Second part of the tunnels is in this chapter. It's a little shorter, but you'll see why when you reach the end. Old Town will be next time, and we're almost done with the whole thing. Enjoy!
As always, I don't own Dying Light.
Blood flowed freely from its neck, pooling in every direction.
It was over.
Valerija
The tunnels had blended into one another almost two hours ago, their brickwork and mossy growths becoming monotonous. Dawud and his son walked behind me, and Hale walked in front. We were all shaken up by whatever that creature was.
We had agreed not to talk about it when we go to Sector 0, we didn't want to cause panic about what might be growing beneath the city. Gods know there was panic enough.
We came to another collapse, pipes and metal works stuck from the rubble at odd angles, a biter was half buried, clawing at the earth in a futile attempt to get to us. Hale jabbed a knife through its head, and we kept walking. The tunnels once again blending into each other. The constant sound of water dripping providing much needed noise to the otherwise silent tunnels.
After another hour of walking, mostly in silence, we came to where the Volatile's nest was supposed to be.
Two Saviours leaned against the wall breathing heavily. They looked like they hadn't slept in hours, and sweat beaded off their skin. The corpses of Volatiles lined the ground, little more than five piles of flesh. As we approached, the one nearest to us looked up and grinned. Hale opened his arms in greeting.
"Gerald," he called as we got closer.
"Am I fucking glad to see you." He pulled Hale into a one armed hug, before looking at the rest of us. "This is all that's left?" Hale nodded once.
"We lost the rest on the way." He didn't say how we had been slaughtered by something that we still didn't understand. Gerald nodded in understanding.
"Always a shame when that happens. We've not had much better luck here." He gestured to the dead Volatiles. "We took five of them, they took three of us. We lost Yahar, Kara, and Sahir. Sasha and I are all that's left." I looked again at the dead infected. There should have been one more.
"I thought you said there were six in the nest. Where's the last one?" Gerald flicked a glance towards the dark entry to the nest.
"He's still in there somewhere. Seems to have calmed down since that thing tore out." He clicked his fingers and turned to Hale. "Speaking of which, did you ever see what it was?" Hale shook his head slowly, hastily coming up with a lie.
"No, we never saw anything. We made it back to the surface and waited an hour up there, whatever it was, it was gone when we got back down." Gerald shrugged in indifference.
"Oh well, would have been nice to know what it was. Anyway, you should be good to get through now. Just stick together, keep going straight, and you'll be fine." He waved a hand at us and turned back to the other Saviour, Sasha. I looked at Hale and he shrugged, walking into the darkness.
I flicked my torch on as I stepped through the tunnels entrance. It was more rundown than the other tunnels, looking more like a cave than a sewer. Red moss grew on the walls, and a small stream of water ran down the side of the path. Clumps of moss floated in the water, trailing red down the stream. I didn't know what it was, but something told me not to touch it.
"Don't touch the moss guys, something off about it." I looked back at Dawud and saw him snatch his sons hand away from one of the floating growths.
We continued in silence, our footsteps ringing through the tunnel. At one stage, I heard one of the two behind me stumble.
"Alright back there?"
"Yeah," Dawud's voice called back. "Just tripped over my own feet." Eventually, the passage widened out into a cavern, almost 100 metres across. Several different paths led off in different directions, heading to who knows where. The stream collected into a clear lake in the centre. Hale broke off and shone his torch down into the water.
"This thing must be almost a hundred metres deep." He waved me over. I turned to Dawud.
"Stay here. Don't touch anything." He nodded and pulled his handgun from his belt. I walked over to Hale, and he pointed down at the walls of the lake. It was lined with red moss, some of the strands almost 15 metres long, waving in an unseen current. "What do you think it is?" He shook his head.
"I've got no clue. Never seen anything like it before." He lifted his radio up to his mouth. "Hey Gerald, Sasha, you guys there?" The radio crackled. "No answer. Shit, we must be out of range. Where the fuck are we?" I shivered, the air suddenly feeling much colder.
"I don't know, we should keep moving. The sooner we're out of here the better." Hale looked around once more before nodding.
"Hey Dawud, over here." Dawud leaned down and whispered something to his son, before he stood and pushed him towards us. I shot him a questioning look, seeing how he kept one hand behind his back. He held it out.
It was red and inflamed. The skin had peeled off. It looked extremely painful. His face held a downcast look.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't say anything. When I stumbled earlier, I grabbed the wall without thinking." He shuddered as I watched the skin on his arm start to flake off. "Just please, get Sammy out of here, I don't want him to see this." I stood my ground. There was no way I was leaving anyone else behind.
"Dawud please, we can get you a shot of Antizin, pain killers, something." He shook his head in resignation.
"I don't think any of those will work. I can feel myself changing. Just please get my son out of here, that's all I ask." Hale grabbed my arm and started to pull me away. I shook him off.
"Dawud, we'll think of something. Just, come on."
"No, I'm sorry but-" His voice was cut off with a scream. He doubled over, clutching at his stomach. He coughed heavily, blood spattering the ground. I pushed his son behind me, into Hales arms.
"Get him out of here," I hissed. I cut him off before he could protest. "Now! I'll catch up." Another scream rent the air. Hale hefted Sammy into his arms and ran, heading down the second path from the left. I turned back to Dawud, and pulled my hatchet from my belt.
The skin had peeled or flaked off the rest of his body, his hair had fallen out and was lying in a clump on the ground. His rib cage had split open, and his jaw had parted right down the middle.
He'd turned into a Volatile.
I hooked my hatchet on my belt and ran. The tunnel entrance loomed in front of me. I heard Dawud screech, and was tackled to the ground. I slid across the gravel floor, stopping when I slammed into the wall. The Volatile leapt at me, and I rolled out of the way. Standing quickly, i pulled my hatchet from my belt again, and dropped into a defensive stance.
The Volatile sprung to its feet, its screeching roar echoing through the chamber. We circled each other, neither of us making a move. When it pounced, I was ready, I sidestepped and brought my hatchet down. It struck the Volatile, digging into its back. It twisted, wrenching the axe from my hands. I jumped back and pulled my handgun from its holster. We continued the dance, it would leap at me, and I would dodge, trying to find an opening.
It came when it caught me and pressed me to the floor, its hands pressing down on my chest. I brought the handgun up to its temple, and fired.
Right as it bit into my shoulder.
I screamed as its teeth tore through my skin, almost digging into the bone. I fired my gun into its head two more times before it slumped over dead. I pushed it off me and propped myself up on my elbows. My shirt was torn, exposing the skin beneath. Blood flowed from the teeth marks, the skin around the bite already turning black. I forced myself to stand, my legs shaking. I stumbled into the tunnel, hoping that Hale wasn't too far ahead. My shoulder throbbed, and I forced myself to keep going. I saw two shapes ahead, outlined by the outside world.
Hale and Sammy.
I quickened my pace, stumbling on loose rocks. I threw my arms out around Hale as my legs gave out. His eyes were wide, shock and worry written all over his face. He lifted me up and threw me on his back. I vaguely recalled being hauled through several tunnels before being forced up a ladder. I was propped against a crate, and a fire was lit in front of me. The heat did little to clear the fog from my mind. I could feel my arms getting weaker, my breathing became shallow. My fingers grew numb, and my vision blurred even more. I felt my heart slow, and I knew I was going to die.