Underground Chase

"Elrod!" Avea called out, her voice ringing through the dark narrow tunnel. Avea and Bebop emerged from out of their hiding spot behind the jagged crevices, gliding out into the open. There was no way that Cyrus Elrod wasn't aware they were trailing him, but he didn't shout out in rage or spite like she'd expected him to. He didn't even turn around, as if he couldn't sense her behind him at all.

"Elrod" Avea tried again, trying to fight back her rising panic. He was right in front of her, she was sure of it. She didn't notice the shadows crawling out from the cracks in the walls and slithering silently along the ground beneath her. Avea crouched down chasing down Elrod, but as she reached for him, the shadows rose up from the ground, swallowing him whole. One second he was there. The next, he evaporated like smoke."Where'd he go?" Avea cried, whipping her head around. Fear surged through her veins. Had he turned down another passageway? Had she lost him in the darkness of the tunnels? "V, where are the other Skulldaggers?" Bebop’s voice crackled. Avea stilled, looking around she realised that Bebop was right, Elrod’s Skulldaggers were gone.

All of them.

A strange sensation prickled at the edges of her mind, like something unseen was reaching for her, its fingers brushing against the edges of her consciousness. The walls around her seemed to shift, blurring in and out of focus, leaving her grappling to stay grounded in reality. But there was something else, an ominous presence that she could sense lurking beyond her sight.

"Where'd they all go?" Avea asked, looking down the tunnel route that Cyrus had disappeared from. Recalling the way that the shadows had swept him up and carried him away. All she could see was those swirling shadows dancing up the sides of the steep passage, but no Skull-daggers in sight. "They couldn't have just disappeared?" Bebop said, but Avea was slowly starting to realise that she'd completely separated herself further from the rest of the clan racers.

It’s a set-up. Cyrus must have known she would have caught up to him and had lured her down here. "We need to get out of here now" Avea didn't waste a second, flying into the connecting passageways. She needed to find an incline, any way back to the main routes.

These strange shadows stirred around her, and Avea swore she could almost feel them pulsing with a life of their own. She hurled the fragments of her board one after another, desperate to stay ahead, but there was a creeping unease seeping into her body."We never should have broke curfew" Bebop wailed behind her as they slammed into another dead end. "We'll be fine" Avea snapped, "we just to find an inclining route." Her heart hammered against her ribs, sensing the slithering wisps of shadow clawing its way along the walls, trying to close in on her. There was something very unnatural lurking down here, that she had felt the moment she entered the underground. Avea's fluidity faltered slightly hearing that dreadful scraping noise like nails clawing against stone. Did Cyrus know about it? Had he lured her down here to be bait?

She found herself trapped inside the swirling cloud of her own consciousness, adrift in another plane of reality. It was like the distant, scraping noise seemed to wrap itself around her, tearing into the foggy depths of her mind. A whispering call, luring her deeper. Trying to reach her, call out to her. Avea swore she could feel something tug deep inside her, like a woven rope coiling within her, that was pulling, urging her to grab hold of it. A strange current skittered along her bones, crackling over her ribs. Avea gritted her teeth and forced it down, suppressing this pull before it could take hold of her."Bebop eyes", Avea said, trying desperately to shake off this suffocating haze coiling around her. It's not real, you're just being paranoid ... that's all, That’s all this was. She clenched her jaw, forcing her breathing to steady.

"V, are you alright?"

"I’m fine," she lied, though the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her. The scratching continued, growing louder, sharper, clawing at the edges of her sanity.

"Bebop, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" the bot's reply came instantly. "V, what’s going on?"Avea's blood ran cold. If Bebop couldn’t hear it… then that meant the sound was for her alone.

The walls. The noise was coming from inside the walls.

