"It's great that he found a way out but…" Anora went inside the cell, inspecting the area. "The question is how he got out though." The area was massive, so big that the light wasn't able to reach the other side of the place.
These sick bastards.
Such a massive area for a small child, how lonely would they have felt? Anora looked back, seeing Jug was still there. "You're coming in here with me." He looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but ended up coming inside reluctantly.
"I never knew it was this big," Jug looked around. "You wouldn't expect a cave this big from such a small entrance." Looking at Anora, she was also distracted by the scenery. He tried to slowly drift away and create distance between each other.
"Nope!" She said, not bothering to look back as she pulled him towards her. "If you have something to say, better tell me now." There was clearly something he was keeping from her, but she couldn't find out what it was.
Anora had to admit though, the size of the cave was unexpectedly large. To find a child in a place like this, she couldn't guarantee that it would be done easily. "Hey kid!" She shouted out, being met with her own echo as a response.
"Hey!" Jug shouted in surprise. "What are you doing?" He suddenly toned it down to an aggressive whisper. Anora looked at him confused, having the same surprised reaction from the way he switched up. "What?"
The way he acted only confirmed her suspicions, there was something in this cave. His smile turned to a face full of fear, "Quick, get me out of this!" Jug held his hands out, shaking the handcuffs violently. "Hurry!"
Anora backed off from him, "No, do you think I'm stupid?" She quickly held her gun out and shot, having the bullet fly inches away from his head. "Do you really want to die that badly?"
"Do I?" He asked her sarcastically, looking at her as if she was the biggest idiot hes seen. "Forget this, I'm running!" His arms glowed green, breaking the handcuffs as he pulled them away from each other.
Jug sprinted as fast as he could towards the exit. "Wait!" She shouted out. Anora pointed her gun at him, opening fire as soon as she got a clean shot. "Agh!" He cried out as the bullet struck his leg, making him unable to run.
"I don't play games kid!" Anora shouted out, she knew that he lied about his age, but she hadn't expected him to be able to use his gift already. "You didn't have to shoot me!" Jug shouted back at her.
She shot another round at him at the same leg, making him cry out in pain again. "I told you, I don't play games." Anora wanted to shoot another shot at him just to be sure he understood, but managed to keep herself from doing so.
During a mission, there is no room for hesitation. To lose focus for even a second could cost someone their life. Anora got out her pouch, looking inside to find first aid materials and some bullets to reload her gun.
What a waste.
She didn't want to help him, but he had to stay alive. Jug was the only survivor she had stumbled upon so far, meaning he was the only witness to the events that unfolded. There's no guarantee that they would run into another survivor, at least, for now.
"Alright, now stay still so I can patch you up." She got out the equipment she needed and looked up, only to realize something.
Where did he go?
Jug was gone. She quickly went to where he was, seeing only a puddle of blood that spilt from his gunshot wound. "You bastard!" She shouted out, "Next time I see you, you're going to wish you were dead!"
Anora was frustrated, she took a few seconds to help him and he decided to scram? "Guess I'll need another witness." She said to herself, Jug may have been able to escape but she was certain he wouldn't make it to the exit with the wound he had.
"Help me…"
A weakened voice could be heard further in. "Hello?" Anora said as she quickly fixed her things and reloaded her gun. Was it a survivor? Her ability never showed her that Jug lied about there being a survivor down there.
"Help-"
The voice cut off midway, it was as if whoever was speaking were moments away from death. "I'm coming!" She said, sprinting as she shone her light at the direction the voice came from.
She continued to follow the voice, always close by but never making any real distance.
There has to be something wrong.
Her eyes glowed a bright silver, revealing to her the flame of someone else. It was a green flame, flickering on and off as if they were on death's doorstep.
Anora kept going forward, but noticed that the flame, as if reacting to her movements, was going further back each time she went closer.
"What the?" The situation confused her.
"Help me..."
But if anything, her instincts told her that she needed to get out of there, and fast. Anora took a step back, slowly moving away until she noticed that the flame began to move towards her now.
She took this as a sign to bolt her way out, running as fast as she could towards the exit. A low, bone-rattling and ancient-like roar shook the underground as she continued on. The tremor it caused was so strong that she was barely managing to keep herself from falling.
What the hell?
Anora looked behind her to see that the green flame was following her at an insane speed. "So it was just bait?" Her thoughts leaked out from her mouth. She managed to get out, grabbing the lever and pulling it as hard as she could.
"Just in time."
