In the Deep, Deep Dark (SS: Trouble in the Deep. Closed)

[Stonehouse]

The whole compound was dishing out surprise after surprise, like Santa’s sack on Christmas Eve. If an urban fortress wasn’t suspicious enough, cordoned off from the gaze of the general public behind a shroud of concrete and tarpaulin, the immediate contents should have set all alarm bells ringing. The guards were effectively a small army, presumably corporate mercenaries, hired guns fighting for some yet unidentified cause. Once again, the rumours that had surfaced on the Internet about the Foundation's shady backhand deals with military contractors appeared to hold water. Those security officers weren’t your regular run of the mill doughnut-munching ex-cops, drafted in to earn a few extra dollars. They were highly trained and well armed, not to mention capable of psychic attacks.

The gatecrashers were the next surprise, bursting in from nowhere like a couple of charging rhinos. A few brief verbal exchanges had hardly lifted the lid on who, exactly, the couple were. They obviously had a reason to be here, just as Stonehouse did, but their motives were still vague and unclear. Stonehouse had cast his rod to fish for information, offering a few throwaway tit-bits of knowledge as bait, but as yet, he’d not really hooked anything. Stonehouse was sure that Bonnie and Clyde would serve up a few more shocks before the night was out.

The next big mystery, the elevator shaft that descended to who knows where, was about to take the stage. What surprises lurked deep down below the surface? It reminded Stonehouse of the movie, Forrest Gump, and the famous quote about life being like a box of chocolates, because you never knew what you were going to get. To be honest, the rational Englishman had always thought that it was a ******* stupid quote. Boxes of chocolates always had a little menu, either on the packaging or an inlay sheet telling the sweet-toothed decision maker precisely what each treat would be. Where was the mystery in that particular scenario? Nevertheless, perhaps the elevator shaft was akin to Forrest’s sugary surprises, as the party really did have no idea what they were about to encounter at the bottom of the blackened pit.

Stonehouse looked at the redhead, who appeared to be the more vocal of the pairing. She’d come up with a suggestion or two, which was a decent start. Maybe she was the boss, the leader in the partnerships, or perhaps the Italian was simply the strong silent type who was happy to mull over the options? Trying to determine the dominant person in the pairing was likely to lead to trouble, especially if Stonehouse appeared to align himself or favour the opinions of one member of the dynamic duo over the other. It was probably best to stay neutral for now, so that no toes were trodden on. However, Stonehouse didn’t want to appear rude towards the woman, especially as she seemed pretty keen on diving headlong into the shaft and exploring whatever was hidden in the dark abyss below.

“I’m with you, Pru,” announced Stonehouse. “I say we take the elevator car back down and see what we can find. When a woman wants to go down, who am I to say no?”

Stonehouse peered down the open shaft, holding on to the metal framework of the elevator system. His dark shining eyes screwed up, his vision penetrating the black pit of nothingness. The rumbling of the electrical mechanism that powered the lift car grew louder as the carriage slowly ascended the mineshaft, returning to the surface. Santa’s sleigh was on its way. The next surprise was about to be delivered. Turning his gaze to the Italian, Stonehouse responded to his earlier suggestion.

“Are you still up for rock, paper, scissors,” he said, “or do you just want to take the lead on this one? Our guest is about to arrive.”

[Levi DAmico]

It’s said that it takes fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown, which must have meant that Levi was a very hard worker. Don’t take the path of least resistance just because you can – that could have been his motto. Instead, it was probably something closer to, “Why in the **** am I always surrounded by idiots?”

The Italian’s trademark sour expression became a grade sharper when Prudence scolded him, and he threw her a disparaging look in return. Honestly, it was like his mother had risen from the grave and was treating him like he was six years old again. He had to play nice with all the other kids, consider using teamwork, well… what the **** for? Did the lion play nice with the hyena just because they were on the same grasslands? Did he ****. He ripped out his throat when he got close enough – opportunistic and combatant in his way. He would even rip out the throats of his young in a show of strength, because this was his territory and they had to learn the costs of treading on owned land. In the Vampiro’s mind, he was often so starkly different to those around him that he could have been considered a completely separate species, which was as much a culture thing as it probably was a personality thing. Levi hadn’t grown up like the other kids, he didn’t have that stable family unit that recognised law, politics and religion as fences never to be challenged or opposed. No. Levi’s world had taught him that rules were all well and good so long as you were seen to be abiding by them, while in truth, you’re doing what you can to get that thing you want most in the world. And if there was one thing the Cosa Nostra did best, it was subverting truths and laws and morals to get at the good stuff.