Which meant the shadows she saw…

"We need to get out of here. NOW." She yanked at her wrist controls, ready to launch her hoverboard back to the surface, but before she could react, a jet-black hovercycle slammed into her side. The impact sent her crashing into the tunnel wall, pain lancing through her ribs. Her hoverboard jerked violently beneath her, barely holding steady as she caught sight of her own reflection in the sleek metal bodice of a Skulldagger hovercycle.

"Nowhere to run, filthy Outborn."

Avea stilled. She recognised that voice instantly. Kade Vexor. Elrod’s right hand."Filthy? Please." She wheezed, as she fought her winded breath. "We both know that smell isn’t coming from me." Vexor’s smirk twisted into a snarl. Without warning, he lunged, slamming her against the jagged rock. His hand tightened around her throat, snatching the controls from her wrists and throwing her harshly onto the rough surface.

Vexor, the ruthless enforcer of the Skulldaggers, his very presence struck fear even among the most hardened of Valent dwellers. His face was a patchwork of old scars, the most gruesome of them carving from his temple to his jaw. A towering brute, his massive frame covered in combat gear, reinforced with armor plating along his shoulders and forearms. His arm was grotesquely implanted with serrated metal plating, that hide vicious blades embedded in flesh. Avea had witnessed those lethal arms cut down countless lives, from innocent civilians to treacherous rivals alike. A Skulldagger with a thirst for bloodshed. He was the last person Avea wanted to meet in these dark tunnels.

"Let her go" Bebop screeched, her bot launched itself straight at Vexor, but before Bebop could land the blow. Vexor's mechanical arm shot outwards, with brutal force. In an instant, it slashed into Bebop, sending the tiny bot hurtling backwards. Avea's breath hitched, watching in horror as Bebop's tiny bodice crashed into the wall before crashing to the ground. "BEBOP" Avea screamed, her pulse roaring in her ears. She hissed as a sharp pain flared down her spine, as Vexor shoved her harder against the rough stone. Her fingers curled into fists,"I knew Cyrus was too much of a coward to make this a fair race," Avea said. "And you’re naive for thinking it was ever gonna be," he sneered, drawing that sharp blade to gently caress the side of Avea's face.

Another Skulldagger emerged from the shadows. A hulking figure draped in black amour, no doubt to blend into the darkness around them. His face was obscured behind a sinister metal mouthpiece, that resembled more of a muzzle. His glowing red eyes burned like embers in the darkness, staring down at Avea with an unsettling intensity. Avea was trapped between the Skulldaggers most ruthless followers and an unseen terror that still lurked in the shadows. If there was one thing Avea was good at, it was getting herself out of tight spots. Survival at all costs was the skill that came from living on the Outskirts.

Avea struck first, clawing at Vexor’s face, she slashed her nails across his cheek. He recoiled, but before she could break free, he slammed his fist into her gut, knocking the air from her lungs. "V!" Bebop’s voice crackled as sparks erupted from its bodice. Avea twisted, her mind racing. She could get out of this. The Skulldagger leaned in closer, and she seized her chance, slamming her forehead into his. Vexor staggered back, stunned. "BACK OFF" Bebop rose valiantly from the ground slamming into Vexor’s face. Collapsing to the ground Vexor howled in pain holding up his hands to protect his face, staining them in crimson. Crouching against the tunnel wall staring wide eyed with shock as her tiny robot rammed repeatedly into Vexor’s face, his hands grasping at the bot.

While Vexor spouted threats and curses Bebop didn’t waste a second landing in a final blow, straight into Vexor’s nose a crunch sound followed loud and clear. Vexor in his fury grabbed Bebop in his blood-stained hand, Bebop frantically trying to break free. “Vexor don’t” Avea winced moving from the wall, “you and your little piece of scrap metal are gonna pay,” Avea gritted her teeth hissing at the pain that lurched up along her side. “Just let us go and we won’t come back to the tunnels,” Avea pleaded, her voice steady as she tried to calm the seething Vexor, still holding her bot in a crushing hold.

