Kai froze as the low, metallic click of a lock disengaging reached his ears. The bunker door beside him creaked open, revealing a shadowy passageway descending into darkness. The faint hum of machinery echoed from within, accompanied by the smell of oil and something metallic, like old blood on steel.
Kai hesitated for a moment, his sharp eyes scanning the threshold for any sign of danger. Satisfied that no immediate threat lurked, he pushed the door further open, its hinges groaning under the weight.
Inside, the air was colder, heavy with the scent of decay and rust. The narrow corridor widened into a cavernous underground room dominated by a lift at its center. The lift itself was a rugged platform enclosed by fences, likely designed to keep passengers from falling during its descent. Around it, metal components lined every surface—the walls, ceiling, and floor gleamed with an intricate mesh of steel beams, conduits, and rusted plating.
Kai's footsteps echoed as he moved cautiously forward, his pistol drawn. His gaze darted from corner to corner, every fiber of his being attuned to the potential for ambush. He could feel the tension in the air, a quiet forewarning that something wasn't right.
As he approached the lift, a low rumble reverberated through the bunker. The ground trembled beneath his feet. Then came the first explosion—a deafening crack that shook the room, sending a burst of sparks raining from the ceiling.
"What now?" Kai muttered, his voice low and sharp.
Another explosion rocked the chamber, this one closer, the shockwave slamming into him like a physical force. Dust and debris cascaded from above, clattering against the metal flooring. His instincts screamed at him to move.
He bolted for the lift, weaving through the falling debris as more explosions sounded off, each one louder than the last. The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning wires and the heat of rapidly escalating destruction.
Just as he reached the lift, a sharp, guttural screech cut through the chaos. Kai's eyes snapped to the source—a pair of tunnelers clawing their way up the fences surrounding the platform. Their distorted, insectoid forms were grotesque, their mandibles clicking hungrily as they climbed with alarming speed.
Kai didn't hesitate. He raised his pistol and fired two quick shots, the sharp cracks of the gun echoing in the confined space. The first tunneler screeched and fell, its body hitting the floor with a sickening thud. The second lunged at him just as he fired again, the bullet piercing its skull. It crumpled mid-air, its lifeless form crashing against the fence before sliding to the ground.
"Persistent," Kai muttered under his breath, reloading his pistol with practiced efficiency.
Without wasting another second, he stepped onto the lift and slammed his hand down on the activation lever. The platform jolted, then began its descent with a shuddering whir.
The lift's cage rattled as the explosions continued above, the sounds growing more distant as he descended deeper into the earth. Kai kept his weapon at the ready, his eyes scanning the dimly lit shaft for any sign of movement. The tunnelers were resourceful—he wouldn't put it past them to find another way in.
As the lift descended, the air grew cooler, the chaos above replaced by an eerie silence. Kai's grip on his pistol tightened, his jaw set in grim determination. Whatever awaited him below, he was ready.
The acrid stench of burning metal and plastic reached his nose, mixing with the cold, stale air of the bunker. He glanced up, seeing more smoke billowing down into the shaft, illuminated in flashes by the dim overhead lights.
"Perfect," Kai muttered under his breath, his voice heavy with irritation. Whatever was happening above was clearly escalating.
The lift jolted to a stop at the bottom with a shudder, the final metallic clang echoing in the confined space. Kai didn't wait. He stepped forward, his boots hitting the grated platform with a muted thud. Ahead of him, a thick steel door loomed. Its surface was scuffed and dented, as though it had seen years of neglect or attempts to force entry. A single keypad blinked to the side, its green light glowing faintly in the dim corridor.
Kai reached out, pressing a button. The door slid open with a slow hiss.
Kai stepped through the heavy steel door, the sound of it sealing shut behind him echoing in the confined space. The room he entered was dimly lit, bathed in the flickering glow of red emergency lights. A cacophony of sirens blared, their wailing tones piercing the silence and reverberating off the metal walls.
"Warning: Missile launched. Evacuate immediately," a mechanical voice repeated over the intercom, calm and detached, as if oblivious to the chaos it announced.
Kai scanned the room quickly. It was some kind of command console—a nerve center for operations. Monitors lined the walls, their screens displaying static or fragmented readouts of the facility's systems. A large terminal dominated the center, its interface flashing with alerts and warnings. Smoke hung faintly in the air, curling upward from vents and scorched panels.
He glanced around, his sharp eyes catching sight of a staircase on the far end of the room, its grated steps leading downward. Without hesitation, Kai moved, his boots thudding heavily against the metal floor. The drone followed close behind, emitting a series of anxious beeps, as though it, too, could feel the urgency in the air.
"What the hell did you get us into now?" Kai muttered, his voice low and irritated as he descended the stairs two at a time.
The drone let out a defensive chirp, but Kai ignored it, his focus fixed ahead. He reached the bottom of the stairs, emerging into a labyrinth of narrow metal hallways. The air here was hotter, thicker—heat radiated from the walls, a byproduct of the recent missile launch. The faint scent of burning fuel lingered, acrid and sharp.
Kai broke into a jog, his footsteps echoing down the hallway as he navigated the maze-like corridors. Warning lights strobed rhythmically, casting the space in alternating hues of red and shadow. The mechanical voice continued its monotone announcements, a cold reminder of the danger.
"Missile launch sequence completed. Structural integrity compromised."
Finally, he reached the end of the hallway, stepping out onto a raised platform. His eyes widened slightly as he took in the scene before him. The ground floor of the massive silo was in ruins, the concrete scorched and crumbled from the blast. What remained of the launch apparatus was bent and twisted, the metal glowing faintly orange from residual heat. The missile had already departed, its absence leaving behind only destruction and an oppressive silence punctuated by the groaning of stressed metal.
