Chapter 6- Deadly Claws

Sam narrowed his eyes at me as I found him inside the derelict apartment. He stood up from the trip wire he had been working on and retrieved his shotgun from the floor.

I gingerly stepped over the wire which disappeared through a hole in the wall, attached to, I noted, a bottle of the moonshine he was drinking the previous night. I smirked, amused that a high explosive could also be doubled as something to drink.

I also noted with satisfaction, that Sam looked pale and very uncomfortable from drinking said beverages. As expected, he was none too pleased to see me approach him. He shot me another dark glare as he readied his shotgun.

"I was hoping you would get lost," he griped, striding off down the hall.
"I bet you were," I replied, following at a safe distance. "Sorry, no luck I'm afraid. You couldn't get rid of me with that fugly and you can't get rid of me now. You'll need someone to watch over you anyway, after your efforts last night,"
"And you're just a good Samaritan right?"
"Sure I am," I smiled sweetly.

He curled his lip and disappeared through an open doorway.

I sighed. Perhaps the sour feeling of the monster hangover I knew he must have, added to his bad mood, or maybe he was still just an asshole.

I stopped to lean nonchalantly against a wall, watching him. Despite myself, my eyes traced an arc over the curve of his back to his broad shoulders as he worked. I imagined the body- toned from years of hard survival in the dark tunnels of the Metro- that his combat armour and jacket concealed. He was strong. I liked strong.

I shook my head. What the hell was I thinking?

I briefly summarized the events of the previous night to distract myself. I pointedly left out the part where he called me 'hot' though, as I thought it best to forget about that indiscretion.

He froze as he finished with the current trap, glaring up at me incredulously.

I shrugged. "It's all true. You even forgot you were supposed to hate me. You were quite amicable really. Hard to believe, I know,"

Perhaps trying to convince himself he hadn't just heard what I'd told him, he ignored me. He busied himself with checking how many Molotovs he had left for the traps.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure I can take you seriously now that I've seen that," I added after I received no further response.

Honestly, it was like talking to a pile of rubble.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" He finally grunted.
"Oh, yeah. I quite enjoyed watching you make a fool of yourself,"

He stood slowly, steadying himself on the opposite wall, looking sick. I almost offered him my water canteen, but caught myself. He did this to himself. He could suffer through it. I took a sip from it instead.

"You look like you are in pain," I observed, feeling absolutely no sympathy.
"Let's just get this over with, yeah?" He growled, pushing away from the wall and striding towards the door to the street.

We emerged out into a narrow, debris strewn avenue, lined with more derelict townhouses, bogs and waist high grass. We moved through the ruins in silence, Sam a few metres ahead of me. His movements were heavy and I guessed he must be feeling pretty terrible. I hoped it wouldn't affect his ability to fight once we found the other bandits.

As we trudged on, my thoughts gradually returned to the earlier conversation with Ed. I was suddenly filled with dread, knowing Sam may well turn us in to Tom once he found out our plan to sabotage the fuel rods. There was a lot at stake for both Ed and myself and would likely mean a death sentence. I was not so convinced that Sam would agree. Tom was his only way back to America. If something happened to that submarine, what would he do to get home?

It was in my interest to leave now, before he had a chance to find out what we were planning. I should just cut my loses and walk away like nothing happened. Then the Captain would have to face him alone. To my surprise, I found that I cared about that more than I should.

Damn it. What mess had I gotten myself into?

I don't know how long I had been walking lost in my own thoughts, before Sam stopped and held up his arm. He ducked behind a pile of brick rubble, listening intently. I crouched next to him, straining to hear what had alerted him. I quickly heard muffled voices inside the husk of the building next to us. Bandits. Excellent. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but judging from the tone of their voices, they didn't know we were there. We could get the jump on them.

I tapped Sam on the shoulder and he glanced at me, shaking his head. I scowled at him incredulously. What the hell were we here for?

I jabbed a finger towards the bandits to show my irritation. Sam's perpetual frown deepened as he turned away. Ignoring me, he moved off in a low run around the side of the ruin. I rolled my eyes and growled in frustration as I was forced to follow as he quickly disappeared.

