A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF LAST OF US OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS OF BOTH!
Chapter 9: Sewers
"Sam, stay close," Henry ordered.
"I know," he responded.
"Good, someone's finally learning," Henry retorted.
They walked into an open field with water flooding the ground. There were two ways to go. "I'll see what's over here," Yusei stated.
"We'll check this side out," Henry stated. "You guys, go with Yusei. I'm not sure if he trusts me enough to leave me in your care."
Yusei just waved for his friends to follow him and they hurried up. Yusei tossed Crow a flashlight while turning his on, saying, "Flip that on and use it. But don't lose it."
They walked a bit further and Akiza stated, "I'm not a fan of this place."
"I know. I'm really getting some bad feelings about it," Jack agreed.
"I understand. But we don't have much of a choice," Yusei responded. "Come on." They reached a fallen pipeline and Yusei hopped over it without a problem. The others were slowly behind, Leo and Luna being careful since their size didn't allow them easy ways to get over it. They came up to a room with a fence blocking it. Yusei noticed the door was blocked.
Leo walked over to a vent that led inside the room. "If you can open that, I can get inside and move that thing in front of the door." Yusei sighed a bit but nodded and removed the hatch. A large rat came scurrying out and the others jumped back, though Yusei didn't budge.
"That was a big rat," Luna stated.
"If no more are coming out this side, there aren't anymore in there," Yusei stated. "Go do your thing, Leo."
Leo slowly crawled through it and Yusei came back to the door and watched as he came out the other side. Leo got up and quickly pulled the box in front of the door out of the way.
"Thanks, Leo," Yusei responded as they walked in.
They walked around and Yusei grabbed some items. He then noticed a note on a small table. He picked it up. "Is that a note or something?" Luna asked.
"Yeah," Yusei answered while reading it. "Some man named Ish came down here to hide from people and Infected. Says this place is safe since limited entrances and exits make it easier to defend. Not sure how true that is."
"Hey, Yusei," Akiza called as she grabbed something. "Is this sugar?" He gently took it from her and nodded. "Why would he have sugar down here?"
"To make bombs," he answered.
"Bombs?" Crow questioned. "How can you make bombs out of sugar?"
"By using the right materials," he began to use it and put it with an explosive material in his bag, "you can make a smoke bomb." He put it together and slid it into his bag. "It creates a concussive blast while putting a close of smoke in the air. It dazes those near it and allows someone an easy way to get away from whatever is attacking you. It's especially useful when you're near Clickers. Of course, sugar is hard to come by here. So you don't want to use these lightly. I only have a couple in my bag before this last one I made. It's why I didn't use them with the Clickers back in Lincoln."
"Huh," Jack responded.
"Come on. We need to get back to Henry and Sam," Yusei told them and they walked out and met the two on the other side thanks to a small pathway between the two channels of sewer pipes.
"This way," Henry stated. "Looks like a path up ahead."
They hurried across a platform and into an open, grated wall. They entered what seemed like a maintenance area, but a parking lot above had collapsed a bit through the ceiling.
"Can we get out through that way?" Sam asked.
"Nah," Henry answered looking at it. "There's no way to reach that."
"Well, I can't swim," Sam stated.
"There's a generator over there. It could bring something to help you over," Yusei responded.
"I can't get over there," Sam responded.
Yusei turned with Henry and noticed an opened with the door closed. Henry walked over and tried to use the wheel by it to open the doorway, but said, "It's jammed."
"I'll find something to open it," Yusei answered diving into the water. He went underwater by the door while grabbing another Firefly pendant along the way. He saw a pipe jammed into it below water. And pulled it open with a little effort. He swam back up to the surface and onto the platform by Henry. "Try it now."
"Alright, here we go," Henry stated and turned the wheel until it was opened enough for Yusei to swim through.
"I'll go have a look," Yusei told him. "You keep an eye out and keep my friends and your brother safe."
"Right," Henry agreed.
"We'll come with you, Yusei," Crow stated.