She needed to get her controls back now. Her eyes moved frantically between Bebop and her controls stashed in Vexors mechanical socket. "Oh Outborn ... didn't anyone tell you these tunnels are dangerous." Avea kept backing away, just a little bit, shrieking with laughter Vexor flashed his blood-stained teeth at her. Rage burned in Vexors eyes turned to her, "You're dead Outborn, no ones going to find your rotting corpse down here." She waited her hand grazing the ground beneath her, Vexor came in close enough, "don't be so sure" Avea snarled throwing a handful of dirt in his face, smearing it into his eyes. Catching the Skulldagger off guard, he staggered backwards, "NOW BEBOP" Avea cried out. On command her Bot flew out of Vexors grip snatching up her controls that he's taken off her and throwing them to Avea. Just as the massive muzzled Skulldagger lunged for her, Avea activated her hoverboard controls, her board flew up into the air, fracturing on command. Avea sliced her hand through the air, swinging a fragment of the board into the back of his head, and the muzzled Skulldagger fell to the ground in a barrelling heap at her feet. "YOU'RE DEAD OUTBORN" Vexor said, wiping the dirt out of his beady eyes. Avea responded, flinging a sharp fragment of her board towards Vexor, as his deadly blade arm shot out of the socket straight for her head. Her hoverboard piece pinning his arm to the tight split crevice of the passage.

Vexor spun towards her snarling, his face smeared with blood, with the muzzle Skulldagger on the ground beside him, static shrieking out of his muzzle. "You really shouldn't have messed with my bot" Avea replied, leaping onto her hoverboard and shooting forward. "There's nowhere for you to hide in these tunnels Outborn" Vexor hissed, flashing her a remorseless smile. Avea didn't respond cradling Bebop tightly under her arm. She could already hear the Skulldaggers in pursuit behind her in the tunnels, and Vexor's furious scream ricocheted through the tunnel. A second later, the high pitched whoosh of their hover-vechs filled the air. Avea's heart slammed against her ribs, "come on, come on" she gasped, urging her board faster. However, there was something wrong with her hoverboard. The engine sputtered, sparks flickering at her edges and it was struggling to fracture on command. It must have been damaged from the ambush, "no no ... seriously!" Avea cried out, hitting her wrists together trying to get her controls to comply. "We're coming for you, Fray filth."

And they were closing in fast.

The grating sound of metal screeched inside her ear, threatening to make them bleed. Skulldagger racers kept charging at her like two untamed beasts. They were suddenly neck and neck down the tightening passage, with Avea trapped on the inside. The walls closing in around them. Shrieking with laughter Vexor flashed his blood-stained teeth at her, “I have been waiting a long time to do this outborn,” he snarled at her. His blade arm lashed out at her, Avea barely dodged as it skimmed the top of her head. The tunnel steepened, and the passage narrowed. A sharp turn loomed ahead, and they were gaining speed at a ferocious rate. Too fast to make the turn.

The walls constricted tighter, leaving them with little space to retreat as they hurtled towards the descent. "VVVVVV?" Bebop screeched in alarm behind her as a solid ledge came into view with the smallest of turn-offs directly behind. Panic clawed at her. The ledge was too close. She wouldn’t make it in time. Avea propelled herself forward, throwing all her weight into the descent. She'd taken the bait. They had her exactly where they wanted.Cyrus Elrod had deployed his henchmen to ensnare Avea so she couldn't escape down any more turn-offs. They'd wanted her to follow, and now, all she could do was descend deeper into the tunnels.

As gravity overtook her, Avea struggled to regain control over her hoverboard as it neared the solid blockade. They were going to be crushed on impact, they was no escaping it. There were no turn offs, only the unyielding wall of stone at the end. The Skulldaggers shoved her forward as she tried to retreat, shifting all her weight backwards until the screeching sound of her hoverboard almost made her ears rupture. In a desperate manoeuvre, Avea threw her arms upwards just in time as her hoverboard lifted into the air. She flicked out her wrists, please please, she silently whispered. By the miracle her hoverboard responded, splitting itself. “You unclaimed scum wait till I turn you over to Cyrus Elrod …I’m going to watch him tear you apart bit by bit…" Avea leapt backwards onto a fragment of her board to try and spin herself backwards. She shut her eyes, somehow feeling the shift stir within her, she jumped off her board into the air. “Outborn that’s all you are…you’re nothing, but worthless, unwanted, inferior being,” Vexor sneered, lunging for her.

