12/25/08

Worth It

Seifer trudged down the narrow tunnel, his flashlight the only source of light.

He'd been walking for what felt like days, but his watch was telling him it'd only been about fifteen minutes. In all that time, the tunnel didn't change. There were no forks in the path, no torches, no people. It would have freaked him out of he hadn't been so grateful for the time to think.

Those dogs had to have been some sort of guard dogs. There was no other explanation. Obviously the result of testing, if that memo was to be believed. These people holding Hayner had no problem using humans, why not use a dog?

Roxas was something he couldn't quite figure out. If he was an escapee, why hadn't he run immediately? Even if he knew about the dogs, the fact that he'd been around long enough to get a general layout of the buildings meant he had to have some information on the dogs too. Something was off about Roxas, but Seifer didn't particularly want to figure out what, no matter how annoying not knowing was.

He stopped walking suddenly, staying still. He clicked off his flashlight, pressing himself against the right wall as voices filtered in from in front of him.

"Damn rocks," he heard a gruff voice shout angrily. "Always in the way down here. Lexaeus, get off your ass and break the damn thing."

Seifer crept forward, walking on the balls of his feet, crouching low. The tunnel turned sharply to the right after a few meters and a blaze of light assaulted his eyes. Squinting, Seifer crouched behind a huge rock, peering over it to see what was going on.

A dozen or so people were milling about in a cavern, clearing away debris. Some were tossing huge rocks into wagons, others were working on a railway. Seifer could see the car for the railroad, a tiny thing sitting abandoned next to a huge man. It clicked easily enough; they were fixing the railroad from what looked like a cave in. The railway disappeared into the darkness of a tunnel to Seifer's right, but was blocked in the front.

A man in a black cloak was standing next a boulder, his arms crossed. Seifer couldn't see his face because the hood was up, but the man seemed annoyed, by the way his foot was tapping against the ground.

"Lexaeus," the gruff voice came from under that hood, "break it or I gamble our lives by using dynamite."

Seifer was surprised when the huge man next to the rail car stood up. He was easily a foot taller than Seifer himself, and built. He was wearing the same cloak as the man next to the boulder.

Seifer watched as the man slowly made his way to the boulder. He watched with apprehension as the man assessed it for a moment, then raised his fist and drew it back. Seifer gaped. The idiot was actually going to try and break it.

The man threw his arm forward and his fist hit the boulder with a loud crack. Seifer cringed, thinking he'd broken his hand. But a moment later, cracks were visibly spreading from where he'd hit and in seconds the boulder was crumbling to the ground. It revealed another tunnel, the tracks disappearing inside of it.

Seifer's mouth dropped.

"There, see," the shorter man said, his voice pleased. "Better than blowing the whole damn cave in." He waved his arm. "This place is as fixed as it's going to get, let's get out of here."

The workers dropped their tools, their faces oddly blank. They climbed a short knoll on the opposite side of the cave from Seifer and went through a door he hadn't noticed. The two men waited until they were all out before following.

When he was absolutely sure that he was alone, Seifer sank down against the rock, feeling strangely empty, staring down the way he had come. He recognized it as a defense mechanism; his mind had wiped out any fear or trepidation he might be feeling in order to keep functioning. If he were anyone else, he might've fainted.

Instead of remembering the way the giant man had punched through a boulder, Seifer grasped for something else to think about.

The two men were a part of some group, that much was clear. Their cloaks, though a little dramatic, were clearly uniforms of some sort. The workers were probably there as underlings or against their will. Either way, they were the enemy.

Seifer shook his head, attempting to clear it. He'd been freaked out, but he wasn't going to sit in a cave while Hayner was tested on to become like those dogs or something. No, he had a mission to complete and, damn it, even if he had to face off against people durable and strong enough to go busting up boulders, than he would do it. He was getting paid a lot of money to save the brat and unless he was sure he couldn't make it back, he would keep going.