"No," he immediately denied. "You stay here where I know you'll be okay for now. I'll be back soon." Before they could argue anymore, he dove into the water and disappeared into the next room.
Yusei swam through and into the next room. He climbed up some stairs onto the next area. He quickly saw a wooden platform on the next level with a ladder leading to it. Yusei quickly climbed it. As he reached for the boarded, he paused dreading what he heard coming from behind the door. 'Infected,' he thought. 'And where there's one, there are a lot more.'
Yusei hurriedly slid the board over and walked to the door. He listened closely to hear what was on the other side. 'Two Clickers,' he thought.
He silently opened the door. He grabbed one silently and used a shiv to kill it without making much of a noise. He sighed in relief as the other didn't hear it. He walked up to the last and killed it just as swiftly.
With both down, Yusei grabbed some supplies and slid them into his bag. He stepped down the ladder and Henry called, "Yusei, you okay?"
"Yeah!" he called back. "Still in one piece!" He dove back into the wooden platform and pushed it back. "This'll do, Sam?"
"Yeah, thanks," he responded.
"Sam, you get on so I can swim you over there," Yusei suggested. "Turn on the generator after that."
"Right," he agreed and jumped onto the platform.
Yusei pushed it over while Crow asked, "What took you so long anyways?"
Sam climbed onto the next area while Yusei answered, "Clickers."
"There are Clickers down here?" Henry asked.
"Yep," Yusei answered. Sam pulled the trigger on the generator and it started up with ease. "You guys, get onto that. Sam, hit the switch and slid them over." He nodded and the others got on before the young boy hit it and it moved over.
Yusei pushed the board to the side as the others got up and Henry helped Yusei out. As Henry pulled him up, he said, "I gotta admit, I'm impressed. You really know how to do things right."
Yusei stood up and said, "I'm a Firefly. What do you expect?"
"True enough," Henry replied. "Come on."
They walked through the halls. They reached a closed door and Luna asked, "Are we really going in there?"
"No other choice," Yusei replied. He opened the door and stopped as some bottles fell from the ceiling.
"That's a sound trap," Henry stated.
"A what?" Leo responded.
"It's a sort of alarm," Yusei explained.
"I don't hear anything," Crow stated.
"Someone used to live here," Yusei responded.
"That doesn't seem like that's the case anymore," Akiza stated.
"Who would stay in here?" Sam asked.
"Someone who thought they could keep this place safe," Henry answered. They walked a bit and Sam and Luna noticed a soccer ball.
"Hey, Luna, want to try something?" Sam asked as he grabbed the ball.
"Sure," she answered.
"I'll stand between those posts and you try to kick it passed me," Sam explained.
"Are you sure?" Luna questioned, worried about hitting the boy with the ball.
"Come on," Sam stated. Yusei grinned as Sam handed the ball to Luna while he went and stood between two posts against the wall. "Go ahead!" Luna kicked it and Sam caught it before it could hit the wall. "Nice, Luna!"
"Thanks," she responded.
"Alright, you two," Yusei called. "We need to get moving. With Clickers being in that back room, I don't want to stay here too much longer and find out what else is down here."
"Right," they agreed.
Luna set the ball down and Henry and Yusei walked through the next hall. As they neared a corner, they heard familiar noises.
"Hear that?" Leo whispered.
"Infected," Yusei replied tense.
They walked through a doorway when and down some stairs when they noticed some Runners coming at them. Yusei shot one down immediately while the other grabbed Sam who struggled to hold it back. Henry immediately shot it dead. One last Runner was killed by Crow before they noticed a Clicker running up. Yusei and Henry quickly killed it with their guns.
"Well, I guess we know what happened with these people," Akiza stated.
"Seeing as there have been Clickers," Yusei responded, "they've been gone for awhile."
"We keep moving forward. All we can do is hope there aren't any more of them," Henry stated. Other than Yusei, they each gave him an unsure look. "Doubtful, I know." They continued their trek through the sewers and soon came up to another sewer grate with another opened to the right and a hole to the left
"Hey, think that leads out?" Akiza asked.