With more than a few muttered curses, I weaved through half collapsed walls and open doorways of house remnants. As athletic as I was, I had to make a conscious effort to stay silent and keep up through the maze of narrowed passages.

I wondered briefly if Sam was trying to lose me again, but as I slid around another sharp corner, I almost collided with him. I stopped abruptly as I saw him crouched waiting for me. He had switched to his modified Kalash and had it trained ahead of him into the ruin. He gave me an irritated glance as I crouched next to him.

The pleasant aroma of cooking meat wafted through the ruins, making my mouth water. It had been so long since I had decent meat; there was only so much rat and swamp fish a person could take. Once I killed these idiots, I would take the meat for myself.

Sam gestured towards the voices concealed within the husk of building. I slipped closer so see what he was indicating. The bandits, three of them, had their backs to us, standing around a metal barrel. Smoke rose from inside it and I guessed their meat was roasting over the open flames. My stomach grumbled and I remembered that I hadn't eaten since last night.. Damn I was hungry. It was almost distracting.

The bandits busied themselves with small talk as their meal cooked. Now I understood Sam's intention. We had the advantage and there was plenty of rubble to cover our advance. I nodded to myself in approval.

I went to move towards the unsuspecting trio when Sam clamped his hand on my arm, stopping me. "What now?" I hissed at him.
He didn't reply, instead pointing to the exposed second floor of a two story townhouse.

Bandit number four reclined on a fold up chair, feet stretched out in front of him with a Draganov laid across his lap. He was partially concealed by a collapsed wall. I had not seen him and I would have quickly paid for that mistake if Sam had not had the eyes of a hawk. He gave me a look as if to question my abilities.

"Keep your head down before you hurt yourself and watch how it's done," he muttered.

I rolled my eyes. Jerk.

He raised the reflex sight of his Kalash to his eye, letting off an accurate 3-burst shot at the sniper. The shots boomed off the rubble walls, making the three other bandits spin around. While I was still focused on the flashes of fire that ignited the half asleep sentry, Sam readied a throwing knife. It whirled through the air and embedded itself into the second bandit before he could ready his weapon. He ripped through the third with another 3-burst shot from his Kalash, ducking as the fourth finally got his act together to fire back.

I shook off my daze and picked off the fourth guy from the side.

"So you can shoot then," Sam retorted, striding over to the dead bandits to look for ammo.

I ignored his quip, frowning at his Kalash. "Incendiary rounds! Where the hell did you get those?"
"Tom's armory," he replied casually, dropping the bandit's empty weapon.
"Can I have a few?" I asked enthusiastically.
He frowned at me. "Why would I give you my ammo?"
"Well, at least leave me some of theirs," I grumbled like a petulant child.

He sighed and tossed me the magazine he had just looted.
"One magazine," I huffed. "You're so generous,"
"Be glad I gave you that one,"

He strode over to the fire pit where the slab of meat was still roasting.

"There's no way you're having that to yourself," I snapped, hurrying over.

I nudged him aside, ignoring the dangerous look that followed and sliced off a thick ribbon of still hot meat with my knife. I shoved the whole lot in my mouth. After rat jerky, the taste was like heaven on Earth.
"Oh, venison. Yes!" I exclaimed, cutting off another chunk even before I finished the first.

Taken aback by my outburst, Sam eyed me with speculation, as he cut off a few slices and wrapped them in plastic to place in his pack.
"What?" I asked unabashed. "I've had nothing but rat for months and shrimp tastes like swamp water, cut me some slack,"
"You eat shrimp?" Sam asked in disgust.
"Well, I try to avoid it, but we have to eat something. There's not a lot to chose from these days," I stuffed more venison into my mouth. "Hmm, I'm definitely making jerky out of this!"

I finished another mouthful and cut some slices for later, just as an all too familiar howl of doom, echoed off the close walls. Sam was immediately alert, scanning the piles of rubble for signs of the beasts. Damn it. They must have been attracted to the cooking meat. Well, they couldn't have it, it was mine…ours.