Kai moved cautiously along the catwalk, the grated walkway creaking under his weight. Below him, fragments of debris smoldered, and occasional sparks shot from severed electrical conduits. He glanced upward, catching sight of the silo's open roof, the sky above a stark contrast to the devastation below. The faint remnants of the missile's exhaust plume lingered, dissipating into the atmosphere.
Kai stopped abruptly as he reached a section of the catwalk. A gaping hole stretched before him, the metal torn and bent inward as if something massive had crashed through it. Below, the ruined ground floor smoldered, shadows dancing in the faint, flickering light of the emergency strobes.
He assessed the gap quickly, his sharp eyes scanning for the best place to leap. The opposite side of the catwalk was twisted but intact, the railing leaning precariously outward. Without hesitation, Kai took several steps back, inhaling deeply.
Then he ran, boots pounding against the metal as he sprinted toward the edge. With a burst of energy, he leapt across the gap, the void beneath him stretching out like a hungry maw. His hands reached instinctively for the opposite railing as his feet landed with a metallic thud. The structure wobbled under his weight, but he steadied himself quickly.
As he straightened, a low rumble echoed through the silo. Kai froze, his hand instinctively moving to the pistol on his hip. The sound grew louder, coming from the ruined floor below. His sharp eyes caught the faint movement in the shadows—shapes rising from the wreckage. The first tunneler emerged with a guttural hiss, its grotesque body covered in sickly pale scales.
"Of course," Kai muttered, drawing his pistol with a practiced motion.
The creature clawed its way up one of the support beams, its jagged teeth bared in a snarl. Kai fired, the shot echoing sharply in the enclosed space. The bullet hit its mark, and the tunneler fell back with a screech, disappearing into the smoke below.
More of them began to emerge, their numbers swelling as they poured out from cracks and crevices in the destroyed floor. Kai's jaw tightened as he backed up along the catwalk, his pistol barking sharply as he picked them off one by one. His aim was precise, each shot landing with deadly accuracy.
Kai pivoted, firing at the closest one. The shot tore through its head, sending it plummeting to the floor below. The other two lunged onto the catwalk, their claws scraping against the metal as they charged toward him.
He shifted his weight, dodging the first one's swipe and planting a kick in its midsection, sending it sprawling back off the edge. The second one lunged at his back, but Kai spun around, firing point-blank into its chest. The creature let out a wheezing screech before collapsing.
More tunnelers were coming, their hissing and snarling filling the air. Kai moved quickly, his pistol firing in controlled bursts as he made his way along the catwalk. He paused only to reload, his movements efficient and practiced.
Taking aim at a larger tunneler that had begun scaling the catwalk's supports. He fired, the bullet piercing its grotesque skull, and it fell with a sickening thud.
Finally, the noise began to die down. Kai's breathing was steady despite the chaos, his pistol still raised as he scanned the area below. The remaining tunnelers retreated, disappearing back into the wreckage from which they had come. The air was thick with the stench of blood and charred flesh.
Kai descended from the catwalk, his boots clicking against the grating before stepping onto the uneven ground floor. The air was dense with dust and the acrid stench of burnt metal, remnants of the missile launch and the chaos that had followed. In the dim light filtering through the cracks in the cavern's ceiling, he spotted a narrow path carved through the wreckage.
A building had collapsed here, its concrete skeleton forming an arched passage. Kai approached cautiously, his pistol drawn. The path led him into the structure's crumbled remains. Inside, the walls were scorched, the remnants of shattered furniture and twisted rebar scattered across the floor.
His gaze fell on a stairwell leading upward. Kai began to climb, his movements quiet and methodical. The steps creaked under his weight, echoing through the hollow, silent ruin.
"Floor one," he noted under his breath, scanning the area as he reached the first landing. Nothing stirred. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the faint hum of the drone hovering at his side.
Kai continued upward, his footsteps muffled against the dust-coated stairs. The second floor came into view. Just as he rounded the corner, movement caught his eye—a tunneler emerging from a hole in the wall, its pale form slinking into the dimly lit corridor.
Without hesitation, Kai raised his pistol. The shot was sharp, breaking the silence. The creature collapsed mid-stride, its grotesque body twitching before going still.
Kai exhaled softly, his expression calm. He stepped over the creature's remains, glancing briefly at the drone as it emitted a soft series of beeps. He didn't respond, continuing toward the next flight of stairs.
The ascent was steady, each step deliberate. Kai maintained his focus, aware that the Divide rarely offered moments of reprieve. The uppermost level came into view, a rusted exit door standing ajar.
He pushed it open and stepped outside. The sight before him was striking. The cavern stretched far and wide, its uneven floor a maze of rubble and debris. High above, faint beams of light struggled to penetrate the swirling dust storms that churned in the air. Dominating the view was a tilted skyscraper, its massive frame leaning precariously like a monument to the destruction that had befallen this place.
Kai stood still for a moment, taking in the scene. His eyes lingered on the skyscraper, calculating the best approach. The drone buzzed beside him, its small frame bobbing slightly in the turbulent air. Kai glanced at it briefly, then shifted his attention back to the terrain.
"Marvarian, Highroad, Ashnavar… tiny cracks in the earth, nothing compared to the road carved ahead."
Kai stopped mid-step, the drone hovering near him as its lights dimmed and flickered—a sign that Alexander had taken control again. His voice, low and deliberate, resonated through the quiet cavern.