Reaper and Mathiss raced through the corridors toward the sewer entrance. Reaper led the way with Mathiss following several paces behind him. His memories leading him back through the corridor, exactly where he needs to, wants to, go. Like a twisted form of deja vu. Reapers senses were on high alert as he sprinted through the halls. Every pipe shadow, every puff of gas from the wall, he saw. Anything that moved was in his sight. He could hear Mathiss breathing behind him. He could hear her heart beating, sense her muscles in her body tense as she followed.
"Hazard ever pull shit like this before?" he asked.
Mathiss swallowed. "A few times, sir."
Reaper took the final corner. "Any of those times on a high stakes mission?"
They came to a stop at the dead end corridor. The sewer manhole was wide open, no cover in sight. Reaper stared into the hole, checking for any signs of movement.
"No." she answered shortly.
"Didn't think so." Reaper muttered. He looked up from the opening as Cal and Bio joined them. "Skeet, you still getting the same reading on Sky?"
"Yes sir."
Skeet answered. "Position hasn't changed and comms are still silent."
"Copy that. Let me know if Hazards comes back online or if anyone else is lost." Reaper stated. He turned to the three men around. He could see their uncertainty of the situation...and their accusations in their eyes. "Alright, we got one man in the sewer and another M.I.A. We go in, locate Sky and make a sweep for Hazard. I want you three to sweep the tunnels. No one goes off alone."
"What about you?" Bio asked.
"Something tells me neither one of you three will be crushed if I die down here." Reaper shouldered his weapon and began his decent down into the sewers. He heard Hazard snorted as the lighting around him vanished, plunging him into the dark sewers once again. Reaper felt the adrenaline pick up again, heightening his senses further. The scents of the tunnels, though just a foul as they had been days ago, seemed like nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary to him now. He touched down, sinking into the water. Reaper drew up his weapon and scanned the area. He signaled for the team to follow and slowly began his walk through the tunnel.
Behind him, Reaper could hear the boots of Cal making his way down the ladder. The machine gun strapped to his back added extra weight that weighed down his boots with every step down the ladder. Cal touched down several seconds after beginning his decent. He shouldered his weapon and stood by the ladder.
Reaper looked over his shoulder toward Cal. "Once Mathiss and Bio are on the ground, I want a tunnel by tunnel search. Your lead."
Cal nodded. "What about you?"
"I'll recover Sky." he answered.
Cal frowned. "Recover? We treating this like he's dead?"
"You know Sky to be off comms and cam?" Reaper asked.
Cal's lack of answer was all Reaper needed to confirm his hunch. "Tunnel by tunnel sweep, your lead. They got a problem with it, tell them to take it up with me." Reaper turned and dove into the tunnel.
Cal, Mathiss, and Bio grew fainter with each step Reaper took into the tunnels, but he never completely lost them in his hearing. The cold water rushed around him, clouding his hearing a fraction. Reaper took a breath, pushing back the last events of the sewer, as he walked the same tunnel. He sidestepped the dip where Portman had taken the plunge. The dumbass never learned to watch his footing. Still, Reaper couldn't ignore Portman's jibe at Vera; if she's gone in, they might've lost her for a bit longer. Drowning in shit was not a pleasant way to go, even on Olduvia.
"Skeet, what's Sky's location?" Reaper asked, reaching the triple junction. He could hear the others coming up behind him, louder than they should be.
"Sky's reading down the left tunnel." Skeet answered. "Reading looks like the tunnel's a dead end."
"Yeah." Reaper said. "Keep me updated with the range." He turned to the left, started through the tunnel. The curved walls engulfed him into darkness. His lone gun light sliced through the darkness, but his enhanced vision saw more than the light revealed. He followed the pipes along the walls, avoided leaks from above, moving slowly through the tunnel.
"Thirty yards and closing." Skeet said.
Reaper listened for any sound amidst the rushing water, but nothing sounded. Nothing. No muscle spasms, no expanding lungs, no heartbeat, nothing. The tunnel was silent ahead of him, but the stench of the tunnel was obscured by the unmistakable scent of blood in the water.
"Fifteen yards."
