Underground Legends: The Hunt

Chapter 34 - Abella

Abella Sterling (Female P.O.V)

October 28, 2074

Day after day bled into each other, and all hope of ever being found faded with each one.

Were the cops even searching for us? Or had they given up and deemed us lost causes?

Those thoughts plagued my mind every waking minute of each day. There was nothing else to occupy my mind except what was to come. Every day was the same mundane routine. Sleep, eat, then repeat.

None of us had so much as stepped one foot outside these dreadful four walls. Nor had anyone come inside, not even our loved ones. The only contact we had with the outside world was through that tiny slot in the door.

Until Today.

I was coming from the bathroom when the door flew open, and a bunch of masked men charged inside with guns drawn. I froze on the spot in fear while the others looked on in shock from their cots.

"Get up!" The burliest of the men ordered as his comrades spread out.

Everyone quickly complied and stood beside their cot. One of the men stepped forward and handed us each a blindfold.

"Why do we need this?" Exterminator X voiced the question we were all probably wondering.

"Just shut up and put it on!" The man snapped.

With great reluctance, I did as told before someone grabbed my arms and forced them behind my back. A thin piece of plastic wound around my wrists, cinching them tightly together. I struggled in vain, but whatever it was didn't budge.

The groans and grunts from the others told me they received the same treatment. After they fell silent, someone gripped my arm and pulled me from the room. The sound of multiple footsteps behind me assured me I wasn't alone as we went through a series of passages before finally coming to a stop.

My heart ran rampant in my chest as we stood there for what felt like the longest time. In reality, it was only a minute but not knowing where I was or what was about to happen next, coupled with the deafening silence, only increased my anxiety.

There was a soft chink of metal unsheathing before the ties around my wrists fell free. Why they bothered to bind us in the first place was a mystery to me. None of us was stupid or crazy enough to attempt an escape with the bracelets around our wrists.

A door slamming shut behind me pulled me from my thoughts. There was no time to speculate about what happened before the voice that's haunted my dreams every night since getting abducted spoke out. "Welcome to the final round!"

After getting over my initial hesitancy, I slowly lift my blindfold allowing my eyes to adjust to the light.

Brilliant white walls, absent of any windows, came into view. The color made the small room look cold and sterile, especially without decoration and furniture.

In front of us was a frosted glass door with a camera and speaker that blended into the walls mounted above it.

"You have seven minutes to reach the safety chamber. And the first one there wins!" He continued as a low whirring sound came from each side of the door. Two sections of the wall glided upward, revealing secret panels. Inside was ten pipes similar to those used in the previous round. "Remember, the fate of your loved ones lies in your hands."

I looked around the room for a television or anything to suddenly appear and show us our family and friends, but it never did.

I squared my shoulders, projecting an air of confidence I didn't entirely feel as I said, "Where are they? We haven't seen them in days. How do we even know they're still alive?"

"She's right! Let us see them!" ShadowKnight shouted.

A chorus of yeah's went up from the others, but once they fell silent, the voice continued as if none of us had spoken.

"Your time begins in 3...2...1...Go!" He said as the doors opened to a much larger room.

At first, none of us moved too shocked and pissed they had blatantly ignored us, but there was nothing we could do about it. They held all the power. And the worst part was that they knew it and could use it to get us to do anything.

One after the other, we grabbed a pipe and headed inside what appeared to be a lab. Just like in the previous room, everything was white, from the walls to the floors and everything in between.

At the ends of the centermost aisle, there were two open doorways. QuietStorm and Exterminator X split off from the rest of us and headed toward the one on the far left side. They only made it a quarter of the way there before screams of terror ensued.

"What's wrong?!" Tinman asked as they hopped onto the nearest counters. "What is it?!"

His questions went unanswered by the pair as they backed away from the edges while staring down at the floor.

I inhaled sharply as a bunch of metallic legs appeared on the side of the counter, climbing upward.

"On your right!" Shadowknight and I simultaneously shout.

Exterminator X immediately spun around and bashed them with his pipe, while QuietStorm did the same on the opposite side.

But their efforts were futile as more and more spiders piled onto the counter. Exterminator X must have realized the same because he backed up and jumped to the next counter, leaving QuietStorm behind.

The others yelled for her to do the same, but before I could see if she did, a silver streak in my peripheral captured my attention. My head whipped toward the left as more robots rounded the counter, heading straight for us. There were too many. Way too many to try and fight.

"Oh shi..." I unconsciously stepped back, bumping into something hard. "Guys..."

A clammy hand encircled my wrist, and I turned to see RoniReigns. Her grip tightened as she ran toward the doorway on the right, dragging me behind her.

She didn't release me until we stood in the stairwell behind the others.

"Which way?" Tinman's eyes shifted back and forth between the staircases leading down and up.

There were no signs or anything indicating which direction to go, only a camera in the far corner of the ceiling monitoring our every move. Which meant the decision was left entirely up to us.

For me, there was only one choice, up.

Nothing was promising about going deeper into this hellhole. But I could be wrong. It was a fifty/fifty gamble, and I couldn't take this lightly.

Our lives were depend...

A blood-curdling scream ripped through the atmosphere sending chills coursing throughout my body. Everyone slowly turned toward the lab, and only now did I realize QuietStorm wasn't with us.

Fuck.

"They're coming! Go! Go!" RoniReigns shouted as the robots crossed the threshold.

Everyone split up and ran off in directions. I took the stairs two at a time behind Exterminator X and Shadowknight. And with each step, QuietStorm's screams faded until they disappeared altogether. Just as I neared the stair landing, the lights went out, dousing everything in utter darkness.