"Could be. It's too high for a boost, though," Henry answered. "Maybe there's another way. Yusei, you check over there."
Yusei nodded and went to the opening which had a closed door. He slowly opened it, but a barrel fell. He immediately knew what that meant. He pulled Sam back as a large metal door separated him and Sam from the others.
"Sam!" Henry called.
"Yusei!" the others followed as they each ran to a small window in the door.
"I'm fine," Sam reassured his brother.
"That was me," Yusei stated. "I must've triggered another trap that let down this safety gate or something. Henry, see if we can lift this." They each went to try to pull it up but they couldn't get it to budge. They quickly heard Clickers closing in. "Henry, get you and all of them out of here. I'll meet you at the radio tower with Sam. Jack, Crow, Akiza, keep each other safe."
"Sam, you stay close to him," Henry ordered.
"Henry, we need to move!" Akiza stated.
"You keep him safe!" Henry ordered Yusei.
"Go!" Yusei immediately ordered back and they ran off. Clickers came out chasing them while Yusei shushed Sam quietly. When they were gone, Yusei said in a near whisper, "Come on. We're going to be fine."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sam responded with the same level of voice.
"Alright, let's see if we can find a way out of here. Okay?" Yusei stated. He listened closely and heard some more Clickers.
They walked forward and saw an Infected walking around. "Didja see that?" Sam asked as he came up behind Yusei.
"Stay behind me," the man ordered. "If I run, you run." He handed the boy a small shotgun called a Shorty. "Use this to defend yourself if you get attacked by Infected and I can get to you immediately. But no other reason, do you understand?" Sam nodded and took the gun. Yusei focused again and in a near silent whisper, "These aren't Clickers."
"Wha-What are they then?" Sam asked.
"Stalkers," Yusei answered. "Which means we are not getting through here without shooting them. Even if we were as silently as can be, not only do they hear like a Clicker but their as fast and can see as Runner."
"Not good, then," Sam stated.
"Just stay close, stay hidden until you get attacked," Yusei ordered and Sam nodded. "I'll keep you safe. Your brother will have my head if I don't." Sam grinned in amusement with how true it was and nodded.
They slowly and silently walked out and through a large gap in the hole large enough for them to crouch under. They walked through and stopped at the edge. Yusei looked at Sam and pointed to the ground to say to stay before he put a finger to his lips to tell him to stay silent. Sam nodded and silently sat down.
Yusei silently walked out and hid behind a large stack of boxes. He listened to figure out how many were in there and deduced there were seven Stalkers in the area. 'Those are not odds that I like,' he thought.
He heard a screeching of a Stalker and turned as one came at them. Seeing no point of staying silent at this point, he took his shotgun and killed them in an instant. Three more came in a hurry and Yusei shot them quickly. 'Four down, three to go,' he thought. He then added to keep himself hopeful, 'At least they're stupid enough to come straight at me while I have a shotgun.'
Two came running up again and Yusei quickly killed them. He quickly reloaded and turned as the final Stalker came hurrying up. It fell to the ground dead and Yusei called quietly, "Alright, Sam. They're gone for now."
Sam slowly walked out. "You did it," he stated looking at the dead corpses.
"We need to keep moving. You good?" Yusei responded.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Then let's get out of this place," Yusei told him and they walked around a bit for ammo and supplies.
"I bet there were a lot of them here. People, I mean," Sam commented as they walked into a bedroom with a few beds set around the area.
"It looks like it," Yusei responded.
They walked into an area that seemed similar to a bedroom, but held a board that looked like something from a classroom with the alphabet being on a white board.
"Look at this place. It's like a classroom," Sam commented. "Why couldn't they keep it safe?"
"I wish I knew," Yusei answered. "They didn't deserve it, though."
"If there were a cure, how long do you think it would be before the cure wouldn't work on a person anymore?" Sam asked. "So people didn't have to suffer this."