Life became less precious than money in that respect. The inevitability of punishment and the certainty of death did different things to different people. Most would deny the very possibility of their mortality, living an ordinary life with a deep fear eating away at them, a fear that would only come to the surface with extreme circumstances. An atheist might take a moment to pray to that God they didn’t believe in for their own salvation just before the end came, after all. Others might realise their mortality sooner and hope to leave a legacy behind. Some people might choose to wallow in misery with ubiquitous enquiring, asking ‘why now’ or ‘why me’ or ‘what’s the point of life’. This just left the remaining few who accepted the inevitability of their deaths and simply shrugged their shoulders. For them, they hadn’t just come upon the notion haphazardly, and had likely been born realising that within their world, they were going to die someday – any day, and probably sooner rather than later. Malavita bred a culture which was ripe with individuals whom looked upon the realities of death and shrugged their shoulders. That didn’t mean they were suicidal exactly, but there was no fear to hold them back from taking a risky strategy. When you gamble like that though, you win or you lose. Sometimes Levi felt like he was cursed with bad luck, but, he probably wasn’t feeling quite as screwed as the man arriving in the elevator…

The look on the mortal’s face should have been photographed and framed as a souvenir for the visiting Vampiri because it was picture perfect. That look of surprise mixed in with dread and stirred up with disbelief was an expertly balanced cocktail of predictability. Levi had almost grown bored of that look worn on their faces because those who feared and recoiled from death’s arrival were far more common than any other kind. With an exasperated sigh then, the Italian drew the handgun and fired the kill shot before anybody had the chance to say a ******* word. Prudence had complained when Levi had tried to put the responsibility on somebody else and then Grant had tried to lump the responsibility on him anyway, so why fight it?

Ordinarily, the Mafioso was methodical in his approach to violence, where death was clean-cut and came from the secrecy of the shadows. As a matter of fact, Levi rarely got into situations where outlandish murder was the only solution; it was only since he’d come to Harper Rock and had sunk into its dark underbelly had atrocities like this become just another fact of living. It was strange how so much bloodshed and hostility could be cloaked so well from the eyes of the world, but then again, being subtle didn’t seem to register in Levi’s brain tonight. Without even a glimmer of feeling, Levi had shot the truck driver square in the forehead – a hitman’s shot by all accounts – and then sheathed his weapon.

“We’re not going to be playing for who’s gonna move his dead-weight out of the elevator either, are we?” Levi asked, arching a brow and looking from one to the other. He wasn’t expecting an answer, or any volunteers for that matter, so sighed again. “Yeah. Figured as much.”

And once Levi was done moving the bloody corpse from the elevator car, they were ready to sink into the deep, deep dark.

[Prudence]

Prudence couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes at Grant's euphemism. “Yeh, right.” She snorted and then tossed her complete and undivided attention in Levi's direction. While his commentary made her roll her eyes, Grant seemed on board with her, so that moved things along nicely. Instead of debating over tactics and whose idea would be better, he appeared to be the sort that was just going to go with whatever. Prey much like Prudence, which the woman could appreciate. With dicks back in their pants, everything seemed to be moving along in a positive direction.

The red head had stated what was on her mind, followed by Grant, and so what happened from here on out, was Levi's call. Prudence was fine with tagging along, and even following Levi's decision, for a promise of bloodshed and some booty, so how they went about didn't matter to her. Just that it got done as quickly as possible, with as much blood all over the place as possible (so long as it wasn't hers).

The elevator sprung to life, the gears not all that quiet as it stared to make its ascension to the ground floor where the trio were standing. Grant stated the obvious (not that she minded, because it needed to be decided who was doing what, when and how), which had the woman's blue irises slightly vanishing behind narrowed eyes as her automatic gun found it's way in both her hands and locked in the general direction of the lift while things were decided from the Italian that called for her assistance.

The door seemed to open sooner than Prudence anticipated, but maybe that was because she was waiting for Levi to offer his services for getting rid of the driver, or to tell one of them to do it. Instead, they were all encompassed in silence before the guy appeared and he just stared at the three of them. He knew they weren't supposed to be there, or on the same side for that mattered and had Levi not methodologically acted, Prudence was positive the guy would have pissed himself. “Nice shot.” Prudence muttered softly before Levi moved and removed the carcass from the elevator. For a second she almost told him to stop, because wouldn't it have been funny to hide behind the guy (as much as they could have) with the look of surprise and death and toss him at whatever was waiting for them down there? But, the weekend and Bernie's idea faded as quick as it came, and Prudence moved around Levi and stepped on to the lift. “Welp, here we go.” Prudence said as soon as Grant joined them, her finger pressing the button that indicated down with a quick and definitive jab of her middle finger.

It hummed to action, dropping a couple inches rather roughly and quickly, but the rest of the ride was pretty smooth. Her eyes remained on the wall, which appeared to be completely concrete, which made Prudence turn her attention to Grant. “How long have you been watching these guys for? They seem the busy sort.” Something like this must have taken weeks to set up, bu Prudence wasn't a construction major (or minor) for that matter. The digging had to have taken at least a week, then making the structure another few days...it was evident they planned on keeping this place around for a good while. By the time they got to the surface down below, Prudence was pretty sure she could have sang the Brady bunch theme song at least twice, which might imply that these individuals; whatever they were...sirens or not liked people not knowing what they were doing and what they were doing to be doing. Why else make something so ******* far underground, instead of just in the sewers or just under the city sewage system? “I'm wondering if there ain't nothing really good down here, as so much...**** they don't want us seeing and knowing about until it's too ******* late.” Prudence said quietly as she looked down the length of a darkened corridor.

