The Fallen's war cry still echoed when Elias moved.
He didn't run.He made no sudden moves.Every step was calculated, invisible, silent.
Grimm and Ash followed his orders like living shadows, gliding between rocks and broken pillars.The old Morrow, still unconscious, was the heaviest burden — but leaving the scientist behind was never an option.
The beams of the searchlights swept across the cavern like a reaper's blade.
"Fast but unseen," Elias thought, steering toward a cluster of collapsed stone columns forming a natural maze.
The mercenary's mind worked feverishly.
Two priorities:
Protect Morrow.
Avoid direct confrontation with an overwhelming force.
He knew that survival here wouldn't depend on bravery.
It would depend on intelligence.
Moving through the shadows, Elias led the dogs and Morrow to a partially collapsed rock formation.
An improvised shelter.
There, as the engines of the Fallen drew closer, he quickly set basic traps:steel wire stripped from his emergency kit, stretched between rocks to trip pursuers;broken glass and gravel scattered strategically to betray careless footsteps.
It wasn't much.
But underground, small details could mean the difference between life and death.
The roar of engines stopped abruptly.
The silence that followed was even more threatening.
Then, footsteps.
Many.
Heavy.Deliberate.
They were spreading out, sweeping every corner of the cavern.
Elias gripped his rifle tightly.
He couldn't fire yet — not now.
A single shot would turn every gun toward him.
Grimm growled low, but Elias gestured for silence.
Ash, beside Morrow, remained still, his muscles coiled like a spring.
The first of the Fallen appeared.
A brute clad in armor fashioned from cut tires and scrap metal, dragging an iron chain along the ground.
He advanced slowly, scanning the darkness.
Another two followed, sweeping the area with shoulder-mounted lanterns.
If they found Morrow, everything would be lost.
Elias knew it.
And he also knew he would have to kill — fast and silent — or die.
He waited.
Counting seconds in his head.
When the first mercenary turned left, exposing his flank, Elias struck.
He darted from the shadows, seizing the man by his makeshift helmet and pulling him backward, slicing deep into his throat in one fluid, lethal motion.
The body dropped without a sound.
Grimm pounced on the second mercenary, a silent leap followed by a muffled snarl and a heavy crash.
Ash attacked the third, biting down on his wrist and ripping the weapon free.
Elias finished him, thrusting his knife beneath the man's chin.
Three bodies.
Three quick kills.
But even muffled, the sound of the struggle echoed against the cavern walls.
They knew now.
A guttural roar erupted from the far side of the cavern.
The giant clad in metal scraps — the leader of the Fallen — advanced, surrounded by his soldiers.
The searchlights swept wildly across the stone maze.
Elias knew hiding was no longer an option.
It was time to run.
In a blur of motion, he hoisted Morrow over his shoulders and hissed sharp commands to Grimm and Ash.
They sprinted through the maze of stone.
Behind them, engines revved and shouts rang out.
Gunfire cracked the air.
Stone fragments exploded as bullets struck the walls near them.
Elias ran without looking back.
Hesitation meant death.
Ahead, an opening.
A narrow gap between two collapsed stone columns.
Maybe an escape route.Maybe a death trap.
It didn't matter.
It was the only choice.
Elias shoved Morrow through first, carefully sliding him across the jagged gap.
Grimm and Ash darted through next, sleek and fast.
Finally, Elias threw himself through the gap.
Bullets ricocheted off the stone just behind him.
One grazed his shoulder, tearing his jacket and burning his skin — but it wasn't enough to stop him.
On the other side of the gap, the world changed.
Less water.More dust.
A narrow, natural tunnel sloping deeper underground.
Darkness nearly absolute.
No engines.No light.
And, for a fleeting moment, no voices.
Elias knew the Fallen would struggle to fit their heavy armor through the gap.
It bought them a few precious minutes.
A brief moment to breathe.
But not for long.
He lowered Morrow carefully, checking his pulse.Weak, but steady.
Grimm and Ash panted softly beside him, alive and alert.
Elias drew a deep breath, feeling the weight of the situation.
They had escaped — for now.
But they were deep underground.
No maps.
No backup supplies.
And furious enemies blocking the way back.
Every step forward would be a gamble.Every decision, a loaded gun against his temple.
Then, from the depths of the tunnel ahead, a new sound.
A hum.
Faint but distinct.
Not an engine.Not human voices.
Something... different.
Elias narrowed his eyes.
A choice had to be made.Now.
Stay and fight the Fallen?
Or move toward the unknown hum, into the deeper, uncharted guts of the earth?
There was no time to hesitate.
He lifted Morrow once more, whistled for Grimm and Ash, and pressed onward — into the darkness, toward the unknown.
No promises.No guarantees.
Only the stubborn hope of surviving one more day.
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