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It all started simple enough.
Pauk had a great plan. Said he'd found out where the Rippers was hidin'
out. The Rippers was just a bunch o' dumb Goliaths. Surely a fine gang
o' Van Saars like us good handle `em. All we had ta do was go in and shoot
the place up real good. Then we'd just grab what we could and get out again.
Not only would that help us make a name for ourselves, but we could make
a few creds of the deal too. Unfortunately, we was all about as green as
they come, and we was about to find out that
Pauk weren't much better.
Ya see, what Pauk hadn't thought
of was ta scout the area first. The rest of us was to green ta catch this,
so we just followed Pauk right inta the trap. Turns out the Rippers knew
we was comin'. Our little raid turned out to be their little ambush! Needles
ta say, we got our little green butts kicked. We was
beatin' a hasty retreat when they cut us off. Last thing
I remembered was a terrible burnin' in my shoulder as I was hit. As I fell,
there were a terrible explosion o' pain in my head, then
everthin' went black.
I woke up with an awful pain
in my head. I slowly, painfully sat up and looked around. I could still
smell powder in the half lit air, but couldn't quite recall where I was.
In fact, I could barely think through the pain in my head. Reaching for
the lump on my noggin, I realized my head wasn't all that was hurtin'.
Lookin' down at the pain in my shoulder I saw a neatly cauterized laser
wound. "Aw frag", I thought to myself, "This is just what I need. At least
it ain't a stubber hole, so I don't have ta worry about
bleedin' ta death."
Suddenly it all come back ta
me. Lookin' around in the dusty half light of my surroundin's, I realized
what musta happened. In the confusion of the route, the gang musta lost
track o' me. Probably figured I was dead or maybe captured by the Rippers.
So, they had left me behind. I was all alone in the underhive! "I'm fragged
now!", I thought. Then, as if on cue, somethin' hit me from out o' the
shadows.
I managed ta throw the thing
offa me, but not before it's claws found my face. There in the dim light
sat the biggest, nastiest lookin' hive rat I'd ever seen. Let me tell ya,
them things look awful big when they're gettin' ready ta eat ya for lunch!
He slunk towards me with an evil hiss, as I fumbled for my stubber. He
jumped for me just as I was bringin' it up, and I got `im in mid leap.
As he hit the ground I shot `im again, and again, and again! I was so scared
I just emptied the whole thing on `im.
Well, that was a stupid rookie
mistake, cause now I was outta ammo. Let me tell ya boys, ya can't let
yer fear get the best o' ya. `Specially when yer in the underhive. Down
there, stupid mistakes are more often than not deadly ones. I knew I had
ta get out o' there real quick-like. Ya see, hive rats ain't solitary
critters. They hunt in packs, just like us. I was pretty
sure that the shots should have scared of his buddies, but they'd be back
soon. Hive rats are as bold as they are mean. They don't stay scared long.
I tied ol' gruesome ta my pack
as I got my bearin's. Ya never waste good meat, no matter how ya come by
it. It's too hard ta come by. I headed off in the direction we'd come by.
At least I was pretty sure it was the right way. It's easy ta lose your
way down there. There's a million passages and crawl ways, and each one
looks just like the last. Well, after several hours o' walkin', I finally
admitted ta myself that I was completely lost.
I was also starvin' by now,
so I cut a haunch off of ol' gruesome and started eatin'. `Course, I had
ta eat it raw. there weren't nothin' round ta cook it on. I'd been pushin'
myself hard, and once I stopped movin' I could feel the weariness sinkin'
inta my bones. I decided I had ta get some rest. I found a nice hole in
the wall and pried up a fairly sturdy plate from the flooring. I crawled
inside and wedged the plate up tight behind me. Nothin' short o' an Orrus
was gettin' in there.
I slept fitfully, interrupted
several times by the scufflin' and scratchin' o' things on the outside
wantin' inside. When I finally woke up for good, my body ached from head
ta toe. I finished off ol' gruesome for breakfast and drank the last o'
my water. I carefully pried the plate outa the way, and peered inta the
passageway. Nothin' out there now but footprints in the dust, Includin'
some very large and nasty lookin' ones. I didn't have no idea what made
`em, but I was sure I didn't want ta meet it.
I grabbed my pack and headed
off for what would turn out ta be the longest day o' my life. I had only
one direction on my mind, up. I figured, if I went up-hive far enough I
would eventually run inta a settlement or one a the factories. This was
easier said than done though. I kept runnin' inta dead ends and havin'
ta back track to find new routes. I was slowly makin' progress upwards,
but I was still hopelessly lost.
After much climbin' and backtrackin',
I found myself in a cavern fulla hangin' chains. This cavern was much cooler
than the surroundin' passages. I figured it must connect to an intake vent
further up. These funnel air in from the outer atmosphere, above the poisonous
clouds of the surface. If that was true, I must finally be gettin' close
to the inhabited areas. I sat down to rest in the cool air before pushin'
on.