I joined Sam behind some debris. It wasn't long before I spotted the first monster dash between the buildings. A second howl rallied the pack and they finally found us. They poured in through the bottle neck between two of the ruins, ramming into each other and snapping their horrible jaws as they all tried to get through at once.

We both opened fire on them at the same time, hitting the writhing wall of fur and teeth with a meaty slap and in Sam's case, small bursts of fire. They continued to fight their way through, even as the bodies of their pack mates fell motionless before them. They climbed over, focusing on us. One launched itself through the barrage and skidded in the dust in front of me. It howled and charged. I peppered it with a quick burst but soon heard the dreaded click of an empty magazine.

The watchman leapt at me. I struck it in its flat, ugly face with the barrel of my rifle as I had no time to reload. It retreated with a yelp, but came at me again, as a second one joined it. I risked a quick glance over at Sam. He was locked in his own battle with three of the cretins. If I had been expecting help from him, it wasn't likely to come any time soon.

I tossed my Kalash aside and pulled out my shotgun, giving the wretches a blast from the double barrel. The head of the first exploded and I rammed new shells in, finishing off the second.

The six watchmen that remained in the pack were focused on Sam and he was in trouble. He had his back against the wall of the ruins, while he kicked and swung at the beasts with his Kalash.

I vaulted over the ruined wall I had taken cover behind and blasted the one closest to him. I used my last shells and reached for my knife, slamming it into the back of another that bore down on him. My diversion gave him time to ram in a fresh magazine and he ripped through them, finishing off the wretch I had stabbed. I heaved a sigh of relief. Damn.

Sam nodded to me in thanks while he loaded new shells into his shotgun. I retrieved my knife from the dead mutant before going back for my Kalash.

"That was actually kind of fun," I commented, walking back over to Sam.
"If you say so," he replied unconvinced.
"Hey, we make a good team, don't you think?"
He scowled at me, clearly not sharing my opinion. "Don't get used to it,"

He pulled his map from the front of his pack, studying it in silence. When it was clear that I wouldn't get anything else out of him, I wandered back over to the fire pit. I groaned when I saw that the remaining meat was now blackened and covered in a layer of dust from the skirmish. Such a sad sight. Damned mutants.

I glanced at one of the bodies and briefly wondered where Seraph was. I hoped she was okay. I wasn't sure what would happen if she encountered another watchman pack. Would they try to kill her, or would she join them? I didn't like either option, as I had become quite attached to the cretin, despite her being a hideous monster. She was good company and an excellent weapon. I kind of missed her. I hoped she found me soon, even if Sam was still around. I wanted to see the look on his face when he realized I had a pet watchman. The thought made me smile.

I jumped as my radio buzzed, pulling me back to the present.

"Natasha, it's Yuri,"

I groaned audibly, receiving a glance from Sam over his map. I ignored the wretched device for a moment, checking my gun, and as expected, Yuri's angry voice demanded that I respond.

"What is it Yuri?" I sighed into the radio.
"Where the hell are you? I told you to come back to the swamp!"
"What are you, my warden?" I frowned.
"I am your brother and you are insolent,"

"Oh, thank you," I rolled my eyes. "You have still not told me why you are bothering me. I am a busy woman,"
"Busy with what, exactly? Why did you not come back with Viktor and why does he not have any deer from your supposed hunting trip?"
"Damn, you ask a lot of questions,"
"Natasha!"
I sighed again. "Watchmen ate it,"

I glanced at my pack. "But we did manage to get some. I have a little in my pack,"

Sam narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. I grinned back at him and he turned away towards the gap we had entered through. I scrambled to follow, stepping over the mutant corpses.

"You lost your kill to watchmen?" Yuri asked, doubt shadowing his voice.
"That's what I said,"
"Stop lying to me Natasha. What are you really up to? You have even got Viktor playing your games,"

I smiled. Good, dependable Viktor.

"What does it mater to you?" I snarled at Yuri, trying not to lose sight of Sam as he doubled his pace.