Beyond the gun light, Reaper caught sight of something hugging the tunnel wall. He recognized the uniform and weapon. Reaper stopped several yards away and shined his light completely over the body. It was Sky...or what was left of him. His vest had been slashed into ribbons, just as Vera's had. His throat and chest were ripped open, intestines spilling into the water. Sky's eyes were wide open, a look up utter horror etched into his face. Whatever had attacked him had been fast and brutal. Reaper sighed heavily and checked the mag level. It was completely full. Sky never got off a single shot.
"I've got eyes on Sky." Reaper informed.
"What's his condition?" Mathiss asked.
"He's dead." Reaper paused, waiting for his response to sink in. "Head back to the entrance and regroup at the Infirmary."
"Copy that." Cal replied.
Reaper bent down and retrieved Sky's weapon. He reached for Sky's arm and paused. Amidst the foul scents of the sewage and blood from Sky, Reaper caught another scent. Peonies...and musk. Dammit to hell, now was the time to have his mind screw with his focus. Reaper closed his eyes and held his breath for a moment. It would pass, just like all the others had.
A low, deep growled echoed through the tunnel. Reaper's eyes snapped open. The growl came from behind him, toward the tunnel entrance. He could hear the water slosh around with the creatures movement. By the growls and the movement, Reaper pegged it as an Imp. Reaper slowly brought up his weapon and spun around fast, illuminating the deformed features in his gun light. Reaper opened fire at the Imp. The Imp shrieked, reeling from the gunfire and dove beneath the waters surface.
"Shit." Reaper snapped. He scanned the water for signs of the creature.
"Contact?"
Reaper walked toward the Imps last location. His light shinned down on the water, trying to dig through the water. Suddenly the water erupted behind him. Reaper spun around, meeting the Imp. The Imps long arm racked out through the air, knocking his weapon from his grasp. It grabbed him by the neck and hurled Reaper into the wall. His back slammed into the wall, chipping off small chunks. Reaper slid down the wall and slipped beneath the surface. He sat up quickly, just as the Imp's foot came down on his head, shoving him back beneath the surface. Reaper struggled to free himself from the Imp's hold. His hands pressed against the foot, trying to pry it off his face. Above him, the Imp shrieked triumphantly. Reaper watched its distorted face through the water. It lifted its claw, ready to slice through him.
A light suddenly illuminated the imp's face, drawing its attention. Gunshot echoed through the tunnel. The Imp staggered from Reaper, releasing him. Reaper broke through the surface, gasping for air. The Imp stood in front of him, growling at the light at the end of the tunnel. Reaper dove back beneath the surface and scooped up his weapon. He aimed for the Imp and fired. The shots pierced the creatures back, causing it the shriek out in pain. It spun around toward him, raking its claws through the air. They raked over his right arm, nearly ripping it off. Reaper felt the pain of the claws and the blood begin to flow down his arm, but he never took his eyes off the Imp.
But just beyond the Imp's outline, Reaper spotted the second gun light, shining on him. It took only a second for his yes to see beyond the light, and even less time for his body to freeze. Beyond the glow of the front gun light, concealed in an array of black, wearing no protected gear of any kind, stood Vera. Her white braid hung over her shoulder, messy and coming undone. She held her weapon tightly against her shoulder, staring down the Imp with her piercing violet eyes. The scars on both sides of her cheeks were inflames and bright red.
In his state of shock, Reaper lowered his weapon. "Vera?"
It was all the time the Imp needed. It spun around again, faster than Reaper had time to register the attack. It clawed him in the ribs and hurled him back into the wall. Reaper slid beneath the surface, hearing the sound of gunfire once more. He surfaced not more than two seconds after his collision, only to find the tunnel was empty of the Imp, and of Vera. Reaper stood up once again, and sprinted down the tunnel. He quickly came to the tunnel junctions, just as Mathiss, Cal, and Bio came down their tunnel.
"What the hell was that?" Cal asked.
"Did you see where they went?" Reaper asked.
"What were you shooting at?" Mathiss questioned.
Reaper sighed heavily, they'd arrived too late. Now the Imp and Vera were long gone through the tunnel. He stood silent for a moment, waiting for any more signs of gunfire, but all he heard was his teams heartbeats and the sound of rushing water.
"Where's Sky?" Cal asked.
"Back in the tunnel." Reaper answered, lowering his weapon.
Mathiss licked her lips nervously. "He's really dead."
Reaper nodded slowly. "I'll recover his body. None of you want to see him like this."
yay another chapter!