[Stonehouse]

Everyone has found themselves at one of those social gatherings where they hardly know any of the other guests. That time when an old school friend who you haven't seen in years invites you to his stag party, and you turn up only to discover that his new work colleagues are a bunch of fuckwits into reggae music and recreational drugs. It could be a wedding where the solitary person that you've met before is the bride, and you only really know her because you had a drunken **** at university but "promised to stay in touch", because that's the kind of **** you say when you're eighteen. The subject matter of conversation when asked by other attendees to reveal how you know the blushing bride, particularly when the question is posed by the parents of the ivory-clad sweetheart, could lead to massive embarrassment. So, Grant, how do you know my gorgeous daughter? Well, sir, we had a shared interest in alcohol-fuelled sex. Taxi for Stonehouse, and no slice of wedding cake.

There was an awkward silence as the elevator car slowly descended into the darkness of the mineshaft. The carriage was plunged into virtual blackness, creating a spooky sense of claustrophobic suspense. Stonehouse felt like he was trapped in a steel cage with a lion and lioness, not exactly sure which way to look, and still uncertain as to whether or not they would turn their claws against him. When the ****-for-brains circus had come to town, Stonehouse had become the ringmaster, fending off the clowns, but he hadn't yet had enough time practising his lion taming skills.

Stonehouse found himself gazing downwards at his shoes, like a miserable vocalist of an indie band singing about the terrible woes of his life. The descent seemed to last an eternity. Just how far beneath the surface were they going? The eerie tranquility was broken by Pru, questioning Stonehouse about his knowledge of the Hebigumo Foundation's compound.

"I've been scoping out the place for a while now," replied Stonehouse, "watching the concrete walls go up, and the trucks come and go. They are indeed a busy, but very mysterious, bunch."

His reply may well have been an exaggeration of the truth, but convincing his two companions that he was more knowledgable about the facility than they were would hopefully give any suggestions that he subsequently made that extra touch of authority and credibility.

"If I'm being honest," continued Stonehouse, "what we find down here will be as much of a surprise to me as it will be to you. But that is rather exciting, isn't it?"

Stonehouse left his question hanging in the stagnant air of the mineshaft. Were his new acquaintances excited? Were they nervous about what may or may not lurk below them? Did they actually know a lot more than they were letting on, keeping information to themselves? All would be revealed soon enough, as the lift car ground to a halt at the bottom of the shaft.

The tall Englishman had been the last person to enter the elevator carriage, so by default became the first of the three to exit the metal box. Sliding open the door, he stepped out onto the cold rock flooring, a couple of murky puddles of water splashing gently under his boots.

The room, if that's what one would call it, was nothing more than a cave, housing only the steel framework of the elevator system. Low intensity electrical lighting, barely illuminating the area, flickered softly, creating strange shadowy patterns upon the stone walls. It was immediately apparent that there was just a single corridor leading to and from the entrance hall. One way in, and one way out.

"I guess we're going this way," said Stonehouse, cautiously moving forward, encouraging Bonnie and Clyde to following him.

There had already been enough surprises to cause a Jack-in-box to have a heart attack, so Stonehouse wasn't about to take any chances. He checked that his weapon was fully loaded, and kept it pointed forwards in anticipation of what may greet them as they explored deeper. He felt like a coal miner, his sub-machine gun guiding him like a Davy lamp or a gas-sensitive budgie, ready to face any impending danger.

The pathway was effectively a narrow tunnel, able to accommodate a couple of people side by side, but no more. The walls were jagged and rough, as if a giant earthworm had recently burrowed its way through the solid rock. Peering into the dimly lit distance, something caught Stonehouse's keen eye.

"It looks like we have company up ahead," said Stonehouse quietly, turning his neck so that he could address the pair who were marching closely behind him.

Pausing to take stock, Stonehouse noted a single guard at the far end of the tunnel, who was propping himself up against the corridor wall next to some kind of flashing red light and switch handle.

"I can make out one sentry," whispered Stonehouse, "and what could well be an alarm system of some description. We really don't want that going off."

Straining his highly attuned eyes, something else grabbed Stonehouse's attention, something that he'd almost missed because he was concentrating on the lone guard. The floor was littered with small metallic foot plates, some kind of traps that would be triggered by the pressure of a clumsy, unsuspecting boot. It was a veritable minefield, waiting to ensnare uninvited guests.

"Oh, and one more thing," added Stonehouse, "it looks like the whole place is booby-trapped."

