“What the fuck is that?” Sam asked, hand automatically going towards his pistol. It looked like an obscene flower, with each piece of snout a scary petal.
Alice grabbed her sword, but before she could swing Lucifer pushed it off, the creature catching itself against the opposite wall and landing perfectly on its feet. It definitely wasn’t a hound, it’s body much skinnier with an uncomfortably long neck. Its legs were almost feline, the paws covered in fur like a pair of fluffy socks.
“Shadow-Veyn,” Riley said calmly, as if he was discussing the weather rather than something from a nightmare. “Classification C.”
“You say that like I’m supposed to know the significance,” Sam said as the evil flower hissed, swinging its grotesque head from side to side. There were no eyes, the face stripped back to reveal empty sockets. “Is Classification C bad?”
“They’re all bad.”
“Oi,” Lucifer bated, swinging his arms. “You ugly fucker!”
The Shadow-Veyn pounced without hesitation, following Lucifer’s voice as he braced for the impact. His arms burst into dark red flames, mouth opening in a vicious grin as he caught the creature. It landed heavily, the weight sending him staggering back and knocking into Sam, who caught his foot on the tracks.
“Shit.” Bending down so the Veyn’s strike struck the wall rather than his head, he yanked, and as he pulled free the space beneath his feet gave way.
Landing with a grunt he crouched, the surrounding darkness a void as he tried desperately to keep calm. His entire body complained, each bone rattling as if he was over a century rather than late twenties. He could hear footsteps, the scuttering of creatures that were invisible in the dark. Releasing a growl, he heard them all scramble, except a single pair of red eyes in the distance that remained.
A train rustled above, sending stones and debris raining down.
“Sam?” Alice called, but he couldn’t look away from the eyes, a mixture of fear and frustration freezing his body. “You okay?”
Reaching down slowly Sam searched for his torch, releasing a breath when he felt the familiar plastic. It flicked on with a whine, the light not as strong as he swung it towards the eyes, only to find nothing but empty space. Dirt surrounded him on all sides, wooden beams keeping the structure from crumbling.
Alice called down once more. “Sam?”
“There’s a tunnel beneath the underground!” he shouted back, moving the torch to where Alice’s head appeared overhead. “Fuck!” He must have fallen several stories, the fluttering of wings as bats escaped through the newly made gap.
“Mother fucker!” Lucifer dropped down beside him, his little light on his forehead broken. He pulled it from his head, a disgruntled curse before he began to shake it violently. “Bloody… fucking.”
“Give it here,” Sam said, grabbing the small torch. The batteries rattled inside, loose as he opened the top. “Here.” He handed Lucy the light, and he quickly placed it back on his head.
“Cheers.” His front was covered in a green slime, a few cuts along his jaw that bled down his neck. “The train,” he said with a grin, and Sam didn’t need the visual of the evil flower thing being crushed beneath.
A thump, Riley landing beside them. He looked towards Lucifer, who disappeared before returning seconds later with Alice.
“That’s quite some distance,” Riley said, peering up. “These could be anything. Old mining shafts or evacuation tunnels from the war.”
“There’s tracks,” Alice pointed out.
Riley frowned. “There must be –”
A deep scream reverberated from the darkness, one full of such pain Sam felt it within his chest. “Is that…?” he began as Riley rushed forward. “Hey, wait!”
The light bobbed as he chased after him, the tunnel becoming tighter before it opened out into a large room that split into three routes. Tracks went in every direction, the metal old and warped. Boxes lay forgotten, empty on the side with some of the wooden panels broken and splintered.
Riley didn’t stop his stride, head whipping around before he transformed into an amazing white beast. He shot down the centre shaft, following the red light that glowed in the distance before Alice slid to a halt.
“Fuck,” she muttered, holding her sword in both hands. Two hounds emerged, one from the left and another from the right. They were much larger than the ugly flower, with green gunk seeping from between their teeth, sizzling as soon as it hit the dirt. They stepped over the tracks with ease, nails scraping against the metal.
“Go, get Axel and Ti!” Lucifer growled, drifting over to the first hound and punching it in square the head, the move so unexpected and fast Sam wasn’t sure it even happened. “Go!” He threw a ball of arcane at the second, burning down its side as Alice grabbed Sam’s arm, launching them towards the centre tunnel.
Red light illuminated the way, sickening thuds echoing behind as the tunnel opened out into a large room. Alice didn’t hesitate, taking the situation in one quick sweep as she called arcane to her hands.
Sam didn’t care, not as Riley fought Bishop, the Daemon teasing as he drifted from one space to another. He threw balls of fiery red, each one missing Riley who jumped out the way surprisingly elegantly for his sheer size.
Titus lay contorted in the middle, his scream harrowing as the circle surrounding him pulsed a violent red. A lady lay dead beside, her eyes open and palms clutching a book with blood a halo around her head.
Sam looked around, panic building as he searched for Axel, finding nothing but another corpse in the corner, torn in two with its head a few feet away. It made his heart stop, a cry escaping his throat until he stepped closer, Alice’s warning a muffled shout.