"Because I usually have to deal with the problems that you cause,"
"I'm not causing any problems Yuri, I'm scavenging,"
"You know we have scouts for that," he pointed out.
"What, I cannot do it myself? I was out here anyway," I argued.
"I have guys doing that now. I need you back here,"
"What is so urgent? Why will you not tell me?"
"I won't say over the radio,"

I paused, intrigued. What was so important that he wouldn't broadcast over the radio?

"What's going on?" I pressed.
"Do you not listen? Not on the radio!" Yuri snapped. "Get back here,"
"I'm no where near the swamp. It will take me ages,"
"Then where are you?"

I glanced around. Truth was, I had no idea where I was. I was unfamiliar with this area.

"Ah, wait a moment," I told Yuri finally, jogging up to Sam.

He heard my footsteps and spun on me, pointing his shotgun at me again.
"Whoa!" I held up my hands in submission.
"I will shoot you the next time you do that," he warned, lowering the weapon.

"Can I see your map?" I asked without missing a beat.
"No," he replied sharply, walking away.
"Why not? I won't keep it, I just want to see where we are,"
"I thought you were resourceful. Why don't you have your own?"
"Are you going to be an asshole about everything? I just want to look at your map. How hard is it?"
"It's not my fault you're unprepared. I thought with you being a local, you would know,"
"I don't know every single part of Vladivostok, Sam," I argued. "I haven't been this way before,"

"Natasha!" Yuri's voice bellowed through the radio. "Where are you?"
"Will you shut that up?" Sam interjected.

I growled in frustration. "I don't know, Yuri. In some ruins somewhere South-West of the port,"
"That narrows it down," Sam gibed over his shoulder.

I speared the back of his irritating head with the darkest glare I could conjure.

"Be more specific," Yuri pressed. "What can you see?"
I glared around at the derelict husks of buildings, piles of rubble and stagnant pools of water. "I can see the bridge and lots of junk cars,"

"What the hell are you doing over at the car dump?"
"I was looking for supplies and got lost," I lied quickly. I shrugged, at least it was partly true.

"That's what you have been so busy with then?" Yuri sounded doubtful. "Then why did you send Viktor back?"

I sighed. He wasn't going to give up.
"You are a pain in the ass, Yuri, why do you have to ask all these questions?"
"Why do you have to play games with me?" He shot back.

I was about to argue, when a shrill, piercing scream, made me snap my head skyward. My eyes widened in terror as the monstrous Batwing rose up above us, shrouded in its horrid swarm. It screamed again, then dove straight for me. I threw myself into the long grass, feeling the downdraft of its massive wings, graze my head.

Several of its tiny winged cretins clung to me, biting and clawing. I screamed, swatting at them desperately with my Kalash. I pulled my knife as another one bit me, ramming the blade into its ugly face. With a shriek, it dropped to the ground. I rolled over in the grass, crushing two others as they climbed up my back.

Finally, I lay there breathing heavily, body shaking. Damn I hated these things. They were the worst kind of mutant; terrible, repulsive, nightmarish creatures and I was terrified for them.

I heard another blood chilling screech and saw it again, swoop low then bank in an arc towards me. I scrambled frantically for the cover of the ruin, but it was too fast. It stretched its long talons out before it. I felt myself pitch forward, my face grinding into the ground, as it snagged my pack. The ground fell away beneath my feet.

Terror shot through me. I could feel my scream trying to escape, but it knotted in my throat, making it hard to breathe. I imagined being carried off to some nest or being dropped several hundred metres to the hard ground.

As thoughts of a horrible death pervaded my mind, something grabbed my ankle, yanking me downwards. The Batwing fought against it, working hard to save its prize. Its grip tightened around my pack and its great wings beat the wind in a frenzy. It was winning, slowly pulling away. Then the whip crack of a gunshot, nearly deafened me. My ears rang with the concussion and bright blood exploded from the fiend's abdomen. In a heart stopping second, I was falling back towards the ground.

The Batwing shrieked as it retreated. With my pack still in its talons.

I landed on something soft with a grunt. For a moment, I lay there in a daze, until the mound under me swore. With a start, I realized that the mound was Sam. He pushed me off and rolled over stiffly.

