Kauss, Helona, and Killian stood above the Tetson hole that vanished into a pitch black abyss. The hole they’re standing at was the one near the elevator that appeared when Kauss and Linux fought that one Tetson yesterday. He could remember that fight well and feared having to go up against another one, if not multiple. However, this time he had his friends with him and they were no slouches when it came to fighting and spilling blood. All they had to do was go for the neck like they always do and everything was over. They can begin climbing once more and leave this shitty floor behind.

Kauss looked down into the black void that encompassed the hole. It reminded him of that endless darkness that he would stare up at on the first floor. He would always imagine a monster of outstanding size come down and devour the city whole. When he saw that giant beast when taking the elevator to the second floor, he couldn’t help but feel validated by his imagination. As he stared into this new darkness, the monster now took the shape in form of the Tetson. He didn’t know if it was better that he knew what it looked like, or if his imagination could undercut the horror that beast inspired.

He felt someone firmly grip his shoulder. He saw Helona’s hand grasp his shoulder and at first he thought it was because she was trying to comfort him. That was until he realized she was shaking just as much as he was. In turn, he raised his hand and held her shoulder, steadying both her and himself. They had to psych themselves up before heading into such a death trap. Suddenly, he felt another hand grab him. This time it was Killian, and he expected his hand to be shaking too, but it was actually steady as a rock. Killian showed what he was feeling another way. He could see fear in his eyes as they peered into the darkness below.

Killian took a deep breath and stepped closer toward the hole. Digging around his pocket, he brought out a small device and pressed a button on the side. The front of it lit up out of nowhere and partially blinded Kauss. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes as they began irritating him from the sudden exposure to bright light. He opened them slowly and looked down the hole which was now illuminating from the device within Killian’s hand.

Linux had brought the devices with them in the bag. Strangely enough, there were only three as if he wouldn’t have needed them in the first place. He left instructions on how to use them as well as when to use them. He called them flashlights since they flashed a beam of light. Very creative name aside, it was definitely shining an overpowering light so bright that he could see quite a long was down the hole.

At the very edge that the flashlight’s light reached, he could see as the hole made a sharp turn ninety degrees as the Tetson dug under and made its journey toward its destination. It could be its home, and wherever that thing called home was, they were heading there as well. With one final glance to one another, they dropped down into the lit up darkness. The call of death awaits and Kauss will keep it waiting, or at least he’d try.

With a thud of footsteps against hard dirt, he couldn’t help but compare the feeling to him drifting across the roads of the first floor. The way how when he dragged his feet, it would emit a sound that sounded like someone rubbing against sandpaper, was just how he remembered it. The way how dust and loose bits of dirt picked up in the slight draft and carried away to another part of the floor also stayed true.

He couldn’t believe he was feeling such ways about the home he’s hated since the moment he was born. Despite that, he couldn’t help but look back fondly. It was torturous to him as he thought about the times he was near death’s door and the other times he took someone’s life. Still, a human can never forget their roots, no matter how much they may despise it.

Even the darkness surrounding them was similar to that blasted ceiling. Void of lights and color, an awful bleak look into the state that city was under. He loved the sky that hung above him now. He could finally look up and not be afraid of what was waiting above them. However, it was still a ceiling at the end of the day. It was just a ceiling that was more vibrant and could produce light.

As they walked down the first of what they assumed were going to be many tunnels that burrowed under their feet, darkness surrounded them and it was the only thing they could see. The flashlight was bright as hell, but even that had its limits. At the very end, there was only darkness. Cogs whirred in Kauss’ brain as a thought came to mind that settled a deep dread within him.

Darkness completely surrounded them, not just the darkness at the edge of their light, but even the darkness that they banished away. Turn off that flashlight and what’s all left. Darkness is what’s left behind. Darkness has always been there first, and all light did was temporarily push it away, but that didn’t mean it was gone. That just meant darkness couldn’t be seen. The endless black always surrounded them, even when light was shining upon them, and all it would take is a simple touch of a button and the light would vanish from existence. It wasn’t gone for good, but that flashlight had a limited amount of power. Darkness never faded and could persist no matter what.

