'The light at the end of the tunnel is just the light of an oncoming train.'

Jimmy flicked on the torch and entered the tunnel ahead, Cass close behind him.

"Go!" Eric said, holding back," I'll catch up,"

Jimmy gripped the handgun in both hands and led the way down the dark tunnel, the torchlight showing garbage and other things floating in the murky green water that he didn't want to think about. Every step they took made a huge splash and Jimmy quickly realised they weren't going to get very far in this tunnel at that pace. A gunshot echoed loudly and Jimmy looked back to see muzzle flashes from back the way they had just come.

"Come on," he said, dragging her with him.

The screams of the undead were getting closer and Eric only had so many bullets, Jimmy shone the torch ahead to see a thick metal grating blocking their path. He kicked it, but it was dug into the concrete.

"This way," Cass said.

Jimmy followed her into a small crawlspace and she scrambled along the tunnel, the iron pipe she had discarded at the entrance.

"Wait up," Jimmy said as she turned a corner.

He slipped out of the tunnel into deep water, only just holding the gun above it even though his head fell under for a second. He pushed himself to the surface, spitting out the foul tasting water. His hands grasped a metal railing by some steps and he stopped, looking around. Cass was no where to be seen.

"Hey," he called, listening, but there was nothing.

Even the gunfire had died away, although he could just make out running footsteps from the tunnel he had just crawled through. He dragged himself up onto the stairs, leaning against them he saw that there were three more tunnels spread across the room, although one was bolted and chained heavily and impossible to enter. He clutched the gun, taking a quick look into both tunnels before shining the torch through, which was luckily still working after being submerged in water. The floor was wet and he couldn't see any footprints in the waste, there was no way of telling which way she had gone.

From behind him he heard a splash and he spun around, a body was fighting to reach the surface of the water, throwing dirty water in all directions. Jimmy rose the gun as the person grasped onto the railing, he could tell by the way it moved that it wasn't Eric. He pulled the trigger and the person fell back, clinging to the railing for a second before tumbling into the water with another splash. Another person appeared in the tunnel entrance with someone else following close behind and Jimmy knew that he had to make a break for it. He headed into the left tunnel while the undead tried to cross the deep water, that would at least buy him some time to get away. He pulled out Colin's radio from his pocket and held down the button.

"Eric!" he said as he ran, so far there were no footsteps following him," did you make it? Hello?"

A mangled static sound replied and he heard a scream down the tunnel behind him, but he couldn't tell whether it was from the others, or the undead. He came to crossroad in the tunnel and stopped, shining the light down each tunnel. The one straight ahead and to his right branched off halfway down, the one to his left went into complete darkness after a fifty metres.

"Hello?" he called.

There was the scrape of shoes on the path to his right and he rose the gun and flashlight to see a figure disappearing into another tunnel. The figure had moved too fast for him to get a good look, all he knew was that if it was one of the undead they wouldn't be running away from him. He looked back to see shapes moving towards him in the dark tunnel, he flicked off the light and sped down the right tunnel, towards where he thought the other person had gone to. He stumbled blindly in the dark, tripping over a lump of garbage and landing in the grime. He pushed himself up just in time to look over his shoulder and see three figures appear at the cross roads in the tunnel. They stopped, unable to see him laying down in the darkness, half covered in rubbish and water. He watched them as they looked around wildly and two more joined them, one heading at a sprint towards him. He aimed the handgun at the figure as it closed in, his finger on the trigger.

A gunshot rang out in the distance, an MP5 shot if he wasn't mistaken. It came from far away and he couldn't tell the direction. Another two shots rang out and the zombies, including the one near him stopped and snarled, heading back towards the deep water pit he had crossed.

He breathed a sigh of relief and rose up as they disappeared from view, leaving him all alone again. For a second, he waited, just in case one of them had escaped his view where he was laying. But the tunnels appeared empty. He listened to the footsteps as they got quieter and then decided to move.