I stared at him stupidly. He just saved my life. Sam, the man who up until this point had apparently hated me, just saved me from a terrible fate.

We sat opposite each other for a moment. I tried to hide my shaking hands by wrapping them around my knees.
"Why did you do that?" I asked barely audible.
"When I figure it out, I'll let you know," he replied, pushing himself off the ground.

I stared at the grass at my feet, contemplating in shock, what had nearly happened.
"What? No smart ass remarks?" Sam questioned, glancing back at me.
"No," I said distantly.

I was vaguely aware of him watching me. He seemed to have enough decency not to push further. He sighed. I heard his footsteps approaching and glanced up, not knowing what to expect from him. To my surprise, he offered me his water canteen. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out, so I reached for the offered water, accepting it gratefully. I sipped it as he dropped my Kalash in the grass beside me.

"Your brother has been yelling at you for the last five minutes," he waved his hand at my radio abandoned in the grass.

Of course I still had my radio. I had dropped it when the batwing attacked and I could hear Yuri's voice blasting out of it. I suppose I had better answer him.

"Stop screaming at me, Yuri. I was attacked by the fucking batwing!" I yelled at the radio.
There was a long, embarrassed pause on the other end.

"What?"
"Yes, I almost got carried away back to its nest and it got my pack!" I recalled in exasperation.
"Ah, well, are you alright?" he asked, softening his imperious voice a fraction.
"Just a few scratches and bites, but now I have nothing. No water, food, no spare ammo, no gas mask or flash light. They belong to that monster now,"
"Then come back to the swamp," Yuri repeated.

I sighed, glancing at Sam, who was still watching me. He looked unimpressed with the delay, but he hadn't left yet, so I guess that was a good thing. He huffed in irritation.

"Please, Sam, I need supplies," I pleaded.
He tapped the barrel of his shotgun impatiently. "I won't stop you from going back, but I'm not going anywhere near your hideout," he sneered.
"Like I said earlier, I'll tell them to leave you alone. They won't shoot you," I assured.

Sam glowered at me, unconvinced. He shook his head. "Not happening,"
"Well, you want to get to the fire department don't you? Because guess who controls access to the upper marshes," I divulged haughtily.
"I'm sure there is more than one way to get there," Sam objected.
"Not unless you want to swim with the shrimp," I shrugged. "The only land access to the upper marshes is through our territory and it is well guarded. The rest is miles of swamp. We could go that way, but we would have to waste time back tracking to get your boat,"

I grinned at him, knowing even before he exhaled sharply in resignation, that I was right. Again, he had no choice but to follow me.

He opened his mouth to argue, when the batwing shrieked again. I glanced up at the grey sky. Damn, the freak was still around. I was struck by a sudden urge to take shelter in the ruins and I let panic over take me. I jumped up, fear propelling me deeper into the ruins. I wouldn't let it get me again.

"Where are you going?" Sam called peevishly after me.
"We are too exposed out here. We need cover," I said desperately, stopping inside one of the townhouses.

I watched the horrid demon wheel around in the sky with its writhing cloud.

"Someone might think you're scared of it," Sam smirked, following my gaze as he wandered in behind me.
"I'm not scared," I hissed despite the evidence. "It's just better not to be out in the open right now,"

Ignoring him, I checked my pockets for anything I might still have on me. I found one spare magazine for my Kalash and a handful of rat jerky.

Great.

I wasn't going to get very far with that and it was a long way back to the swamp. I thought for a moment. Didn't Yuri say he sent some scouts out?

I clicked on my radio again. "Yuri, who do you have out in the field?"
After a short pause, Yuri replied, "I have eight out at the moment, why?"
"Anyone, in this area? I don't have enough ammo and water to get back to the swamp. Maybe they can give me some,"
"Hmm, Grigor and Simon are closest to you. I can tell them to find you,"
"Yes, do that," I agreed.

I listened to a brief conversation between Yuri and the scouts over the radio as I lead the way through the ruins. They told him that they didn't have much to spare, but they could give me some ammo and to meet them at the old fishing shack that we used as an outpost occasionally. I nodded. But how to get there from where we were?

