More character development before the main action... bear with me!

While walking down the dimly lit, cramped mining tunnels, my mind decided that it was a good idea to think about the American movie My Bloody Valentine. I shuddered with anticipation. Great. Way to go, Akira, for now scaring yourself silly.

The sound of more boots crunching on loose stones behind me made me jump. I turned my head quickly to see four more miner's masks staring at me with their mounted headlamps. However, this was a group of young adults with scientific equipment and weapons, not a group of psychopaths with pickaxes.

Hayato and Haruna were right behind me, murmuring quietly about underground GPSs and other scientific… stuff. They didn't even notice me look at them. The only thing Hayato did was shield a screen from the glare of my headlamp. Where Kazuko should have been was Masuyo, a new recruit. Her long, red-dyed hair stuck out of the back of her mask, illuminated by the light of my headlamp. Hayato and I recruited Masuyo because of her knowledge in biology and animal behavior – which included kaiju. When she wasn't helping with the team's business, she was tracking the recovering populations of native animals in the Kanto region.

And last but not least was Kenshin. Kenshin, in my opinion, could have been the leader of this group. His physical resemblance to Goro was striking, although Goro was about 10 years older than Kenshin. The one thing that kept Kenshin back was his anxiety and paranoia. Although I don't like to admit it, one of my personal goals is to not become like Kenshin… even though I'm on my way there.

"Stop!" Hayato shouted suddenly, his voice ringing down the long, narrow passageway. We all stopped in our tracks and turned to look at him in curiosity. "What is it, Hayato?" I asked.

"Well," Hayato said in his matter-of fact tone, "I believe we took the wrong path to the chamber. According to the GPS, we're somewhere… above the cavern. "

"Is that so?" Haruna asked. "My GPS says were still several hundred meters away…" The two moved in closer so that they could inspect each other's results. I thought I heard a faint cracking noise as they did so, but I shrugged it off. It's just my worries getting to me.

Meanwhile, Kenshin moved to the head of the group and looked into the darkness that lay before us. "It seems like this tunnel does continue onward for a while…" he muttered to himself. As Kenshin took a few steps forward, I heard the cracking – but louder this time. I know it wasn't just me this time because Kenshin turned around and looked at me, fear dancing in his eyes.

I raised a hand to warn him, realizing the urgency of the situation. We definitely were above the cavern. Right above it. "Don't move" I whispered to Kenshin. Everyone looked at me, puzzled. Kenshin swayed slightly, off put by his sudden halt. I looked back toward Hayato, about to ask him what to do. That was when the floor fell beneath me and Kenshin.

When I say the floor dropped – I mean it felt like everything dropped. In a split second, my feet weren't on a solid surface and I was rushing past damp, underground air. My organs seemed to fall faster than my body, leaving a sick, twisted feeling deep inside my stomach. The world seemed to slow down as I was free falling, until the scary part happened. Everything was over in a moment.

My body hit the ground and literally bounced a few centimeters. There was a thump as the breath left my body and my ribs cracked against the cold ground. Small stones were embedded into my skin from the harsh impact. As my head spun around and around, my breathing slowed to normal and pain started to kick in. I groaned as I tried to move, shifting bleeding body parts in the darkness. I flipped myself over and looked up at the dim light above me. How the hell did I survive this fall?

Suddenly, I was startled by a sharp, wet coughing; a mixture of dust and blood. My head quickly turned – painfully popping a few vertebrae – and I saw Kenshin, propped up against the side of the cavern. I scrambled to find my feet and staggered over, fighting the pain through clenched teeth. "Kenshin! Kenshin! Can you hear me?" I shouted, waving my hand in front of his face.

Kenshin coughed again, dirty blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. "Yes…" he muttered, not looking up.

"Hey, look at me, I said sternly. I lifted his chin with my hand so that he was staring in my direction. I made a peace sign in front of his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" I asked.

Kenshin looked at my head blankly. "…2?" he asked.

I sighed with relief. "Good. How'd you survive the fall, Kenshin?"

"I honestly don't know."

I craned my next up to the ceiling, where the faint spot of light coming from the tunnel looked like the size of a pinhead. "Can anyone hear me?" I shouted toward the tunnel at the top of my voice. From above, I heard someone – I couldn't distinguish who – answer yes.

"Okay!" I shouted back. "Go and get some more gear and try to come down into the cavern. We're okay down here. If…" before I could say anymore, I felt Kenshin tapping at my side. "What is it Kenshin?" I asked. However, Kenshin didn't reply, he only pointed away from us. I turned around and gasped.

On the opposite side of this huge, dim cavern, there was the entrance that the original miners used. However, block it were hundreds upon hundreds of eggs, the size of me and Kenshin. "Holy shit…" I muttered. I felt another tap on my side. "What is it now Kenshin, I snapped, patience wearing thin.

"That wasn't me Akira" he said. I could detect the fear in his voice. "I was trying to tell you I saw something moving. It just ran right past us!"

"Well speak up next time!" I shouted, my own stress level rising.

"I just took a nasty fall, give me a break!" said Kenshin, still dazed. In the distance, the slipping of loose stones caught my attention. "God damn it!" I hissed pulling my gun out of its holster. I looked back up at the cavern ceiling and shouted. "Hurry! We're not alone down here!"

That was when something attacked.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any feedback or constructive critism, let me know! ;D