The tunnel he had seen someone enter was too dark without a light, he turned it back on and looked inside. It was a narrow path that led to a large room on the other side, not far from where he was. He entered cautiously, checking the ground in case he tripped again, although last time it had probably saved his life. The sludge was thick around his legs and he was having trouble moving by the time he had reached the next tunnel division. Here there were three more tunnels branching off.

"This is useless," he said to himself, settling down on a giant pipe coming out of the wall.

One of the tunnels had a plaque above it that said: City Sewage Link 4G in faded writing, but the others had nothing written on them. Down one of the tunnels he heard a metallic creak and the rattle of chains. He sat for a moment, but there was no other sounds from that way. He shone the light down there which reflected off something shiny, possibly a gate of some kind.

Jimmy crept down the tunnel towards the gate, keeping the light ahead at all times. He realised long before he reached it that it had been forced open with something. The chains lay in a heap next to the gate and the gate was still swaying slightly from being opened.

He sped through now, knowing that someone was alive near him and as he shone the flashlight ahead again he saw a figure turn and face the light. It was a man, but it wasn't Eric, he was dark skinned and wearing blue overalls. In his hands were a fire axe and a small flashlight. The man's face changed from surprise to panic and he bolted away down the tunnel, Jimmy in pursuit.

"Wait!" Jimmy said," I'm not one of them!"

The man ran around the corner and Jimmy followed, as he rounded it he found the man facing him, the light discarded and a wall blocking the man's escape. He held the axe firmly, waiting for Jimmy to make his move.

"My names Jimmy," he said, edging a little closer," I'm not like those crazy bastards, just lower the axe,"

"Stay back freak!" the man said," you cant fool me! Aaahhhhhh!"

The man came running at Jimmy, the axe swinging around his head like a manic he brought it back above it head to land a heavy blow. Jimmy rose the gun and aimed it at his face.

"One more step," Jimmy said as the man halted, he would have never reached Jimmy if he had chosen to fire at that moment," and you're a dead man,"

The man stopped, waiting for Jimmy to shoot, but he lowered the gun.

"How much do you know?" Jimmy asked.

"About what?" the man said.

"About what's going on," Jimmy said.

"Well," the man said," I was working on repairing some stuff in an apartment building a few blocks down, when these fuckers killed my buddy. I escaped into the sewers and have been here ever since, trying to outrun those things."

"I'm not with them," Jimmy said.

"Alright," the man said," I guess if you were, you would have shot me,"

"What's your name?" Jimmy asked.

"Roland," the man replied," you want to tell me what's going on? I took a look at the street a few hours ago through a drain and those things were everywhere,"
"It's pretty bad out there," Jimmy said," listen, I was with two other people, but we were separated, you seen anyone else?"

"No," the man said, he still hadn't lowered the axe.

"You been here for a few days then?" Jimmy asked," you hungry?"

Jimmy pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket and handed it to the Roland, who eyed Jimmy suspiciously for a second before letting the axe fall into one hand and he ripped off the wrapper and scoffed it down.

There was the sounds of footsteps behind them and Jimmy spun around, light and gun aiming past the gate where someone was coming. The person emerged and looked at both of them before running towards them. Jimmy pulled the trigger and a bullet hole appeared in his skull, he fell with a thud and Jimmy shone the light behind the fallen zombie.

"More are coming," Jimmy said," we need to get out of here right now,"

Jimmy led the way down the tunnel and Roland kept close as they made their way through the darkness.

"Wait," Roland said," I can see light down that way!"

Both of them turned to face a side tunnel, at the end was a bright light seeping in from what looked like a gate. They started running towards it, a way out that led back into the world.

"Come on," Jimmy said," almost there,"

Jimmy reached the gate and slammed against it, but he bounced back and landed in the water. The sounds of footsteps in the water down the tunnel were growing louder and now he could hear their cries as the zombies saw them at the end of the tunnel.

"Fuck it's locked," Roland said," it's a thick fucking lock, I doubt even bullets will break this,"

Roland swung the axe at it hard, sparks flew but the chains remained untouched.

"Here they come," Jimmy said, raising the gun.