I reluctantly turned to Sam.

"I don't want to argue. Please, can I just see your map, so I can find my guys?" I cringed as I heard the pleading in my own voice. I had been completely rattled by my encounter with the batwing and I had no patience for games.

It must have shown on my face, as Sam's hard expression softened slightly and he pulled out his map without protest. He studied it for a moment, tracing a gloved finger over its plastic coated surface. I stepped closer to him so that I could see it. The map had been modified to show the areas which were now under water.

"Where are we?" I asked.

Sam pointed to a spot between the coast and the bridge that denoted the car dump and the wide lake next it. Now that I saw the layout of the area, I had a better idea of where we were. There was a narrow swath of land that swept around to the West before turning South towards the swamp. The fishing shack we used as an outpost was on a small islet not far from our location. I judged it would take us at least half an hour to reach it if we didn't encounter any more trouble.

I nodded in thanks to Sam as I handed the map back.

That wasn't so hard was it? I kept my thoughts to myself this time, out of deference for his help. But only this once.

"You good now?" He smirked, making me instantly regret my decision.
"Fine," I grumbled. "Let's get out of here,"
"We are going to have to leave the ruins," Sam pointed out.
"Duh," I rolled my eyes.

My skin prickled with fear as we left the safety of the ruins. My gaze automatically lifted to the sky which was now empty save for a few ravens circling over the lake. I heaved a sigh of relief, quickening my pace through the maze of rusted out car bodies, continuing down a slight decline into a bog. My boots squelched in the thick mud as I glanced around at the flooded houses and twisted wrecks of cars. The bridge loomed high above us, its broken sections casting dark shadows over the pools of water that surrounded us.

In the distance, under one of the collapsed sections of the bridge, some rat-like mutants gurgled and growled over something dead in the grass. They didn't seem concerned about us as we passed through, so we left them to their feast, continuing on towards what appeared to be a large warehouse.

I jumped as a shrill beeping emanated from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder at Sam questioningly.

"Hold up," he said, peering down at one of the small devices on his forearm.
"What's that noise?" I immediately froze, feeling my frazzled nerves unraveling.
"Mine detector," Sam advised. He stood listening to the rhythmic beeping of the device, staring at its tiny screen.

I carefully retraced my steps back to him, leaning in to see. The device was circular and had two white lines that intersected in the middle of the face, like a cross heir. Several small, glowing red dots flashed before my eyes in time to the beep.

"There are mines all through here," Sam observed. "Let me go first,"

I wasn't going to argue.

He stepped forward past an empty shipping container and into an ankle deep rivulet which opened out into a large pool. There was a small shrimp swimming in lazy circles, its armored hide just visible on the surface of the black water. The creature noticed us and swam toward us, bringing its ugly head out of the water. I blasted it with my Kalash, wasting vital bullets that just seemed to bounce off its thick plating. It dove back into the water, reemerging several seconds later to spit some foul, toxic sludge at me. I threw myself into the mud to avoid it. The sludge landed wetly next to me where it smouldered dangerously.

"Hang on," Sam pulled a grenade off his belt and pulled the pin, waiting for a few heartbeats before hurling it at the shrimp. It collided with the overgrown lobster and exploded with a shower of fishy shrimp debris that rained down on me, where I still crouched in the mud. I did my best not to wretch.

"You're welcome," Sam smirked, walking towards the warehouse through some more shipping containers.
"Go to hell," I growled, wiping shrimp guts off my arms and face.

The persistent beeping of the mine detector put me on edge and got on my nerves at the same time. I followed closely behind Sam trying not to panic. With each step I expected a mine to explode under my feet, but there was only the crunch of leaf litter and squelch of mud. I exhaled the breath I had been holding.

Get a grip, Natasha.

Sam's arm shot out just as he stepped through the doorway into the warehouse. I stopped before I could collide with him and saw the circular disk of a land mine, barely two feet in front of him.