Anora was gasping for air, her lungs burning. The condition of her body was a stark reminder of how she needed to exercise more often.
"Help me..."
She could hear the voice cry out. But unlike the other times she heard it, she could finally see who it came from.
It was Jug, his body was jammed between the bars to leave a small opening. "Help..." Another cry for help came out of his mouth before something slit his throat open. He desperately continued to try and call out for help, but only blood came out.
Anora watched as long and sharp tentacles came from the darkness, prying open the gap that Jug's body made. "Oh hell no…" Anora got her pistol out and started shooting.
Each shot was deflected, barely making a dent from its shell. "What type of kid did you want me to save?!" She shouted out, trying to keep the lever down.
Eventually, whatever came from the darkness won, slamming the gate wide open. Anora backed off as a massive figure made its way out, barely being able to squeeze through. A creature made of metal, some parts of it rustic while others looked as if brand new.
"Was this even a kid?" Anora saw no openings, no areas to shoot at or cracks to wedge a knife in. It was like she was looking at an impenetrable shield. A shield that could freely manipulate tentacles of the same material.
It made a sound, like a grinding screech of rusted iron tearing against itself, layered with a hollow, roaring pulse that echoed inside itself. It made metallic rattling sounds as it slowly closed in on Anora.
I can't let this thing out of here.
She tried to quickly keep her distance from it, just enough to feel safe while keeping its attention. "It's been a while," Anora said nervously. "Since I was so uncertain about the outcome."
She stood still, using her eyes to try and find any weaknesses from this insurmountable wall approaching her. Its movements were so fast and fluid-like, a regular person would have a hard time keeping the creature in front of them.
There has to be something…
The creature made another sound, this time of countless metals clanging one another. And within a moment, it lunged straight towards Anora.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pheo kept going the route leading to the stairway with Ryu. "We're almost there."
Ryu struggled to keep himself up, relying solely on Pheo's help to continue on. "Thank God, I feel like an old man right now."
The two laughed, it's been a while since both of them were able to talk. "You know where you're going after this?"
"Not really," Ryu thought for a bit. "I might go back to my family." His words reminded Pheo of his own, "That sounds nice." His face darkened, it took a bit for Ryu to notice his expression.
"Ah, right," Ryu remembered about his past. "You could always come with me, you know?" Pheo smiled at his offer, "That sounds great, but you don't have to."
"I would rather live by myself than on the pity of others."
Ryu felt down on bringing it up, "Let's continue on meeting up though, yeah?" He extended his fist to Pheo. He bumped it with his, "Of course, how else am I going to beat you after we escape?"
Ryu was about to laugh, but something caught his eye. "Wait, look" Ryu pointed, Pheo followed to see that it was a corpse of a kid. "Looks like someone had a bad day." They kept going forward, "Not just someone."
"It's more like a bunch of people had a bad day." Pheo said as he looked at the corpses that kept appearing as they continued going forward. The stench grew more and more unbearable as they went closer to the stairway.
Pheo caught sight of the twins that were in the truck with him. They were nearing death, both next to each other. As he watched their last few moments together, it made him wonder what was on Ryu's mind when they were going through the dreadful scene.
Was he alert at the sight of them? Maybe scared or in a panic, or was he sad about how they died so young? He took a look at him, being surprised at how rather than reacting normally, he had his usual face.
"Have you seen a dead body before?" Pheo asked, he felt that Ryu's reaction was a bit too lackluster for his first time. "Of course," Ryu told him. "When I saw my first body, it was the body of someone strong who fought for peace."
He looked down as he recalled the grim moment, "It was a reminder for me that no matter how much I train, there was still one end for me."
"I also puked." He added on, making Pheo struggle to keep his laughter contained. "How about you?" Ryu threw the question back at him, "When was your first time?"
Me?
He had never seen a dead body, at least until now. Why would Ryu assume that he had? Then he realized, since the moment he saw the bodies on the ground, he hadn't felt anything nor reacted. Not even a single bit.
"My first time was when I was younger," He tried to lie his way out. "It was someone I randomly came across while I was walking." Ryu looked at him, "Sounds boring, but it's not like we get to decide."
Pheo felt relieved that Ryu didn't catch on, but the feeling of guilt stayed with him. The odd situation made him think back.
Why didn't I react?
He questioned himself as they continued on. They eventually made it to the staircase, witnessing the aftermath of the massacre. "Do you think anyone survived?" Ryu looked around, speculating on what had caused the devastating scene.
"I think we need to get out before asking questions." Pheo began rushing Ryu, trying to get themselves out before they encountered whoever caused what they saw.
