The Terror Gaze: Book 2 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 17 - Nick and Richard: Beneath the Neighborhood

Chapter 17 - Nick and Richard: "Beneath the Neighborhood"

The next day . . .

"What if a kid falls in here?" Nick asked, looking at the circular hole cut into the cement of the top of one of the storm drains near Brentwood Elementary. "I mean, we're right next to the school. There are a bunch of storm drains in this neighborhood."

Richard looked at the dark brown sewer grate and adjusted his green tie. "I'm not sure why they chose this one specifically. It is true a child could fall in, but we just have to hope that we will get this over with sooner rather than later so that doesn't happen."

Nick kneeled down and his jacket dragged on the concrete. Attached to his belt was the magic sheath that held Tälmodighed; the sword that would eventually be his to weild. "Hm. Not looking forward to the back ache that's gonna come from crawling around in there."

"I'm not looking forward to my big body being down there either," Richard sighed.

Nick turned his head. "How about a kiss? For luck?"

Richard grinned, grabbing his chin and leaning down, their lips connecting tenderly. With a small smack, the raccoon pulled away and his boyfriend looked back into the hole. "Alright, I'll go first."

His partner held onto Aktsomhet, the rod, and thought to himself how unfortunate it would be if he lost it. Sadly, there was no convenient attachment to loop to his belt, like with Nick's weapon. Still, Richard was curious about what exactly the item would do. "Be careful, Nicholas. Maybe we should have our guns ready. No, we should have our guns ready and you should have your blade ready. With the limited space down there, it will be nigh impossible to use our Gravity Boots effectively.

Nick agreed, taking the translucent weapon out of its holster and using his Retrieval Tablet to grab silver bullets. "This thing has stakes right? Don't you think that might be better than our knives?"

"We don't want to outright kill them," the raccoon told him. "We should allow them to come to the Mortal Guard."
"From what we learned about them, something tells me it's not going to be that easy," the hyena said, concentrating on loading up his Prism Pistol. Richard did the same, and soon, they were both prepared for a fight. "Hoo boy, okay." The hyena sat down, making sure not to sit on his jacket, and inserted his legs into the open space that was just big enough for Richard. With a push of his palms, the creature hunter dropped down into space below, immediately kneeling and getting out of the way. "Come on!"

Richard sighed and mirrored his partner's movements, falling down into the hole and landing on his feet with a small splash, thanks to the light puddle of water that was waiting below. Looking around, the pair could see heaps of moist dark leaves piled up in the corners and littering the floor. In reality, the room was dank and cold, but because of their TempRes clothing, they felt none of the chill.

"Ever been in the sewers before?" Nick asked.

"No, Nicholas," Richard told him. "I didn't go outside much as a child."

"Right." Nick moved his eyes to look at the circular abyss of tunnels on either side of them. "Hm, these are a lot bigger than I thought they would be. I mean, liquid can fit any volume or space, right? Why do they gotta be so big? Is it so workers can fit inside?"

"I have no idea, Nick," Richard said.

Nick paused, taking out his Retrieval Tablet once more and tapping his claws around the screen. "I know we have good night vision and all, but it would be smarter to have a light down there. It'll make it easier to navigate."

"Plus, if there are signs of blood, it will be much easier to gauge. Good idea," Richard nodded, getting his own flashlight attachment out for his gun. Once they were both equipped, his head whipped back and forth. "So, which way should we begin?"