Ridley Enters the Labyrinth

“I must be out of my goddamn mind to come down here.  He couldn’t have crashed into a donut shop or something?  No, of course not, these friggin’ guys don’t do anything the easy way.”  Despite the torchlight, the darkness was oppressive, and seemed to cling to everything (him, the floor, the walls, the ceiling) like a thick, constricting shroud.  If the entrance hadn’t been sealed behind him, Ridley wondered if he’d have the guts to continue by himself. But there was no quick escape and he knew he had no choice.

A distant bellow rolled towards him along the stone passage and was again followed by the echoes of weapons fire.  Sweat beaded on his forehead and he felt the driver hum to life in his hands. The muzzle glowed a pale red as the weapon charged, feeding off his fear and apprehension as his stomach twitched nervously.  He choked back bile, trying to get a grip on his fear and skulked to the nearest torch, careful not to make a sound. The azure flame kicked off a meek light compared to the creeping darkness pressing in on him.  Torches further away were nothing but pinpricks in the blackness, doing little more than showing the general direction of the passage. 

Val hadn’t equipped him with a flashlight of any kind.  The only other thing he had to pierce the darkness was the faint glow from the driver’s muzzle.  With no other options he fastened the driver back onto his back and tried pulling the nearest torch out of its sconce.

It wouldn’t budge, not even with all his weight behind it.  He pried and tugged, putting his feet on the wall for leverage, but still nothing.  Fear settled in deeper as more sounds of distant combat broke the stillness of the air.  He reflexively grabbed for the core driver, and the light from the end of its barrels increased as its power levels rose to a higher setting.

It threw just enough light to let him see he was only a few feet from an intersection with another corridor.  Peeking around he saw nothing but shadows and the faint flickering light of more azure torches.  

“At least that’s something,” he said to no one in particular.  “All right, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it fast.” He reached to his belt, snapped on the hover disc and wavered for a moment, deciding which way to go.  He chose to stay on his original track and cruised down the inky corridor.

Whether it was an effect of the speed he was now travelling or that his eyes were getting used to the gloom, he found he was seeing a little better than before. It could also be the still increasing glow coming from his weapon, which intensified every time he heard more sounds of battle.

He came to another branching section and, not knowing which way to go, headed left.  Not a good choice. Within a minute it had wound itself into a dead end. Cracked bones and chunks of rancid, masticated meat littered the floor with crusted blood splatters staining the wall.  “Holy shit! Bad idea!”

A tortured roar rang out through the corridor, bouncing from wall to wall.  It was an unearthly wail of pain and fury.

Ridley swiveled the disc around and tore out of the dead end, unfortunately bringing him closer to the shrieking sound.  But he expected if he found that, he’d also find Val. The reek of death was also getting stronger as he whipped along the winding, dimly lit passages and skirted past multiple offshoots to the left and right.  Most were punctuated with putrid droppings and the gore of past victims. He moved at a good clip, covering several city blocks in the space of moments and never once running over the same spot. The size of the place was staggering to him.  

Another yowl came from behind him and in a panic he sped off into a side passage, racing through turns and seeing several more passages branching off.  He was starting to realize it was more than a maze down here, it was a tangled warren. With no idea where he was anymore, he rounded a corner.  

And he saw it.  

It was only a glimpse but it was enough.  The beast was easily twelve feet tall, charging around on four legs, a hellish red glow about its face.  The creature roared as it was peppered with energy blasts which bounced off it and left small burning craters in the walls.  But they didn’t slow the beast down at all. Instead they whipped it into a frenzy, making it rear and stampede headlong into the shots.