[Levi DAmico]

“Brillante,” he growled in a low, hushed tone. “Traps.”

In the Italian’s experience, traps could range anywhere from being rudimentary in design, like a dug-out trench in the woods, to being as sophisticated as a motion-activated gun turret. Whomever – or whatever – had tried to fortify this place had obviously decided to go down the ‘less is more’ route. There were less than half-a-dozen bear traps littering the cavern’s floor, and despite being easy to spot, they weren’t all that easy to get around. Traps like these were spring-powered mouths, consisting of two crescent-shaped metal jaws ringed with razor sharp teeth. Often these traps were secured to the ground by a chain, the objective being that those teeth would snap closed around the leg of the victim and hold them in place for the returning trapper to deal with. The Italian wasn’t the hunter-gatherer sort, but he held a particularly macabre interest in fortifying his establishments with such devilish apparatus. Ordinarily his traps were a lot less savage and low-tech, but you couldn’t turn your nose up to the power and effectiveness of a bear trap when properly utilised. This arrangement of almost over-lapping jaws wasn’t a terrible application because the chances were that a clumsy burglar would set them off in domino sequence, resulting in some kind of Warner Brothers’ style punch line. Not fancying himself in the role of a cartoon dog – or whatever was the equivalent – Levi figured it was probably best to try and disarm these bastards before someone got seriously hurt.

The options were interesting, to say the least. Levi could probably attest to being able to launch his companions past the trail of terror with his super-powered throwing capabilities, but, a simple miscalculation could bring back that cartoon analogy pretty ******* swiftly. Sure, it would be quite amusing to watch Grant and/or Prudence tugging their limbs and faces free of those iron jaws like over-sized mousetraps, but he would undoubtedly never hear the ******* end of it. They would accuse him of doing it on purpose, and he would laugh because it was probably a tiny bit true, and then the petty wars would break out. Levi didn’t really have the time to be playing games with these idiots, not when there were plenty of other idiots standing at the front of the queue. No. It was better to play nice for now and work quickly – if at all possible – to disarm the traps and get moving to take out that lone guard. Considering these traps were spring-loaded, in theory you could set one off by simply disrupting that mechanism – you didn’t have to interact with that deadly pressure pad. Bear traps weren’t too sensitive, so they would need more than a pair of heavy-set men jumping up and down alongside one to cause enough of a vibration to activate the springs. What they really needed was an earthquake – small, localised and controlled.

Vampiri were curious things, came in all shapes and sizes and with the most peculiar of abilities. Levi was one that was referred to as a Shadow, probably because whomever had named these ******* paths weren’t entirely creative – or maybe they were just used to talking to idiots. Sometimes simple was best because it got the message across concisely, and sometimes being simple just made you look simple in the process. Regardless, Shadows were aptly named due to their natural affinity with what appeared to be dark energy, or shadows. Meanwhile, their neighbouring path – the Mystic – was named due to their uncanny ability to manipulate earthly elements, such as water, fire and… rock. A trained Mystic could make the world tremble beneath their feet – no, literally. They could actually cause localised tremors. The Italian hadn’t entirely seen the use in such a capability before as the application wasn’t all that destructive, but that didn’t mean he never would and therefore shouldn’t stock up on every available discipline. And what do you know, it seemed like this would be the perfect chance to explore the limits and otherwise tactical nature of that earth-rocking Mystic power.

Something about the way Levi was working tonight, however, felt off. He’d intended to speed over to Prudence’s position earlier with what, to him, seemed like a practised and well-know ability borrowed from the Killer path. Yet, something went wrong. Something felt like it was inhibiting his Vampiric abilities. Maybe there was some sort of enchantment about the place, one that not only made Levi feel as exposed as an Adam’s Apple on a hooker, but also appeared to be making him more clumsy than usual. Had he come out drunk this evening and hadn’t noticed somehow? Because that’s what it felt like; tasks that were ordinarily very straightforward became warped and impossible, and Levi’s attempt at making the catacombs tremble like a small Terrier, activating all those bear traps and therefore disarming them, was especially impossible. The ground didn’t even so much as yawn and the Italian felt like he could probably now do a better job by taking out his ire on the earth and punching the crap out of the floor instead. He didn’t do that, instead he passed a weary look to his comrades and let them know he was working on plan B.

Plan B consisted of manually disarming the bear traps, but that was going to take some time and a little focus. Their lone sentry would have easily have been able to hit the panic button during that interphase. What they needed, therefore, was a distraction and for someone to take the guard out from a distance. He knew both Prudence and Grant were capable of such endeavours, but they might need a little push. While Levi figured that neither one of his team mates would be jumping up and down on the spot at the thought of taking orders from Mr Grumpymitts, he still had to be the one to give the directives. They could argue about who was ‘boss’ and let that lone sentry call on all his buddies, or they could agree it was a good idea – regardless of who’s it was – and just ******* do it.