"I would assume the stopping point of which the sure would work would be around between Stalker and Clicker. By that point, the fungus is too heavily infected in them," Yusei answered. "I would assume the easiest time to cure someone is just before they turn into a Runner and it would turn harder when they became a Runner."
"Think we'll ever find a cure?" Sam asked as they walked back through the room until they reached a ladder, but it was too hard to reach.
"Maybe one day," Yusei answered. "Sam, do you think you can knock that ladder down?"
"Yeah," he answered.
Yusei went to the wall and cupped his hands together for Sam's foot. "Go ahead," he stated.
"I can't believe I'm helping the king Firefly," Sam stated as he got to the top.
"Is that what they call me?" Yusei asked as Sam let the ladder down.
"Yeah, pretty much. But it makes sense. I mean, you help Marlene lead the Fireflies. You two lead them together. People have always referred to her as the queen Firefly. And after you came along and people found out you were her second in command and her go-to leader, people started to call you king Firefly as a nickname sometimes," Sam asked while Yusei climbed up.
Yusei gave an amused smirk. "Thanks for the help, kid," he told the boy.
"Come on!" came Henry's voice.
"Is that Henry?" Sam asked.
"Sounds like it," Yusei answered. "Come on."
They hurried through the last corridor and jumped onto the ground when gunshots were heard along with the blast lights flashing. The group hurried out.
"Sam!" Henry called as the others greeted Yusei.
Infected came out and Yusei called seeing there were too many to take care of, "Come on! Come on!" He pushed the others forwards and ran just behind them to ensure they got through. They hurried through the next doorway. Yusei slammed it closed and told the others, "Back away from the door!"
"Yusei!" Henry called and the man turned to see he was pushing against a door with a bar sealing it shut. "If we push together…" Yusei nodded and helped Henry push at it.
Suddenly, Luna called, "Sam!" They looked to see Sam crawling through the vent. "He just crawled through!"
"He what?!" Henry exclaimed shocked. They turned to see Sam pushing the next grate open and crawling out. "Sam, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Getting us out of here!" he answered standing up and hurrying to the door.
"Well, hurry up then," Henry retorted.
Sam quickly pulled the rod out and opened the door. They hurried through, Yusei staying behind to cover them from the back while they hurried up stairs. They ended up at a locked door.
"Boost me up! I can fit over that window," Luna called.
"Make it fast," Yusei ordered as Henry helped her over the window. "Sam, Leo, go with her."
"What about you and Henry?" Sam asked.
"And what about the rest of our friends?" Leo added.
"We'll be fine," Yusei answered. "We can defend yourselves better than you. Just go!" The two other youngest reluctantly went out. "Get ready." They others tensed as they heard the Infected coming.
"Here we go," Henry stated.
A couple Runners were the first ones to enter and went at Yusei who killed them with his pistol instantly. But it wasn't long before the rest flooded it. Yusei shot a couple Clickers down, while Jack and Crow shot some Runners. A Runner grabbed Henry who was holding it back. Yusei immediately shot it in the head, killing it.
More and more came in before there were only a couple Runners and Clickers left. Yusei shot a Clicker with his shotgun and the Runners were quickly taken down by Jack and Crow. A Clicker though grabbed Yusei, who grabbed another shiv and stabbed its neck, killing it while breaking his shiv.
"Door's open! Come on!" Luna called.
Yusei turned to see Jack and Crow moving through after Akiza with him and Henry waiting for a second. "Come on," Henry ordered and the two ran through. As soon as they were through, Yusei shut the door before helping Henry move a heavy cabinet in front of the door, keeping it from ever being opened again. They were all panting a bit to calm himself down. Henry took a deep breath and said, "Fresh air…"
"Are you guys alright?" Yusei asked.
"Wha…? Look at this," Sam ordered and they turned to a marking on the wall of the building that said, "Warning: Infected inside. Do not open".
"Are you kidding me?" Crow groaned.
"Thanks for the warning on the other side," Leo stated sarcastically.
"So where's this tower?" Yusei asked Henry.
"We're close," he answered. "C'mon, let's go."
They walked forward and away from the door.