Moisture condensed on the chains
and dripped down ta form a pool in the middle of the cavern. I sat next
to the pool and splashed the cool water on my face. I didn't dare drink
any of it, even though my throat was parched by now. You don't drink the
water down there, even if it looks and smells clean. Sometimes there's
stuff in it that'll kill ya faster than a head shot. I lay back ta rest
and soon found myself dozin' off.
I woke with a start ta the sound
o' bells. No, it weren't bells, it was the sound o' chains rattlin'. I
looked up at the entrance I had come through, and saw a demon from the
sump itself. The beast were eight feet tall if it were an inch. All covered
in black shiny scales and horns, it was. It sniffed at the floor
as it came further inta the cavern. It was huntin', I saw. Huntin' me!
"Aww frag!", I whispered ta
myself. Instantly, the creature swung its head my way. There weren't no
eyes on that head. It's face weren't nothin' but teeth and nostrils. It
didn't need no eyes though, it knew exactly where I was. I did what any
smart hiver would do, I ran for my life. The monster roared behind me and
followed after. Arms up high to protect my face from the batterin' chains,
I fancied I could feel it's foul breath already.
I dodged inta an opening in
the cavern wall, straight inta a brightly lit chamber fulla razor grass.
I couldn't go through that, It would tear me up as fast as the beast would.
Then I spotted my salvation. Several feet above me, one slender cable spanned
the length of the chamber. I almost missed it for the glare of the lights
above. I jumped and grabbed the cable. It cut inta my hand, but I ignored
the pain. I wrapped my legs around it shimmied for the other side as fast
as I could.
I was halfway across when the
monster burst through the entrance. It stopped short as the razor grass
cut a vicious gash in its foot. It roared in pain and frustration. It knew
I'd come this way, but couldn't figure out where I'd got to. I had frozen
when it came in, now I started for the other side again. It somehow sensed
the vibrations in the cable. It screeched and lunged for the cable.
It snapped like a rotted string.
I swung towards the other side
of the chamber, and jumped as far as I could. Landing on the very edge
of the razor grass, I cursed as it ripped a six inch gash in my leg. I
collapsed, panting against the chamber wall. The metal felt cool and soothing
on my face. Now that I was safe from that monstrosity, all I had to do
was bind my leg and head out for civilization once more.
The beast's roars suddenly became
more frantic. I stared at it blankly, barely believin' what my own eyes
told me. It was actually comin' through the razor grass ta get ta me! The
razor grass was tearin' some pretty big chunks outta it's hide, but it
just kept comin' That durned beast was so set on havin' me for dinner,
it wasn't gonna stop for nothin'!
I scrambled to my feet and limped
off as fast as my poor wounded leg would allow. I could hear that monstrosity
still raisin' a ruckus behind me, but not nearly far enough behind! It
come roarin' inta the passage behind me, just as I spotted me a bolt hole.
I crawled on my knees along a tunnel through the rubble. I could hear the
beast diggin' behind me. It didn't seem ta be slowin' it down anymore than
the razor grass had.
I was losin the ol' red stuff
real fast, and could feel myself gettin' weaker. If I didn't get away soon,
I knew I was gonna be monster chow. I stumbled out inta the open, and durn
near fell ta my doom. Just below the ledge I come out on was a tox flow.
An eye stinging river of chemical wastes on it's way to the sump below.
I was faced with a toxic river
in front o' me, and certain death behind. I did the only thing I could.
I jumped for it. Now, normally I coulda made a jump like that easy. But,
with my leg gimped up like it was, I barely made the other side. As I hung
on for dear life, the monster come crashin' outta the tunnel behind me.
Only, it weren't as lucky as me though. It slid offa the ledge and tumbled
straight inta the gunk below.
I managed ta pull myself up
onta the ledge I was hangin' from. I looked back at the death I had so
narrowly escaped. The beast was a thrashin' around and meltin' like fat
in a fire. Even with the tox eatin' it up like that, I swear it was still
tryin' ta get ta me. After it went down for the last time, I lay my head
back and rested. I knew I should bind up my leg, but I was just so tired
I didn't care. As I was passin' out, I heard the sound o' voices in the
distance.
Seems I got real lucky that
day. I'd ended up not far from Iron Gulch. Some o' the townsfolk heard
the ruckus and come ta see what was goin' on. Against all odds, I had made
back ta civilization. But, you just hear this now! It weren't nothin' but
blind luck that got me back that day. Ya can't count on luck ta make down
there though. More often than not, it'll end up the other way for ya. And
if ya think yer luck'll make up for a lack o' skill, ya better write yer
tombstone before ya go inta the underhive!
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