“This is gonna take me some time,” the Italian grumbled as he was working on the first of five traps. “Pru, you’re gonna have to distract him. Take his focus off that alarm. Grant, when you get a clean shot, take him out.”

[Prudence]

It took a couple seconds for the killer's eyes to adjust to the darkness that met them. Once they did, Prudence moaned in frustration a little bit. Not quite what she expected, but again, nothing was out of the scope of possibilities with a group that was trying to keep whatever they had away from the eyes and fingers of others. She thought about what Grant said...How this group was efficiently working. But wasn't it kinda weird that they went to this extreme? How did the guy go to the bathroom, or get some food? Was there some sort of bunker that provided him with the necessary essentials that all humans needed (assuming, that he was human)? Or was there some sort of secret corridor or passage that the group hadn't seen or noticed yet? She glanced around, trying to find this potential door, but decided they didn't have time for playing find the door, especially since Levi asked her to distract the guy.

The red head looked over at Levi, wondering how she was supposed to distract him without blowing his ******* brains out, but hey, they were a team. She wasn't always going to be able to put some bullets in some asshat that worked for these guys. No reason Grant couldn't get to have some fun either, in the spirit of team building and all that garbage. “Fiiiiine.” Prudence grumbled, only because while she agreed they should all be doing something and working together, she really wanted to be the one to blow the brains of the guy on the wall. She wouldn't say it, but she could think it.

Options based off her abilities and powers scrolled through her mind. She could attempt to summon something, like say a vampire from the shadow realm, but just because they were summoned, even successfully, didn't mean they were going to listen to her and attack the guy. The power seemed random in its success rate and completion task, so she wasn't going to risk it. No way, no how. Especially at the distance she was at from the lone ranger. She could summon a sidhe, but again, those fuckers were also unpredictable and without knowing just who or what her target was capable of, she would rather not waste the time and resources just for something to fail. “Hope no one is afraid of any sort of creepy crawlies.” Prudence muttered softly as her eyes landed on the guard, keeping her eyes locked on the target, as the woman slowly brought both hands in the air, the gun on the strap smacking her right hip bone as those long arms of hers raised.

At first it seemed as if nothing was happening, other than the woman looking like an idiot, but slowly a single fly came zipping by, the buzz only heard by someone with very sensitive hearing or say, a vampire. A few more flies and other bugs such as flying ants, a handful of moths, fruit flies, gnats and other potentially annoying insects that anyone would be swatting away while enjoying a picnic on a nice summer day started to descend down the shaft, after the singular ring leader, as if the fly was in control of the entire hoard, and shot straight at the guard, like something it was wearing had them pissed off, or chomping at the bit to get. The guard swatted at the first few insects that buzzed and zipped by him, his arms making flailing motions as more approached him, the sound of confusion, annoyance and anger erupting from the base of his throat as the guy fought them off. The woman's hands dropped back down to her side after glancing at Grant, the woman stepping off to the side. “He's all yours.” She shrugged before recollecting her large gun in both her hands

[Stonehouse]

For a brief moment or two, Stonehouse wondered if he had been magically transported onto an elaborate film set located in one of Hollywood’s famous movie studios. He felt like Harper Rock’s answer to James Bond, having infiltrated the secret base of a crazy crime-lord who used a so-called reputable business, in this the case the Hebigumo Foundation, as his cover story. Having taken out the hired henchmen in a spectacular gunfight, “James” Stonehouse had descended deep into the underground facility to uncover the devious plot that had been hatched up by the evil genius. Undoubtedly, the criminal mastermind would be discovered seated behind an ornate wooden desk, spinning around on a luxurious leather chair while stroking an exotic kitten. He’d possibly be eating an apple while intricate classical music gently played in the background, just to complete the cliché. Ah, Mr Stonehouse, I’ve been expecting you!

The next part of the movie was vital in preventing anyone from expecting guests. The booby-trapped corridor leading to the guard - who was dangerously close to the alarm system - reminded Stonehouse of the legendary opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Englishman half expected lethal spikes to suddenly burst out of the walls, followed by the rumbling sound of a giant boulder as it thundered along the tunnel like a deadly huge bowling ball, aiming to crush all who stood in its way. Indiana Stonehouse and the Compound of Doom had a certain glamorous ring to it. Granted, it was the Italian who was dealing with the task of disabling the traps, but why let the truth get in the way of a great story? After all, who’s ever heard of a leading man called Mr Grumpymitts?

It was blockbuster after blockbuster at the cinema today, as the plotline morphed into something from The Mummy. This time the slim redhead, Pru, was taking the starring role. Using some kind of vampiric power that she had acquired, a plague of insects, like something described in an ancient biblical text, was summoned and set free upon the startled guard. His arms flapped around wildly like a drowning man as the disorientated foot soldier attempted to swot away thousands of bugs. He was consumed by the swarm, unable to focus on his job at hand of keeping guard and sounding the alarm, should intruders turn up on his doorstep. This distraction gave Stonehouse exactly the opportunity that he required.

