Ruination

August had never been afraid of the dark, but even he felt suffocated in this place. The darkness pressed in around them like it was trying to swallow their little candle flames. They moved along in a slow shuffle since none of them could see more than half a foot in front of their faces. August could see the candlelight glinting off of Madison's hair as she led the way.

"Hey Madi, do you remember when we were kids and we raided the Chancery storage and found those old movie things from Before? And they had those zombie things in them? Doesn't this sort of remind you of that?"

"Fuck's sake, August. Maybe undead flesh eaters are not the best topic of conversation right now," Madison replied, half turning to glare at him.

"I'm just saying, how creepy would it be if a rotting corpse came shambling out of the shadows right now?"

"August, shut up."

"Knowing you though, you'd probably tame it and make it your pet. I can't believe you and your brothers used to spend the night down here. Circus freak."

"Rich bitch," she retorted. The familiar snarky banter helped to ease August's nerves. He may not have been scared of the dark, but he didn't like not knowing what was going on above them. With the network down he couldn't make contact with his mom or his dad, so he had no idea what was happening or if they were even okay. At least they would travel right past the Chancery on their way to find Madison's family; if anyone could tell them what the hell was happening, it would be Tybalt.

And if he didn't know, then it really was the end times. August could still hear the shrill and eerie echo of the sirens and it made the skin on his neck prickle. But Madison was moving ahead of him, sure-footed and determined as ever, and it brought a small smile to his face. If he could count on anything in this world, it was Madison.

"Are you and your girlfriend always so lovey dovey?" Gency asked, startling August when his voice came out of the darkness right next to him. He stumbled and nearly dropped his candle.

"Don't sneak up on me," August said. "It's creepy enough down here without you creeping around like a sewer ghost."

"I wasn't creeping," Gency protested, sounding offended.

"Hey, fellas, keep up and shut up," Madison called from ahead of them. Pierce was scowling slightly at August but August ignored him.

"To answer your earlier question, young Gency, Madison and I's love cannot be comprehended by mere mortals."

"Shut up, August," Madison said, exasperated. "We're not lovey dovey, and he's not my boyfriend."

"Wait, are you saying you don't love me? This is news to me. And what a time to spring it on me." August put a hand over his heart and feigned devastation.

"He's my best friend," Madison went on, ignoring his theatrics. "I've known him since we were kids. And he likes guys."

"Nice of you to just out me like that," August smirked.

"Please. You've left so many broken hearts in your wake it's a wonder there's any men left for you to date."

"I can't help it if everyone falls in love with me," August said, shrugging. "Or at least, falls in love with my dad's money."

Madison cast a look at him over her shoulder. Everyone looked vaguely inhuman in the darkness; their faces cast in shadow and candlelight flickering in their eyes. August felt a little disconcerted and wished he hadn't brought up the flesh eating monsters. This dark, underground place made everything seem unearthly.

They walked in silence for a little while, and then blessedly came out of the blackness of the tunnel into a more open place. It was a little lighter here, with a few dim light bulbs flickering on the ceiling. Their footsteps sounded like gunfire in the cavernous quiet.

"What are these tunnels even for?" Pierce asked, looking around.

"No idea," Madison replied. "Maybe they're left over from the time before Arkana. Maybe something else used to be down here."

"That sounds very ominous," August remarked.

"We're going to need to take a look topside and see which sector we're in soon," Madison said. "The next opening we find I'll go up and see where we are."

"I'm going up too," Pierce said firmly. Madison shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

They resumed their trek in silence, the only sound their dull footsteps. Their candles were dwindling down, and August cursed impressively as hot wax fell on his hand. He tossed the dead candle aside in disgust as Gency pulled another one out of the overstuffed pack he was carrying. He lit it and handed it to August. It wasn't as dark as it had been, but they were still trapped in a sort of never ending twilight realm.

"There's another manhole cover up ahead," Madison said, holding her candle up and squinting through the gloom.

"I'll go up first and see if it's clear," Pierce said, handing Gency his candle. Madison made a face but shuffled aside to let Pierce go up the ladder first. It took some effort to push the covering up, and they all winced when it came loose with a creaking groan. Pierce poked the top of his head out, peering around. Slowly he inched up further, pushing the grate aside as quietly as he could.

"I don't see any droids," he whispered. "But it's dark out, so be careful." He climbed out of the hole and Madison was quick to follow him.

"Well, where are we?" August whisper-shouted up to them.

"Looks like Sector 10," Madison replied, kneeling down so she wouldn't have to yell. "The very edge of it, anyway. We seem to be making decent time, at least."

"This is your definition of making good time?" August grumbled. It felt like they'd been below ground for days instead of just a couple of hours. At least, he was pretty sure it had been a couple of hours. It was hard to tell time in this shadowy abyss, but he could see that night had completely fallen up above, so they had to have been walking for some time.

"All right, now get back down here and let's go before any more of those killer robots show up," Gency said. August heard Madison draw a sharp breath.

"What's the matter? What do you see?" he called up.

"There's a monorail track," Madison said, her voice so quiet he could barely make out what she was saying. But her tone was laced with horror and August and Gency exchanged a glance and then climbed the ladder to join the others topside. It took August several moments to make out what he was looking at. They had come up beside a monorail station, only part of the track had collapsed. It looked like the train had gone out of control, and it had crashed through the station. The breeze carried the smell of burnt metal, and something else. August didn't want to think what that something might be.

They all jumped as they heard sounds approaching. It sounded like the marching of metal robot feet. A light fell across the decimated station and August clamped his teeth together against a choked sound of disgust. Broken bodies littered the ground and the platform of the station. Passengers who'd been flung from the train or mowed down by it.

"We have to go before they see us," Madison said, herding them back the manhole. They scrambled down so fast they almost fell on top of each other. Pierce managed to get the covering back on just before the light swept over them. Madison looked pale and shaken in the candlelight.

"What the hell could cause a monotrain to derail like that?" Gency asked, his eyebrows drawn into a worried frown.

"I think we'd best pray we don't find out," Pierce muttered. There was a grim moment of silence before they relit their candles and continued on into the darkness.