led them through a series of interconnecting corridors before reaching a large well-lit chamber.
As they walked in, Gaius did a quick head count. There was at least thirty kids in here of varying ages. The teenagers all carried weapons, obviously acting as protection for the younger ones.
The two who had led them to the hideout assured the others that Gaius and his crew were there to help.
"The ones who are sick are over there. We have tried to keep them separate so no one else gets sick."
Gaius nodded to the young female before he went straight to the quarantined area. He reached it and his heart sunk. He was joined by Marcus and Peter.
"Damn," muttered Peter.
"Yeah. Maybe a bit more than damn," said Marcus.
Gaius stared at the children, all of them infected by the Aegrus. They lay suffering and keening, each with weeping wounds from where a mutt had obviously infected them.
The young female teenager came over to them.
"So, what do you think?"
"What is your name?" asked Gaius.
"Seras."
"Seras, I need you to keep everyone away from this place. Marcus?"
"Yeah?"
"I need you and Peter to scan every other child here. You know what for."
Marcus nodded gloomily before the two hybrids headed away.
"So can you help us? Can you help them?" asked Seras hopefully.
Gaius turned to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
"You seem like a level-headed young woman so I am going to need you to keep your cool about what I am about to tell you. There is nothing we can do for those in there."
"What do you mean?"
Gaius hesitated before he continued, "What I mean is that the best we can do is give them a peaceful end."
Seras started shaking her head. "No... no, there must be something you can do. They are only sick."
"They are not just sick. They have been deliberately infected with something that can't be cured but I can guarantee to you that they won't suffer. I'll make sure of that."
Seras struggling to cope with what Gaius was saying.
"No. There is always hope. There is always another way."
"Sometimes there isn't and spirits knows it is a hard lesson to learn at your age but you will be stronger for this."
Seras started to keen and went to go to the sick children. Gaius held her back.
"Sorry but no."
She started wailing and Gaius grabbed her by the shoulders. He stared intently at her.
"I know this is harsh but they are beyond aid. We will help them as best we can. But you can do so much more. You can stop this from happening to anyone else. I need you to tell me where and how these kids became sick."
Seras took deep gulping breathes.
"Ahem... they... they were originally from the boys camp."
"The boys camp?"
Seras bit back on some sobs that wanted break free from her throat.
"The boys are another group of kids. Their place is back along the way we came. Me and Harvus were on our way to check it out when we ran into you."
Gaius folded his arms. "Why?"
"These kids arrived saying that some varren attacked the camp a day or so ago. They managed to escape so we were just going to see if there was any other survivors."
"Seras, I need you to be strong. I need all of you teenagers to be strong for the little ones."
The young turian nodded. "I will. What is going to happen now?"
"We need to make sure that none of the rest of you are sick then we will escort you to the surface. Is there anyone else hiding in these catacombs apart from you and the boys?"
"No. No one else could stand living down here."
Gaius nodded. "All right. Can you give the details of how to get to the boys hideout?"
Seras went through the catacomb map and eagerly explained how to reach the other group. She had just finished when Peter arrived over.
"Thankfully the others are clear."
"Right, get their gear together and get them out of here. I want you to personally ensure their safety."
"Yes, sir."
Seras reluctantly headed off to help her group get their things together but Gaius noticed how often she glanced back at the ones who were ill. Peter had moved to join her in her task when Gaius called him back.
"Sidonis?"
"How is our drug supply?"
Peter looked at him confused before something registered inside.
"Oh... ahem, there might be enough. How many?"
"Seven inside. I would rather not do this the physical way."
"Understood. I'll set up the injectors."
"Thanks, Peter."
The children were ready to go quite quickly and left with the armed teenagers and Peter in attendance.
Marcus and Gaius watched them go. Once the others were safely on their way topside, they spilt the injectors between them.
"Are you okay with this? I can do this alone if necessary. This is not a pleasant job," said Gaius quietly.
"I can do this but thanks..."
Gaius nodded and they both headed in to the quarantined area. They started going around to them one by one, murmuring comforting words. They injected each one, overdosing them with turian barbiturates. They stayed with them, holding the children's hands as they fell into a sleep that they never woke from. Gaius looked up when he was nearly finished and saw Marcus struggling to not cry.
He pulled him aside.
"Give me your last one."
"No... I can do this..."
Gaius tugged Marcus's right mandible hard.
"Just hand it over. There is no shame in not wanting to do this. Go outside and get ready for transporting the bodies. You know what we must do after..."