“I hope that you’ve finished disarming those foot-chompers!” said Stonehouse as he rushed forward.

Stepping out of the relative cover of the shadowy cavern walls, Stonehouse took careful aim at the flapping guard, keeping him centrally within the sight of his firearm. Firing off numerous rounds for maximum impact, Stonehouse watched as several bullets struck the fumbling security officer squarely in the chest, knocking him backwards. The alarm had not yet been triggered, but some kind of automatic defence mechanism within the guard most certainly had. Stonehouse stared at the henchman as he began to change his physical form, mighty claws and teeth springing out of his body. This mutated beast needed taking down, taking down now!

Stonehouse sprinted, hoping that his suited colleague was efficient enough with his mechanical skills to nullify the bear traps. He fired a spread of bullets that bombarded the freakish creature, once more landing several shots in the chest of the guard, and many more in its stomach and side. Ignoring any potential dangers of the traps, Stonehouse continued his assault, and unloaded a whole clip at his target, unleashing hot fury, striking the unfortunate feral mutation full on in the face, sending blood, bone, and brains splattering against the cold stone wall behind him.

Stonehouse halted his charge, watching as the guard slumped to the floor, very much dead. It looked like the Italian had done a damn good job at knocking out the traps, as Stonehouse’s feet were both still attached to his athletic legs.

“I think that there’s one more up ahead that needs doing,” said Stonehouse to Mr Grumpymitts, “but that was a great job. Thanks.”

The show of gratitude was genuine enough. The Englishman quite enjoyed his feet being exactly where they were, thank you very much. He then looked back towards the redhead, who was rapidly approaching.

“That was a very nifty trick,” said Stonehouse, gently nodding his head in appreciation.

The fact that the buzzing noise of the swarm had irritated the hell out of Stonehouse, and made him think that his ears were on fire, was irrelevant. The plan had been successful.

“Let’s be careful not to trip that alarm as we move onwards,” announced Stonehouse, half a smile creeping across his chiselled face.

[Levi DAmico]

If you disregarded a couple of hiccups – a couple of Levi’s hiccups – all in all their team wasn’t doing too badly. The small militia in the yard had been taken care of with relative ease and excessive force – almost guaranteeing that they couldn’t get ambushed from behind. The five bear traps were proficiently disarmed while the swarm and the relatively clean gunshots overcame the sentry. And now the way was open for further exploration. It still wasn’t clear what exactly those obstacles had been guarding, but maybe the truth lay a little deeper still. It was a mystery for now, like how many licks it took to get to the centre of a Tootsie Pop, and maybe the answer to how many more ******* chambers to pass through before they got to the bottom of the Hebigumo’s antics, would be a similar number. It wasn’t obvious at that point in time, but at least the path was linear like a one-way stroll into Hell, so there was no chance of becoming side-tracked or lost. The room they were in at the moment felt certainly more like a cave than anything else, and a long narrow tunnel connected it to the maw of a larger chamber. Levi could barely make out what was waiting in the room ahead of them, but it was easy enough to detect the slope of the ground, descending deeper into a mine. No point in hanging around here any longer.

It wasn’t until his shoes hit the rather sludgy stone path that the reality of vanity sank in; his shoes were going to be binned right along with the rest of his outfit once this adventure was over. Levi continued at his casual pace regardless, following the main path that headed south. Despite there being no lighting whatsoever down here, he found it fairly easy to figure out where he was going and where he was stepping. It was like his senses had come alive in the dark and the silence – more so than they had been on terra firma. He could hear everything, from the soft, dull pops and trickles of water falling into the shallow pools beside his feet, to the hollow, rasping whisper of the wind that bellowed through the ceiling’s gap, getting lighter and then fizzing out completely the further they walked. Levi could hear the faint echoing of movement and biological sounds up ahead too as he travelled into the depths of this hungry abyss, so that gave him plenty of reason to be cautious. A solemn squeak made him flinch and reach quietly for a weapon, but he thought better about shooting off a round just to hunt a rat. It also wouldn’t do them very well to announce their arrival.

As the path descended further, the nature of their surroundings began to change. Ahead of the dirt and rock passageway was what looked to be a man-made room. Built of chiselled stone, the neat confines of the gaping chamber stretched beyond the eye’s gaze, made all the more difficult by a thick haze that hung in the centre of the room. Levi wasn’t entirely sure that this chamber had been built by the Hebigumo so much that they had dug their way into a tomb that had already been there. That notion was given credence when it appeared that they would have to climb into the next chamber through a hole in a wall. Applying a steady hand to the brickwork above it, Levi leant his ear next to the entrance. The sounds, even as hollow as they were, were definitely coming from this location, but were maybe a few metres ahead. He gave a glance back to his team mates, a look that signified he was going in without having to spell it out to them in speech; it was probably quite foolish to be anything less than soundless at this point. Placing his hands down onto the bottom of the hole, he lifted himself through; his feet coming down with impossible silence on the other side. There was still a serious case of damp going on – the cave feeling having never really wavered – but there was definitely more space down here. The walls were further apart and the brickwork was old – real old. The ceiling was some distance above his head too and upon looking up, Levi noticed that the walls arched upward into a dome-like structure. It looked like catacombs to him, like the ones in Rome, but on a much grander scale.