Feeling a little less numb, Seifer stood up and jumped over the rock, pulling his gun out of it's holster. He examined the cave for a moment before going to the train car, quickly yanking the door open and aiming his gun inside.

There were two seats opposite each other, faded velvet and torn in places. The walls were a muted green with no decoration. It looked like an old fashioned carriage cart with no windows.

And no people. Seifer stepped into the car, looking around for a way to start it. He didn't know where the hell it would go, but he wasn't going to take the door the others had. For all he knew, it led to an execution ground for the underlings.

This could lead to the same place. Seifer ignored the thought when he spotted a few switches on an armrest.

There were several, but one was next to a handle that was conveniently labeled "Slow" and "Fast" on the top and bottom. The switch to turn the car on would have to be the one next to it, the only one not going up and down, but left to right.

Seifer hesitated, but before he could double guess himself, he flipped the switch and grabbed the handle, turning it until it was closer to "Fast".

The car started slowly, it's wheels creaking at it moved. When it cleared the cave and went into the tunnel it picked up speed, disorienting Seifer. He could feel the car moving, but he couldn't see anything. He doubted that even if he turned on the flashlight it would do anything.

A few moments into the ride a loud thump echoed around the car. Seifer frowned and looked up, seeing a little sky window he hadn't noticed on the first inspection. And a blank faced man hacking into the ceiling from the outside with a hatchet.

He aimed his gun up and fired when the man was ripping open the cloth covering. The man grunted and then screamed as he fell off. Seifer sidestepped the dropped hatchet and listened with increasing dread as the scream continued on, fading into the distance below him.

A bridge, he thought blankly, we're over a bridge.

Another thump alerted him to the presence of another person jumping onboard. He whipped his gun up and was only a little surprised to see another man kneeling over the opening. This one didn't have a weapon, but he finished ripping open the ceiling and threw cloth to the side before Seifer could shoot.

When that one was also falling to his death, another took his place. And another. And another, until three were jumping into the cramped car, attacking Seifer with by hitting and biting. None of the attacks made any headway, their hits were weak and their bites didn't pierce his skin. Outside, he could hear others trying and failing to jump onboard.

Shit, why the hell are they so determined? Seifer growled and awkwardly aimed his gun, shooting one of the men in the hip. He groaned and fell, tripping up the one next to him. Seifer took the opportunity to throw off the last one and kick open the door, grabbing the one he'd shot and bodily throwing him out.

Distracted by finding that were no longer on the bridge, the other two leaped forward and shoved Seifer. He cried out and tried to grab the doorframe, but missed.

He clenched his eyes shut as felt himself fall out of the car... and land in a heap.

Blinking, he heard the train car continue on it's way. He pulled his flashlight from the utility belt around his waist and turned it on, watching as the car sped away from him, still disoriented.

When he couldn't hear it anymore he got to his feet with a sigh. He spent a moment brushing the dirt from his clothes, shaking his beanie out. When he was done, he pulled it back over his head and picked up his gun from where it had fallen. After making sure it was okay, he started off again, following the tracks.

Beast dogs, superhuman men, suicidal underlings, he thought irritably, his face in a scowl, This Hayner kid better be worth all this.

He wasn't going to brave the forest without bigger equipment, that was for sure. A bazooka would be great (no matter what that girl said), but he'd settle for a shotgun, at least. Or a flamethrower.

His mouth quirked up with amusement. Once he got Hayner, he was going to look for more weapons and ammo. Even if the kid was a hysterical mess, he'd just tie him up and gag him, then drag him along. No way in hell was he going to attempt to get out with a handgun and a survival knife.

Priority one: Get myself out alive. Priority two: Get Hayner out alive. Priority three: find shitload of weaponry.

Satisfied with his adjusted priorities, Seifer picked up the pace and hoped he wouldn't see anything else out of the ordinary.

Christmas update! Happy Holidays to whoever celebrates.

- Slaughter