Necropolis 3 by S. A. Lusher Page A

worked. The midnight gloom seemed to push in on them from every direction, despite their flashlights. The sounds of conflict were closer. Greg doubted that the Drones needed light to see, but he wondered about the Undead. Were they at a disadvantage, or could they see in the dark via some extra sense? Either way, it sounded like a truly epic war was being waged in the tunnels.
    “ Does that thing like...hurt?” Campbell asked suddenly.
    Greg glanced over at him. He realized Campbell was looking down at his metal arm. He looked down at it, then back up at Campbell.
    “Sometimes, but I think it's a phantom pain,” Greg replied.
    “ Phantom pain?” Campbell asked.
    “ Like when you get your hair cut really short after it's been really long, and for a little while, you think it’s still there and you can still kind of feel it. You know?” Kyra explained.
    “ Yeah, I guess. Man, that sucks,” Campbell said.
    “ Understatement of the century,” Greg muttered.
    “ How'd you get it?” Mike asked from across the room.
    Greg glanced over. Mike and Linda still had their backs turned, working on the generator, but he could tell they were very interested.
    “The Augmented captured me, strapped me to a table, and cut my fucking arm off with a bone saw,” he replied. “I passed out and when I woke up it was there.”
    There was a long silence.
    “That sucks,” Linda said.
    Greg laughed. “Yeah, understatement of the century, again.”
    More seconds ticked by in forbidding gloom. Finally, Linda straightened up.
    “ We're fucked,” she declared.
    “ Why? What's wrong?” Greg asked.
    “ They've completely severed this thing. It'll take a long time and a big team to fix and honestly, we don't have the time or the resources.”
    “ So, we're screwed?” Campbell asked.
    “ No, not completely,” Mike said. “There's a pair of emergency generators further on down the tunnel. We need to get there and activate them, and make sure nothing gets to them.”
    “ Alright...shit, let's go.”
    They left the generator room and came back into the main tunnel. The fighting was definitely closer. The survivors moved quickly towards the chaos, sticking to the left-hand side of the tunnel, trying to keep out of the way. Mike assured them the generator rooms weren't too far away, just another couple of dozen meters down the way.
    Greg stared at the chaos of conflict, starkly lit by flashes of gunfire, and realized that he'd been right. It was Augmented versus Undead. They were ripping into each other with an insane ferocity that held no room for mercy or reason. Drones battled more than twice their number in zombies, Speed Demons, Rippers, and Lancers, with a few Berserkers thrown in. But more and more Drones seemed to  come from somewhere.
    Greg and the others slipped by unnoticed for the most part. Occasionally, a zombie or Drone would get too close and have to be put down, but they managed to reach the first back-up generator without running into any real trouble. As before, Greg, Kyra, and Campbell guarded the door while Linda and Mike worked on the equipment.
    Nothing came and tried to break the door down while they worked. Greg could feel his muscles become more and more tense in apprehension. Ten agonizing minutes passed before there was a sharp click and Mike called out,
    “ Done!”
    “ Why aren't there any lights?” Kyra asked.
    “ We need to activate both before they lights come back on,” Linda replied.
    “ Well...I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to leave this one unguarded. It’s obvious the Augmented have it out for us and know where to hit us,” Greg said.
    “ Good point, let's call for reinforcements now that we know what the hell is actually going on down here,” Mike replied.
    Greg listened while he called up to Lynch and explained the situation. A moment later she promised to send Burne down with a squad of his better security personnel. They waited in grim darkness, listening to the sounds of conflict