Who’d have thought Canada would have so many places like this just lying below the surface. Maybe it came from the French influences, he thought lazily, but he wasn’t willing to put that much effort into it when they still had so much to explore. He gravitated toward the sounds he’d heard, keeping to the edges, and finding those sounds became sharper the further he walked. Along with all the bones scattered along the ground, the Italian was also hearing voices – though maybe they were more like growls and wailing, the kind you would hear in a Zombie flick. So when he caught sight of one, he wasn’t overly surprised. What surprised Levi was that, not only did these things look like recently deceased super-soldiers with enough muscle and armour to rival Black Rhinos, but there were also twelve of the bastards. They were huddled together, barely drifting away from the centre of the room as if some magical, invisible tethers held them to point. While their movements appeared sluggish, they also looked relatively peaceful, so there was no way of knowing whether this would persist when they caught sight of Levi, Prudence and Grant. This could have very well have been more like 28 Days Later or World War Z rather than The Return of the Living Dead. This just kept getting better and ******* better, didn’t it.

Levi stole a look at his comrades again and made a signal for them to retreat back to a safe distance, which according to Levi was close to the ******* entrance. For this specific moment in time it seemed to be that discretion would certainly be the better part of valour, but something told the Italian that Prudence probably wouldn’t agree. Of course it was too early to make assumptions about Grant, but, he had a strong suspicion that Grant would actually agree with his next tactic as equally as Prudence would oppose it.

“That’s a lot of ******* zombies,” Levi said. His voice was low, barely even a murmur, but it didn’t lack any kind of conviction or strength. “I suggest we skip this fight and square up for the next. I figure you both can do the Invisible Man act, right?”

Which was Levi’s way of asking if either one of them were capable of becoming one with the darkness and disappearing from sight. No doubt Grant was capable – what kind of Shadow couldn’t perform that trick? But that still left Prudence as the wild card. They hadn’t exactly discussed her Vampiric capabilities – what powers she did or didn’t have – so Levi was effectively shooting in the dark. Ironically, they would be doing exactly that if Prudence turned about and squashed the Italian’s plans of sneaking past the undead.

[Prudence]

The guard dropped dead to the floor thanks to Grant's shooting abilities. Prudence applauded him lightly, just for a second, as to not draw too much attention to the group while Levi was busy at work. Once the guard was no longer moving, the flying insects seemed to lose interest in their plan for chaos, and went different ways. Some went further down the hallway, some came back the way they came from, and a few stragglers clung to the walls for a break from flying.

Prudence would follow after Grant after a little bit, after her eyes continued to look for a secret passage, because there had to be in places like this, right? A plan B to the plan A in case **** goes down badly? Without seeing it, Prudence shrugged, and progressed onwards. Grant gave her a small compliment to which she raised her right hand above her eye brow and gave the guy a salute, indicating it was no problem and she was happy to do it. Well, sort of happy. She would have been happier if she had killed that guy herself, but she reminded herself she was after all, a team tonight.

What the trio were met with, or at least saw as they stared to come out of the long corridor of sorts made Prudence go giddy with glee. Lots more things to kill! Things that were slow and stupid at that, but strong. Nothing Scarlett couldn't handle in her eyes. But then Levi had to go and ruin it with his sneak approach idea, and Prudence internally huffed. Levi had seemed to imply lots of things were going to die, after all, why were they so heavily armed, looking for a fight? The woman looked at Levi, and gave him a 'really?' sort of look when he seemed to be asking about the ability to shadow one self.

Prudence didn't answer, just simply started walking closer to the opening before she vanished from plain sight, giving Levi his sought out answer, and leaving both guys to follow suit in Levi's plan. Deep down, Prudence probably knew Levi's plan made more sense than going in with guns blazing, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about not getting the chance to at least try and kick some baddie *** and blow brains and other bodily fluids all over the place.

With the group of monstrous beasts huddled so closely together, Prudence had no difficulties slipping past them by moving around them, keeping very close to a wall, so close that she was facing them as she slowly moved past them, hoping none of the boys would bump into her, or she into them, because neither of them could see the other now that they were all hidden. That would put a damper in their, well, Levi's plan. The woman made it through the jumble of monsters without any close encounters by the enemies, or by her companions, and exhaled a sigh of relief when she could walk once again, as a normal person, just hidden in the confines of darkness. She continued on, because Prudence suspected that was the plan, go as far as they could in the veil of shadows for as long as they could, but came to an abrupt stop when she was greeted with a wall. A wall that held no door, or window or any other potential way in, or past it. Great.