Heading further down the tunnel, sediment fell from the dirt roof above their heads and fell to the ground, breaking apart and echoing along the silent chasm. The first time, Kauss jumped and went straight for his knife. He was on edge and was excited to find out he wasn’t alone. Helona also went for her gun so they could bask in their own overcautiousness and paranoia. Killian was on edge as well, but he was a lot less likely to reach out for his weapon. It could be because his weapons were already prepared since they were just gauntlets latched onto his arms, but he didn’t raise his arms in instinct.

After the second, then the third, Kauss finally calmed down to the point he didn’t reach for his weapon every time he heard a random noise. He still jumped and his fingers twitched as he instinctively desired to kill the unknown threat, but he managed to calm down over time. Helona wasn’t so lucky, always on edge, no matter the noise she heard. It got to the point where she always kept her hand near her gun, just in case one of those noises turned out to be a genuine threat.

“I think it’s this way.” Killian said, pointing down the right tunnel of a three-way split path. They had been discussing which way to go for a few minutes now. Killian pointed down the right tunnel, while Kauss pointed to the one heading upward to their left, and Helona pointed to a straight drop that was behind them.

“Well, their prey is on the surface, so why would they live farther from their food?” Kauss said.

“Because that would mean less contact with people.” Helona reasoned out. “They may see people as food, but they’ll get hurt in the process. Imagine hunting a rat, but the rat had a knife.”

“That analogy is dumb as hell and you know it.” Kauss said, stopping a chuckle from rising in his throat. “If a rat had a knife, it’s still a rat. It wouldn’t know how to use it.”

“Yeah, but we know how to use the Gaxtexes.”

“Not really. I can’t count the amount of times I burned myself using this thing.”

They began arguing over directions like most couples do during times of stress and uncertainty. Killian looked on in a faint confusion as they were arguing either up or down, as if it would actually be important at the end of the day. He just wanted to go down his path because he wouldn’t need to spend any effort catching his fall or climbing up a hill. It was a rather superfluous decision brought on by a rather intense motivation to find a Tetson as quickly as possible.

Out of nowhere, a noise vibrated around the tunnels. Kauss and Helona stopped their bickering for just a moment to listen to the sound that erupted from the tunnels. Helona went straight for her gun and Kauss hesitated for the briefest moment, then grabbed his knife as he realized this wasn’t some debris falling from the tunnel roof.

The sound was deep and guttural, like an animal growling at an oncoming attacker as they prepared for combat. It carried so much weight and power within the growl that the walls themselves shook and dirt fell from the ceiling and dropped toward the ground. Fragile rock and stone shattered and created more dirt, which in time would return to being a rock and shatter once more.

The growl quieted down and Helona and Kauss never let go of their weapons. They gripped them tight as if it was the very line that kept them separated from death’s icy hands. That very well was the case, so they refused to let them go, even after seconds of silence.

Killian walked forward toward the path and pointed down it. “It was this way.” Turned out the both of them were wrong. Kauss looked toward Helona, sweat dropping from his brow and his face red. They apologized to each other and let their weapons go as they followed Killian down the right path.

They continued walking until they came upon another path that separated from their main way. Killian pointed down it and took the path without even discussing it first. Kauss and Helona looked at each other and shrugged, deciding to follow him. He had to be going down these paths for some reason was the logic they used when trying to figure out Killian’s method.

“How are you deciding where we go?” Kauss asked.

Killian shrugged. “I don’t know. I just choose the path that branches off from ours.”

Helona froze and blinked rapidly, thinking that she heard him wrong. From what it sounded like, it seemed like he chose their path because he was just guessing which way to go. She followed, and they came upon another path that went to the northwest of them. As soon as it appeared, Killian immediately went down it and Kauss followed.

“Wait, you’re serious.” Helona said once she realized the truth.

“Yep.”

“But why?”

“Because if they took a separate path than the one heading forward, that must mean they’re heading to their home.”

“But what if we’re traveling in the opposite direction from how they formed the tunnels normally?”

Killian stayed quiet and continued walking. Helona sighed and took the lead. It was obvious that they weren’t getting anywhere with how they were moving about the tunnels. Since everything looked the goddamn same, they could have been traveling in a giant circle and hadn’t realized it yet.

She moved to the front and snatched the flashlight from Killian’s hand. He didn’t even put up a fight as she stole it from him and pointed it forward. Now that she had it, they could finally make some modicum of progress. That was the case she made until she saw what they were standing in front of.