Woosh!
Something came crashing down from above, smashing a crater on the ground. Both Ryu and Pheo had to lower themselves in order to not be blown away from the wind.
"Is that you?" A voice called out from the smoke. It took a while until they were able to see who was speaking. Ryu was the first to have some sort of reaction.
"Dad?" He called out to the figure. Pheo looked closer at who it was, they looked like a homeless person. He had an unkept face, his clothes looked as if they were stolen from a corpse. "That's your dad?"
"The one and only." Ryu said before jumping in his arms. His father held his hands out to catch him. "Did you miss me?" Ryu asked him. "Miss you?" His father asked, "I came here to scold you!"
He hugged him tighter, crushing him in his arms. "Ow, ow, ow!" He screamed out. It made Pheo jump in, "Wait, he can't handle that!"
Ryu's father snapped his neck at him, he wore a cold stare. Pheo could feel his bloodlust radiate. His body tensed, becoming unable to move or speak. The sudden shift in atmosphere made his thoughts run wild.
"Who are you to tell me what my son can't handle?" His voice gave Pheo goosebumps. "Dad, he's a friend," Ryu looked at him. "And he's right, I'm dying!"
"What?"
He loosened his grip, taking a closer look at Ryu's dire state. "Did you cause this?" His gaze locked onto Pheo. He shook his head, "No, it's just because of the mines."
"Dad," Ryu called for him. "He isn't an enemy, he helped me the entire time." He reminded him. His dad looked at Ryu's eyes. He wasn't lying to save someone's hide, the weakling he was with actually helped his son.
"What's your name?" He asked, putting Ryu back down on the ground. Pheo wasn't struck with fear anymore, he was free to move. "Pheo." He went towards him and stood with Ryu, "What's your name, Ryu's dad?"
He laughed, "No, it's Ikra," He went and ruffled Ryu's hair. "But you're right when you say I'm his father."
"Stop it," Ryu quickly flailed his arms around to stop Ikra. "I hate it when you ruin my hair." He tried to fix his hair without a mirror.
Ikra smirked, then went to Pheo. "So how did you help Ryu?" He asked, he couldn't believe that his son needed help from someone else of his age.
Especially from you.
"We helped each other," He clarified. "From fighting Warhound and Don to going through tough times."
Ikra doubted him, but he could tell from his tone that he wasn't lying. It interested him, he always had a good sense for someone's strength. How could someone who's young and weak be able to deal with someone he could tell was stronger?
Then a loud, ear piercing sound filled the caverns. All three of them covered their ears as it went on, staying still until it ended. "What was that?" Pheo asked, his ears still adjusting back to normal.
"I don't know." Ikra told him, "But you feel it too, don't you Ryu?" He nodded, his eyes scanning the area. "Yeah, it's strong." Pheo looked at both of them confused, "Care to explain please?" Ryu turned to him, "Oh right, you can't tell."
"When you're strong enough, you can sense different presences." He explained, "And right now, a big one just joined in." He pointed at a pathway, "It's coming from there." Pheo looked, only seeing an empty passageway.
Great, another thing he can do that I can't.
Pheo thought that after practicing for so long while Ryu was sick, he caught up to him. But as he began spending time with him again, the distance between them continued to widen.
"You guys need to go," Ikra told them. "Head upstairs, some kid and a dead dog will be there waiting."
"Why?" Ryu asked, "The safest place I know right now is next to you." His words were sincere, it told Pheo just how much he trusted his father. Ikra was the person who was able to raise a wild person like Ryu after all.
"No you aren't. In this place, I'm no longer confident that I can make it out alive now."
His words shocked Ryu, "What?" His father was someone he had admired, watching him train for countless hours. Time and time again he's seen him prevail against the odds stacked against him.
That very person told him that he isn't sure about making it out alive.
Just what appeared to make him say such a thing?
Ikra knew that this was a shock for him. Ryu was raised with a strong family after all, there were close to none that could evenly fight against them. For him, all problems could easily be solved by brute force.
It's time for you to realize just how big the world is.
He took a look at Pheo, "You make sure he goes out."
Ikra then sped off, leaving a gust of wind that almost blew them off.
"Alright, let's go up." Pheo went up the stairs. He looked back to see that Ryu was still standing down there. "If you aren't going to move, I'll go down there and carry you all the way up."
He waited for a while, but Ryu stayed still. It made Pheo a bit angry, he stomped his way back down the stairs.
I'm dragging him all the way up.