Before I had a chance to respond, he plucked a chunk of concrete off the ground, pulled me back behind the containers and hurled the concrete through the doorway. I hunkered down next to the wall of the container as the mine exploded. The ground and wall next to me vibrated with the concussion, raining dust. A few seconds later, several more explosions followed. The shock wave from the first, must have set them off.

As I waited for the ringing in my ears to subside, I shot a dark look at Sam, who somehow seemed unperturbed.

"Was that fun for you?" I glowered at him, flicking dust from my vest.
"Sure, who doesn't like playing with explosives?" he moved into the warehouse.

I stayed close at his back not wanting any more surprises, but we crossed the open space quickly.

As we approached the other side of the empty warehouse, the crumbling structure groaned ominously around us. Something under my feet gave way slightly and I jumped back with a yelp. Just as Sam spun around, a sink hole split the floor under me, plunging me into a pitch black, water-logged void. Debris knocked loose by the chain of explosions, thundered into the chasm behind me, blocking my way out. I scrambled through icy, thigh high water to avoid being crushed.

"Natasha! Are you alright?" Sam flung himself onto his stomach to peer through a gap far too small to climb through.

His head appeared above me and I was immensely relieved that he hadn't just left me there.

"Shit! Where the hell am I?"

I could see nothing in the inky blackness of the tunnel, or whatever it was I had fallen into.

"I can't move this. You will have to find another way out,"Sam called down to me.
"But I don't know where this goes! And I have no light, or anything. Everything was in my pack!" I could feel panic rising very quickly and I had to work hard to keep it at bay.

I shivered in the freezing water and my legs had started to go numb. I had lost my Kalash somewhere in the stinking water and I felt around desperately for it with my feet.

"Hold on," Sam said slipping off his pack.

His figure disappeared from the opening and for a terrifying moment, I thought he'd gone.
"Sam!" my voice echoed alarmingly off the tunnel walls, bouncing off into the darkness. I hoped there wasn't anything lurking down here with me.

He reappeared with something in his hands. "Here," he dropped it down to me and I rushed to catch it before it fell into the water.
My fingers closed gratefully around the strap of a head torch.
"I don't know what's down there, so you might need this too," he dropped his gas mask down next.

I scooped it up from the water and secured its strap to my belt in astonishment. "Sam, thank you," I barely managed.

He paused for a moment, considering something.
"Fuck, I can't believe I'm doing this," he said finally, reaching for something on his belt. It took me a few seconds to realize he was holding his pistol out ready to drop to me.

Its sleek metal casing glinted in the narrow stream of light as I caught it. The light illuminated an intricate star decal etched into the barrel and the word Stallion, was emblazoned across it in small, neat script. The letters were foreign and meant nothing to me, English I assumed, perhaps a name of some sort. I didn't really care. The weapon was beautiful though, sturdy and well made, and I held it almost reverently.

"Don't lose it. I'll fucking kill you if you do," Sam warned, breaking my fixation.
"I won't," I promised earnestly, looking over my shoulder anxiously into the darkness.
"Alright, I'll see if I can find a way to you. Good luck," he slipped away.

I was left alone in the deafening silence. I felt like screaming at him not to leave me, but I had no choice. There was no way for him to reach me from up there. My only option now, was the darkness stretching out before me.

I secured the torch snugly around my head and switched it on. Its powerful yellow light cut through the gloom, glinting off the endless passage of water that vanished beyond the light's reach. Pipes the width of my arm, ran along the concrete walls. Judging by the distinct and overpowering stench of excrement, I had fallen into the sewers.

Oh hell.

I fumbled around in the freezing waste water for my Kalash, trying hard not to question what was pouring in through the inlet pipe on the wall. It was probably better not to know.

Finally my fingers closed around my rifle and I shook the water from it, hoping it would not jam up when I needed it next. Damn back luck. Why do these things always happen to me?

Something splashed in the water ahead and I froze, paralyzed by fear. I swore quietly, as I slowly turned and confronted the gaping darkness. Of course, I was not alone down here. What nightmares awaited me in the darkness?

Reluctantly, I willed my leaden feet forward, clutching my Kalash before me in a vice grip, like a lifeline. One step after another, I waded into the murk.