[Stonehouse]

As a schoolboy, Stonehouse and his friends would happily discuss the relative merits of various superheroes and their amazing abilities. Some folk wanted to be Superman, so that they could fly and have immense strength, while others preferred Spiderman, with his mutant abilities and highly tuned senses. A couple of weedy kids would always want to be Thor, and have that god-like persona, compensating for their own physical shortcomings. Stonehouse always went down the path of Batman or Ironman. Although Stonehouse’s choices technically lacked any superhuman powers, the deep-thinking businessman was drawn to the skills of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, their creativeness and ingenuity. It would also be fair to say that their billionaire playboy lifestyles also held a certain appeal to the materialistic Englishman.

There was always one youth, the quiet, weird classmate who usually kept himself to himself, who wanted to be invisible. His reasoning behind his preference of supernatural gifts was that he could sneak into the girls’ changing rooms and spy on them as they undressed. Funnily enough, this always ended up being the kid who never got a girlfriend, or the one you heard about on the news several years later, the freaky guy who committed murder.

Stonehouse was most definitely not a superhero. The only person he’d really care about saving was himself, barring a couple of notable exceptions. How ironic that he now possessed mystical, unearthly talents, abilities that could be used to help others if he channelled them in the right direction. Instead, he chose to hoard his talents, rather than share them around like cake at Christmas. They often came in handy, getting him out of tight situations like a supernatural lubricant. Bypassing a horde of undead warriors seemed the perfect opportunity to put his powers to good use.

Concentrating on his physical form and the surrounding area, Stonehouse blended into the shadows, effectively vanishing from sight like a chameleon. Moving silently and undetected across the cold tunnel floor like a wartime submarine hunting down destroyers and frigates, Stonehouse gingerly stepped forward, keeping his back against the damp wall of the corridor. The beasts couldn’t see him, but he still felt as though their black, hollow eyes could lock onto him at any second, using some kind of supernatural radar system to pinpoint his movement.

Fortunately, they were huddled together like sheep, but there was nothing fluffy about these animals. Their breath, not that they actually breathed, was more like rotten eggs than succulent roast lamb, that unmistakable sulphurous tickle wafting through the dank air.

The stench of the lumbering undead creatures was horrendous. Individually, they gave off an unpleasant smell, but collectively, it was a nose-tingling odour that burned at the back of Stonehouse’s nostrils and throat. He could only imagine the unbearable stink that would be omitted if the three intrepid explorers had to butcher the group of zombified corpses. Manky arms, rotten legs, putrid flesh being flung around the large chamber - what a wonderful sight that would be, a real treat for the senses! The thought of the massed groaning that would echo around the stone cavern was something that Stonehouse most definitely didn’t want to be subjected to, not today, not ever.

Scouring the rock floor, it looked like somebody had already had a feast, tucking into juicy joints and barbequed ribs. Bones were festooned about the place, liberally scattered as if there had been an almighty banquet and the left overs had been cast aside. The identity of the numerous victims would possibly remain yet another unsolved mystery. There appeared to be another question posed for each one answered. Stonehouse’s main focus was to ensure that he didn’t become the next course on the menu.

Each and every delicate footstep dragged the adventurer closer towards his destination, the exit at the far side of the excavated cave. It seemed particularly strange trying to guess the whereabouts of his two companions. He didn’t know if they were just ahead of him, or right on his shoulder. The whole scenario was quite eerie, like a game of blind man’s buff where all the competitors wore blindfolds. Stonehouse had to trust that his colleagues would proceed with as much care and attention as he did. One clumsy stumble could inadvertently alert the undead guardians, and cause havoc to break loose.

Having stealthily slipped through the undead net, a puzzled expression broke out across Stonehouse’s face. Just precisely where was the exit? Looking around, he couldn’t see anything. Surely this wasn’t a dead end? There had to be another way out, a hidden tunnel or door. He didn’t want to be stuck in this hellhole, dodging zombie soldiers all day.

Ah, a hole, of course! Glancing back from where he’d moments earlier trodden, Stonehouse spied the way out. There was an opening in the centre of the chamber, presumably the mouth to yet another mineshaft. That had to be the way. It explained why the undead guards were huddled together like a hunting pack, patrolling the exit.

Skipping over a few more crusty old bones, the picture of an elite hurdler at the Olympics, Stonehouse slid passed the undead troops like an invisible ninja, dropping gracefully through the opening, being extra careful not to make a sound as he landed. He looked around, wondering if his companions were already here, after all, he couldn’t see them, whether they had arrived or not. There was only one thing to do, Stonehouse needed to step out of his shadowy cloak and reveal himself, hoping that the others would do the same.