Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Wastes ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

In the morning everyone was ready except Hailey. She was still sleeping. Lana and Skyler walked in the room and dressed her before handing her to Boris. "She'll wake soon, but if you wake her before she is ready she will be very cranky," Skyler warned with a smiled.

Lana giggled and they walked out, everyone met outside with their bags. Evana took Sven's cigarette and took a drag from it while she watched Lana and Skyla come out. "Morning, flower children. Better toughen your skin."

Skyla only smiled while Lana blushed and nodded quickly. Maverick pulled his back pack on. "Don't blow smoke towards the children," he said but Evana rolled her eyes.

Sven smirked as Evana blew on his cigarette. "I think I might be in love," he smirked.

Boris took the brunt of their bags and tossed them onto his shoulders. His strength and size had to count for something at least. "Where exactly are we suppose to be going?"

"That is a very good question," Xavier said. He took out a small digital pad and handed it to Sven. "I have marked the first location. It's a small government compound south of here. Once you get there, find a computer and plug me into it. I'll take it from there and see what I can find out."

"Are you certain that you won't join us? After all, you did bring us all together." Maven pulled at his own bag, suddenly feeling very small compared to everyone else.

Xavier just smiled and shook his head. "I'll be there in spirit and over your comm channel. If you need me I'm only a button mash away."

They bid him a farewell then started off. Skyla's bag (made of only twigs, leaves, and other natural things) hung loosely on her shoulder as Lana walked next to her with the back pack. Evana looked at Boris who had Hailey in one hand other bags in the other hand. He seemed unfazed by the weight. "Shouldn't we wake her?"

"Not unless you want to die early," Skyla said.

"What are you talking about? She's a little girl."

"That little girl can immobilize you faster than you can say help. She knows every inch of the human body about as well as you know your own body. Trust me, getting on her bad side is not a very good idea."

Evana looked up at Hailey as she twisted in Boris's arms and snuggled close for warmth. "Seems a little odd that someone so small should know so much."

"We all are a little odd I suppose."

Boris smiled as the small girl hugged his chest. His arm was nearly as big as she was, so she could practically sleep on him the entire trip.

Sven looked at the data file and sighed. "We're going to have to go through the old subway stations to get to our destination."

"What? Why?" Maven didn't like the sound of that. Dark, enclosed spaces weren't exactly his favorite thing.

"Because it's the only way there," Sven smirked.

"Great, no telling what we're see in there. The subways and tunnels are nesting grounds for all sorts of irradiated beasts," Sarah muttered sourly.

"What's a subway?" Skyla whispered to Lana. Lana shrugged. Neither had ever heard or seen one before.

"Well, as long as we stick together and don't split up, we will be fine," Maverick said.

"That depends. Can any of you see in the dark?" Sven shook his head. "Cause once you get in there, there are no lights. Just darkness."

Slowly Lana raised her hand. "Yay Lana!"

"You can see in the dark?" Maven asked, not bothering to hide his surprise. That was pretty coo.

"Yeah....my eyes are pretty...well..."

"Awesome! That's what they are!"

Sven nodded. "Good. Then you'll be our eyes. Don't fuck up or we're all dead."

Sarah playfully punched her in the arm. "So no pressure!"

Lana grabbed Skyla's hand. "Please...tell me everything will be ok and I won't mess this up."

"Sorry...I can't see anything in the future right now..." Skyla said and held her hand.

Evana moved next to Lana. "You just tell me if you see anything alright? I'll do the rest."

"If push comes to shove we'll just fire bullets aimlessly into the dark. It can't be that bad as long as we don't run into any rats or skags." He shuddered at that thought. Radiation did funny things to creatures. Some it left perfectly normal where as others become mutated monsters.

They looked at the subway as they came up to it. Taking a deep breath, Lana went in first, letting go of Skyla's hand. "There is a few rocks on the right side...they are really big so stick to the left," she said softly. Skyla moved close to Maven since he was the closest one to her. Her hand held onto his. Never before had she been so very far from nature. It didn't feel right. It scared the shit out of her. "Ok, everyone stop. Just jump down and you will be on the tracks."

Maven looked down at her hand. Even in the darkness he knew it was her hand. He remembered how it felt after the first time she'd taken his hand. "Okay, let's go," he whispered. As they started to jump, he closed his eyes and slowed his, Lana's, and Skyla's descent. The strain wasn’t great, but not enough to knock him out. Just enough to make him slightly light headed. The others would have to deal with the jarring drop.

Maverick and Evana jumped down. Evana grabbed Lana's shoulder as they got to the ground. "Doing good," she whispered.

Lana brought her hands together and started down one way. "Oh! Great!" Reaching down, she picked up some odd clothes and wrapped them around a stick. "Does anyone have a light?"

Almost instantly a small flame flickered as Sven popped open his lighter. "Never leave home without it," he smirked.

She lite the clothes and smiled. "There....we can all see now," she said as the subway lit up.

Even with the light, Skyla didn't let go of Maven. In fact she moved closer to him. Seeing all the rock and metal made her stomach turn. It just wasn't natural. Where were the trees? Where was the dirt?

