gathered in the storage room.
“ Or any of the other bullshit we've run into,” Campbell muttered unhappily.
Greg chuckled. “Anyway, it looks clear for now, come on.”
He'd already turned on the flashlight mounted on the end of his shotgun. He played it across the area again as he stepped out, moving it in a slow, broad arc.
“ Which way?” he asked.
“ To the right,” Mike replied. “It's a door along the left-hand side of the tunnel, maybe twenty meters down, not too far away.”
“ Good. Let's get going.”
The group moved out into the tunnel and set off. As they came closer to the generator, Greg became convinced he could hear conflict. It came to him in bits and pieces, echoing through the dead darkness of the mining tunnels. Gunshots, roars, the hectic, chaotic sounds of battle. He didn't hear any screaming though.
A thought occurred to him.
“ You guys hear that?” he asked.
“ Yeah,” Kyra replied.
“ Me too,” Campbell said.
“ I think it might be the Augmented fighting the Undead,” Greg murmured.
“ Thank God. Those two can keep each other busy,” Mike replied.
When they reached the primary generator, the sounds of conflict had grown steadily louder and clearer. Further down the way, the tunnel lit with gunfire, tracers, and the occasional explosion. Greg opened the door to the generator room and looked around. He didn't see anything waiting for them and stepped in.
“Come on, looks clear,” he murmured.
The others joined him inside, their flashlights lighting up the room. Greg studied the generator room. It was mostly an empty space, big, but not enormous like a warehouse or cavern. There were some tables and shelves pushed up against the walls to either side of him, and what might have been a few workstations. The far wall was taken up entirely by diagnostics equipment and readout screens. It served as an outer casing for the generator itself.
“Alright, come on, Linda, let's check this out,” Mike said.
They crossed the room. Greg frowned. He heard something that sounded like metal scraping, very gently, against something else. He looked around, his gaze sweeping the room. There was nowhere to hide. Not under the tables, not behind shelves, not in the shadows, they revealed nothing. Where could it possibly be coming from?
There was nowhere to hide...except-
Greg looked up.
He screamed.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Greg raised his gun. The others shifted, looking around for whatever unseen threat had caused his reaction. Overhead, he saw half a dozen Augmented Drones attached to the ceiling, lying in wait.
They detached themselves, letting gravity take them...
All hell broke loose.
The Drones dropped among the survivors. Greg leveled his shotgun at one and blew its head clean off. One of them spun around and hit Campbell squarely in the chest, sending him flying. Mike let out a sharp bark of pain as one managed to clip his arm with a blade. Gunfire erupted. Kyra hit one with a three-round burst from her rifle. Linda put her pistol to one Drone's face and emptied half a magazine into it.
Greg grunted as one of them slammed into him, trying to bring him to the ground. He rolled as he fell and it lost its grip on him. Someone ran up and shot it in the head. As he scrambled to his feet, he saw that they'd managed to put down all six of them.
“Holy shit ,” Linda whispered harshly. “That was a hell of a trap.”
“ Yeah. Fucking stupid , I should've seen that.” Greg helped Campbell to his feet. “You okay?”
“ Yeah. Don't think I cracked anything,” he replied miserably.
“ They had to have killed the power,” Mike said.
“ We'll watch the door, check it. Hurry,” Greg replied.
The pair nodded and turned their attention to the readout screens. They worked silently while Greg, Kyra, and Campbell double-checked every conceivable hiding place and then moved to guard the only way in.
Greg looked out into the tunnel while the two
“ Or any of the other bullshit we've run into,” Campbell muttered unhappily.
Greg chuckled. “Anyway, it looks clear for now, come on.”
He'd already turned on the flashlight mounted on the end of his shotgun. He played it across the area again as he stepped out, moving it in a slow, broad arc.
“ Which way?” he asked.
“ To the right,” Mike replied. “It's a door along the left-hand side of the tunnel, maybe twenty meters down, not too far away.”
“ Good. Let's get going.”
The group moved out into the tunnel and set off. As they came closer to the generator, Greg became convinced he could hear conflict. It came to him in bits and pieces, echoing through the dead darkness of the mining tunnels. Gunshots, roars, the hectic, chaotic sounds of battle. He didn't hear any screaming though.
A thought occurred to him.
“ You guys hear that?” he asked.
“ Yeah,” Kyra replied.
“ Me too,” Campbell said.
“ I think it might be the Augmented fighting the Undead,” Greg murmured.
“ Thank God. Those two can keep each other busy,” Mike replied.
When they reached the primary generator, the sounds of conflict had grown steadily louder and clearer. Further down the way, the tunnel lit with gunfire, tracers, and the occasional explosion. Greg opened the door to the generator room and looked around. He didn't see anything waiting for them and stepped in.
“Come on, looks clear,” he murmured.
The others joined him inside, their flashlights lighting up the room. Greg studied the generator room. It was mostly an empty space, big, but not enormous like a warehouse or cavern. There were some tables and shelves pushed up against the walls to either side of him, and what might have been a few workstations. The far wall was taken up entirely by diagnostics equipment and readout screens. It served as an outer casing for the generator itself.
“Alright, come on, Linda, let's check this out,” Mike said.
They crossed the room. Greg frowned. He heard something that sounded like metal scraping, very gently, against something else. He looked around, his gaze sweeping the room. There was nowhere to hide. Not under the tables, not behind shelves, not in the shadows, they revealed nothing. Where could it possibly be coming from?
There was nowhere to hide...except-
Greg looked up.
He screamed.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Greg raised his gun. The others shifted, looking around for whatever unseen threat had caused his reaction. Overhead, he saw half a dozen Augmented Drones attached to the ceiling, lying in wait.
They detached themselves, letting gravity take them...
All hell broke loose.
The Drones dropped among the survivors. Greg leveled his shotgun at one and blew its head clean off. One of them spun around and hit Campbell squarely in the chest, sending him flying. Mike let out a sharp bark of pain as one managed to clip his arm with a blade. Gunfire erupted. Kyra hit one with a three-round burst from her rifle. Linda put her pistol to one Drone's face and emptied half a magazine into it.
Greg grunted as one of them slammed into him, trying to bring him to the ground. He rolled as he fell and it lost its grip on him. Someone ran up and shot it in the head. As he scrambled to his feet, he saw that they'd managed to put down all six of them.
“Holy shit ,” Linda whispered harshly. “That was a hell of a trap.”
“ Yeah. Fucking stupid , I should've seen that.” Greg helped Campbell to his feet. “You okay?”
“ Yeah. Don't think I cracked anything,” he replied miserably.
“ They had to have killed the power,” Mike said.
“ We'll watch the door, check it. Hurry,” Greg replied.
The pair nodded and turned their attention to the readout screens. They worked silently while Greg, Kyra, and Campbell double-checked every conceivable hiding place and then moved to guard the only way in.
Greg looked out into the tunnel while the two
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