Marcus wiped away the tears streaming down his face and handed over his last injector. He tried to stop sobbing as he left. Gaius went to the last two children.
When it was all done and the last child had peacefully passed away, the two hybrids bagged up the bodies for transport out.
"Gaius..."
The hybrid looked up at Marcus. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about what happened... you know."
Gaius finished tying up the last bodies and put them into small cart they had found, obviously left over from an old excavation team.
"Don't be sorry for having feelings, Marcus."
"How did you... how do you stay so calm?"
"I have done this too many times. The front lines were not easy, Marcus."
The other hybrid started pacing. "But I was on the front lines too! I did terrible things!"
"But you never killed children who were infected. You killed those who had transformed but not those who were on the way to it. That is different."
Marcus gazed at him sadly. "Maybe you are right. Maybe I just separated mutts from what most of them once were."
Gaius started to pull the cart. "Lets go. We need to check out the other hideout."
They dragged the cart back along the corridor they had travelled down before reaching a fork in the path.
They headed left towards the next camp.
As they got closer, some familiar sounds reached their ears. They left the cart in the hallway and readied their weapons. Gaius took the lead and crept quietly to the entrance of the next room. He peered in.
The cavern was a natural formation, the catacombs ending at the hallway the hybrids were viewing from.
The far side of the cavern led out into the country side around Cipritine.
The remains of a campsite were scattered around but Gaius's eyes were more focused on what four mutts were sniffing around on the cavern floor. The mutts were there protecting a group of six unconscious young turians.
Gaius nearly punched the wall in frustration. Each of the teenagers were in the final stages of infection – their veins pulsing bright green.
He took out his sniper rifle and indicated to Marcus to do the same. He whispered to him, "How good a shot are you?"
"Pretty good."
"We need to one shot a mutt each. That will even the odds for us."
"Okay."
Gaius indicated to the far right mutt and set up for the shot. Marcus went for the furthest left.
"On the count of three... one... two... three!"
Gaius's shot took the mutt's head clean off, the remains of the creature dissipating into a pool of goo.
Marcus's first shot only clipped the mutt he picked but he quickly took a second that finished it off.
The other two mutts registered their presence and roared. They rushed the hybrids.
Gaius threw his rifle down and activated his biotics, focusing to forge blades over his hands. He charged into one mutt, hammering it backwards. The creature rolled some distance before it managed to right itself. As it finally got upright, Gaius was already upon it and sliced its head open.
He turned back to see Marcus cutting the other mutt's tentacle off. The mutt had impaled him through the shoulder. Marcus ripped out the remains of the spike before he pulled out his handgun and blew the retreating Aegrus's head off.
"You all right?"
Marcus took a look at the wound. "Yeah. Fine. Its gonna sting like hell for the next few days."
"Your nanites will take care of it."
Marcus went quiet as he stared at the young turians who lay on the floor. His throat moved up and down nervously. Gaius sighed before he took out his side-arm.
"Marcus?"
"Yeah?"
"Go and get the cart. Take your time..."
Marcus stared at Gaius. Their eyes held for a few minutes before Marcus nodded slowly.
As he headed back to the cart, he started to hear the gunshots. He jumped at each one, counting as he went along. By the time he reached the cart the gun had fired six times. Marcus steadied himself, leaning on a wall as he took deep breaths. He pulled himself together before he dragged the cart back.
Gaius was already covering the bodies by the time he returned.
The two worked in silence and placed each one carefully into the cart. It was filled to overflowing.
"We need to take this outside. Do you still have those explosives?"
"Yeah," answered Marcus.
"When we get out, I want you to rig up that exit and collapse it. This was a perfect and almost unseen entryway into the city. It needs to be destroyed. I'll start gathering fuel for..."
"I know, Sidonis. I know... It will be done."
Gaius nodded and the two started to drag the cart out.
Once outside under the stars, Marcus got to work with the explosives while Gaius dragged their unpleasant burden further away.
By the time Marcus had completed his task and the cavern mouth had been sealed shut with rubble, Gaius had gathered enough fuel to start the pyre and was throwing the bodies on as the fire roared.
Gaius sat and watched the fire rage on, Marcus standing at his side.
"Sidonis?"
"Yeah?"
"I... I never realised how cold you could be."
Gaius turned his gaze to the stars.
"It's not coldness. I am dead inside. Life has killed what little of me there was."
Marcus glanced over at the hybrid before he too sat down.
They sat and watched the fire burn in silence as Trebia started to rise on the far horizon.