The path they took led to only one destination. What was in front of them was a giant pit that dropped so far down that even when she shined the flashlight down the hole, the light never reached the bottom and only darkness showed. If there was any place that screamed monster house more than a bottomless pit, Helona struggled to think of any.

“I think you owe someone a thank you.” Kauss said with a grin on his face. She punched his shoulder and thanked Killian for his definitely brilliant and not at all just lucky coincidence deduction.

“How are we going to get down there?” Helona asked.

“We climb down.” Killian got on his knees and dangled his foot on the edge of the pit. When his foot found a good place to rest on, he grabbed onto the side of the pit and began scaling down the surface.

Kauss followed after, not wanting to head down there for several reasons, which, if any of them were to come into fruition, could kill them. They haven’t seen a Tetson yet, despite traveling through what felt like at least half of these underground tunnels. Not to mention they had heard a growl nearby a while ago, so the Tetson that made that noise could be anywhere nearby.

They needed to hunt at least one Tetson, however, and going to its lair was the best way to meet one. Whether they get out alive was irrelevant until the fight goes down. As of now, they needed to keep moving forward with as much caution as was reasonably needed.

Kauss climbed down after and Helona hesitantly followed. She clenched the flashlight between her teeth and climbed down with one foot at a time. She couldn’t really aim it down to see where they were going, so the light shined at a random side of the pit. As they climbed downward, rock, dirt, and sediment sprinkled down to the bottom. Helona could hear the debris hit the hard floor, which sparked an idea.

She took a handful of rocks in her hand and stopped scaling the wall. She dropped the pebbles and counted the seconds. After around seven seconds of falling, the sound of rock hitting the ground made its way to her ears. Although they couldn’t see the bottom, it wasn’t as far down as they had expected. Helona breathed a quick sigh until she realized she had opened her mouth. With nothing gripping onto it, the flashlight fell from her lips and plummeted down below.

As it fell into the darkness, it hit Kauss on his forehead. Confused, stunned, and him being on edge for the entire duration of the exploration not helping anything, he lost balance as his hands slipped from the rock he was grabbing onto and fell along with the flashlight, screaming bloody murder. His life flashed before his eyes as he fell to the ground at a breakneck pace. The wind whipped at his hair and fear rose in his stomach. He curled himself into a ball and braced for impact. He could feel energy go through his system just like that time during the fight, and he hoped whatever it did, it would work everything out.

He landed on the ground, and Helona winced as she heard the thud. “You okay!”

“Yeah!” Kauss yelled back to her.

It was a strange feeling indeed. He felt no pain, yet his entire left arm was completely useless. That blue energy ended up being a lifesaver and he couldn’t see what Linux’s problem was about it. His arm was definitely shattered, but no pain was registering in his brain. Instead, it felt like he was walking through the air with how wonderful he was feeling.

Kauss sat up and looked around him. There was nothing except pitch blackness around him and he could only go off with what he felt. He used his good arm to feel the floor around him to get a good idea of how large the area was. However, by doing so, he discovered something much more interesting that piqued his interest. The floor beneath him wasn’t the normal dirt ground that they’ve been walking on for nearly an hour now. It felt like a stone floor from the smoothness of the texture and the chill that affected his skin.

He scooted his hand across the floor, feeling the smoothness of the stone beneath. He knew exactly what this was, and he wanted to see it with his own eyes. His hand brushed up against something else on the floor. He grabbed it, thinking it was a rock, but was surprised to find the flashlight that Helona had dropped. Feeling around, he pressed the button that turned the light on. The sudden exposure blinded him once again, forcing him to close his eyes before he went blind. Once he could see, he looked around the place he landed in.

He was in a circular hole surrounded by rocks and dirt all around him. Above him, he could see Killian and Helona making their way to him. From their pace, he could tell they wouldn’t make it for some time. At least it gave him enough time to look around. Without further ado, he pointed the light toward the floor and his eyes widened in surprise. It turned out he was right. The floor he stood on was a greyish stone that looked dusty with some sort of powder. He inspected his hand and saw his entire palm and wrist were covered in that grey powder that littered the floor. It was then he knew one hundred percent where he was.

This was the ceiling that separated the first and second floor.