Chapter 5: Collapsing Bridge
-The brief confrontation with the bandits ended, but it never alleviated the nagging thought in my mind. All these years of training myself... I was well prepared to kill mutants and monsters, but to kill my own kind, a human? How many more lives will have to be sacrificed for our trip to the Ranger's headquarters? I pondered on this thought as we made our way through the tunnels.- Demitri.
The group walked out of the bandit camp and stumbled upon an old rail bridge. It was in a disrepair state with several sections collapsed in the dark abyss. Noxious gas was billowing from below, making it difficult to see further. It was creating a foul stench.
"Ugh... This place reeks terribly." Natasha commented.
"That's the point of this area. The bridge is a nasty place to be in. So here's the plan. We keep our backs covered so we can survive this. Don't go playing the hero. I'm no mood of dying." Bourbon spoke.
Demitri and Artyom smelled the stench of the gas in the area. It was repulsive enough for them to cover their noses.
"Smells like shit here. This gas is dangerous to breathe so if we go lower, we need to put our gas masks on." Bourbon whispered.
"Why are you whispering?" Demitri asked quietly.
Artyom tapped Demitri's shoulder and pointed to the ceiling. Several bats were hanging.
'Oh...' Demitri though in realization.
Bourbon noticed a decrepit path near the bridge that lead to the lower section. With a leap, he made it to the path, causing a faint metallic groaning to echo. Demitri and the others followed along, moving forward to allow room for each person to leap in. All walked in the lower section. Everyone felt the air quality become dangerously low, causing them to rasp for oxygen.
"The air..." Demitri gasped.
"Gas masks! Quick!" Bourbon commanded.
Everyone equipped their gas masks, now able to breathe. Their watches were set to ensure how much time they have to remain in the noxious gas. Treading at the lower section of the rail bridge, a beastly roar echoed. It caused the group to be aware of mutants coming in.
"Shit! Nosalies! Come and get it, bitches!" Bourbon shouted, provoking the beasts.
A pack of nosalies with black fur came in. The group opened fire at the creatures as they scrambled on through the bridge.
"Watch out!" Bourbon warned.
Demitri turned and opened fire at a nearby nosaly. The head soon exploded, showering Demitri with blood. The body briefly flailed, catching him by surprise before going limp. He had some claw marks on his face, but they were superficial.
"You alright, kid?" Bourbon asked.
"I'm okay. Let's get moving before more show up." Demitri answered.
Following the lower section, they came upon a partially eaten human corpse that had ammo stashed in its bag. The group scavenged the body for supplies, collecting shotgun shells, rifle rounds and pistol rounds. Luckily, they stumbled upon a first aid kit. Opening it, they found several syringes ready.
"Better save those syringes, kids. They are a cure for everything." Bourbon joked.
The group took the syringes and left the case behind. They progressed through the bridge, running from the sound of nosalies that attempted to swarm them.
"Shit, they're too many!" Demitri spoke.
"We can't take them all! We gotta... Shit! Take cover!" Bourbon warned.
A small pack of noasalies leaped into the air, almost taking the group down with surprise. Demitri, Artyom, Natasha, and Bourbon prepared their weapons before firing at the mutants.
"Didn't think they would suddenly come around in a surprise attack..." Natasha noted.
"Mutant trash like them tend to adapt rather quickly. For them to learn something like this means these bitches been hunting in this place." Bourbon noted.
"Let's get above the bridge. Our filters won't last too long." Demitri reminded.
The group finally managed to make it to the upper section, where the air quality was safe. They took off their gas masks and resumed moving through the decaying bridge.
"This passage will lead us to the Market station?" Demitri asked.
"It will. If there isn't a cave-in, we should be able to make it to the Market station." Bourbon confirmed.
Making their way across the upper section, the group had to bypass through an abandoned train that was hanging off of a section of the bridge. Proceeding across the bridge, they found the passageway, only for an unexpected outcome to get on their way.
"Shit, the tunnel's caved in." Bourbon commented.
"Wait, there's an emergency staircase at the right." Natasha noted, pointing to the staircase.
"Seems like we're being lured in… Fuck it. Let's go." Bourbon grunted with reluctance.
The group proceeded through the emergency staircase. It was rusted and decrepit, but it was able to hold the group's weight. A loud roaring soon got their attention.
"Shit, the hunting pack is back!" Demitri shouted.
"Let's get out of here! There's too many to take on!" Artyom spoke.
Unable to handle the large group of nosalies, the group were forced to flee from the mutant pack. Demitri, hoping to slow them down, lit a fuse on a grenade he acquired from scavenging a nearby corpse. He dropped the pipe bomb with the fuse lit as his friends fled with their lives.
"Grenade! Fire in the hole!" Demitri called out.
Artyom, Natasha, and Bourbon were forced to take cover as Demitri dashed out of the hallway. Soon, a loud explosion was heard. Most of the nosalies were killed. This managed to thin their numbers down, but it forced the group to flee.
"Over here! We need to go through these tunnels that lead to the lost catacombs!" Bourbon spoke, leading the group.