Boris sniffed the air as she lit it. "That smell," he said nearly gagging.

Sven and Sarah looked at each other. Almost instant Sarah grabbed the torch and threw it to the ground, trying to extinguish its flame. "Crap! Crap! Crap!"

Sven cocked his gun. "Not good. Everyone get ready."

"What? What's going on?" His arm moved protectively around Skyla on instinct alone.

'"Those clothes had flesh on them," Sven explained. "Lighting it on fire effectively cooked it. Now that smell is traveling through here which means any sort of hunter is going to smell it and..."

The sounds of growls began to echo in the tunnel.

"Oh my God..." Lana said as a bunch of eyes started popping up around everywhere.

"I have to get out of here! I have to get out now!" Skyla screamed.

Sarah and Sven wasted no time. The creatures’ eyes glowed in the dark which made them easy enough targets, though their sheer numbers were daunting.

Boris let the bags drop to the ground, his free hand reached out and slammed into one of the creatures like a club. There was the sound of cracking bones as the creature flew back, whimpering and gasping for breath.

Even though he didn't have a weapon, it was basic instinct to put himself between the danger and the girls. He whistled to Zenith who cawed in response. His vision might be limited, but hers wasn't. Closing his eyes, he chose to listen instead of see. She cawed right as a beast jumped at him.

With reflexes that surprised even him, he sent a small push of force into the creature, side stepping it at the same time and sending it flying past them.

Lana started shooting just like she practiced while Evana helped Boris punch their way through. Skyla went to her knees screaming. This was why she didn't leave the forest. She was so blind in here. There was too much rock, too much metal. She couldn't sense anything, she couldn't feel any nature. This had never happened before. Maverick quickly lifted her as the creatures started to her. He hugged her to his body, dodging the attacks with his quick pace as Skyla shook furiously in his arms.

"Crap. This has got to be a skag hive! There's far too many for this to be a random nesting ground. We've got to keep moving!" Sven yelled. He swapped guns. Putting in a flare, he fired it out in front of them to light the way momentarily. "Let's go!"

As everyone ran, they fired and punched their way through, trying to make it to higher ground. A loud, almost thunderous roar echoed through the tunnels, making the ground itself shake.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me! Sven, where are your big guns?"

"In my case!"

"Get them out!"

"I can't when I'm running and shooting! I don't have anymore hands!"

Maven bit his lip. Holding out his hand, Sven's case suddenly flew out from his hands and into Maven's.

"What the hell!?"

"What do I need to do?" Maven asked.

"How did you?"

"What do I need to do!?"

Sven shook his head. "Press the green button, turn the nob, and the press the red button followed by code 2234."

Maven did as he asked, nearly jumping back as the case began to turn and transform, revealing a selection of guns that shouldn't even be able to fit into it. Sven stopped and tossed his gun to Sarah. Reaching into the case he pulled out a large rocket launcher and aimed it toward the tunnel. Two eyes appeared at the end of the tunnel. Each orb was twice the size of Boris. Another loud growl was cut off by the sound of the rocket leaving and slamming into the top of the tunnel. The entire place shook as the tunnel began to cave in all around them.

"We are going to die down here if we don't get to moving!" Evana yelled.

"I think I see an opening up ahead!"

"Just run in there!" Sven yelled. Everyone went through the crack, pushing and squeezing until they were all through.

Boris was the last through, and as soon as he was, he grabbed a rock and shoved it into the crack to keen the skags from following through. "That won't keep them out from long."

"Hopefully by the time they get through we'll be long gone," Sarah said in gasps as s he collapsed against the wall.

"Where...are we?" He ran his hand along the metal walls, trying to figure out what it was.

"We're in a maintenance tunnel," he explained. "But I've got no idea where in the hell it goes."

Maverick stroked Skyla as she shook in his arms. "This really isn't your cup of tea is it?"

"Too much metal...I can't think straight..."

"Come on, this way. I can feel a draft," Lana said and started walking. Evana was hot on her heels.

"Here it is," Maven said as he ran his hand over the small crack which revealed a possible escape route. "If we could just make it bigger we could..." He stopped as he looked at everyone's faces. "What?"

It was only then that he felt the tongue wrap around his arm and try to pull him through the crack.

Evana grabbed his leg before he was pulled all the way through. "Damn it! Let the fuck go!" she yelled as she pulled at him with whatever it was on the other side.

Maven's eyes were wide as he got a glimpse of the creature on the other side that was trying to eat him. It was only then that he truly started freaking out. "Ah! Get it off me! Get it off me!"

Sven calmly walked over and lit up a cigarette. Taking a long draw from it, he blew out the smoke and then pushed the burning part of the cigarette onto the creature's tongue. Almost immediately it's tongue let go, sending both Maven and Evana tumbling backward.

"As our little friend here just demonstrated, it's probably a good idea that this wall is separating us from the things on the other side. Our only choice is to follow this tunnel and pray it takes us somewhere useful."

Evana pushed Maven off her and dusted herself off. "Stupid kid," she groaned.

Lana helped him up then turned to look down the way. "About a mile from here there is a ladder leading up."

"Then we should keep moving," Maverick said and started walking towards it.