Eclipsing the Skull-dagger hover-racers. For a moment she was suspended in time, as her body arched over her two rivals. In that instant, a sharp clarity cut through her mind, as if the world around her had been peeled open before her. As she glanced upwards at the tunnels passage, she swore she could see threads of silver light shimmering in her vision, weaving together. It was as though she could see through the rocks themselves, glimpsing something beyond, and for a single breath, everything stood perfectly still. Avea's board sneakily morphed beneath the Skull-daggers hovercraft, its fragments shifting together. She flipped over them, her vision tilted around her as she soared through the air, and suddenly, in that sharp rush of movement, everything snapped back into focus. As gravity pulled her downwards, her board surged beneath her, catching her in a perfect landing before she hit the ground.

"I can't see" "I can't see" the two skull-daggers shrieked in terror. Their voices dripping with raw panic and desperation, that Avea glanced behind her, confused by the sudden outburst. As she peered over her shoulder, her stomach dropped like a stone. Seeing terrifying twisting, writhing shadows swarm over the side of the passage. Avea turned forward again, her hoverboard rattling precariously beneath her, but the shadows were spilling over the edges, surging past her, trying to cut her off. Her hand brushed against the wall as she sped by, her breath caught seeing a blue clawed hand materialise on the other side, mirroring her own. Then nothing. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

The shadows weren't done. They flew ahead of her, gathering around a jagged passage. A hidden passage carved through the rock, one that hadn't been there before. It was if the shadows were showing her the way, revealing a path that only she could see. A warning prickled at the back of the mind. It's a trap, she knew it too, felt it deep in the bones, but she couldn't stop. There was something about that passage was pulling her in.

Behind her, the metallic screech of tearing metal ripped through the shroud of shadow. "I can't see! What the hell is happening?!" Vexor's voice cut through the raging tornado of shadows flying through the narrow passage. "Something's got me! Get it off!" Vexor screamed, and the muzzle releasing another static cry. "I knew it ..." Avea muttered, for whatever reason she hadn't been able to navigate down here, something had been shrouding her senses. Peering over her shoulder to see the darkness spiral around the two Skull-daggers like a living raging storm. "Avea what's going on?!" Bebop cried out, watching the horror unfold behind them. "No NO! They're everywhere!" the Skull-daggers wretched wails reverberated through the passage, and Avea felt a cold chill slither down her spine. As the two Skull-daggers disappeared behind the tornado of shadow. "Told you this was a bad idea," Bebop said. The shadows were blocking her way, the only way out was through the crevice passage. "Now is not the time for ...I TOLD YOU" Avea yelled at her bot. The shadows were blowing past her with a vengeance, heading for the Skulldaggers, as though they'd been waiting for this moment all along.

Suddenly, the shadow dispersed, vanishing into the air. Along with the two Skulldagger chasers. They were gone. No trace. No sound. As if they had never existed at all. "Avea where did they go?" Bebop asked. "They're just ...gone?" Avea whispered to herself. The shadows devoured the Skull-daggers screams, leaving no trace of them behind. Trapped between retreating deeper into the ahead or the tornado of shadows closing in behind her. Avea didn't look back before plunging into the crevice, descending even deeper into the underbelly of the outlands.

Knowing there was no turning back.

.........................................................................................................................

As soon as Avea dove through the crevice, the gnawing unease returned with a vengeance deep in her gut. Her hoverboard made a loud whining noise finally succumbing to exhaustion, its pieces collapsed to the ground. "Avea the opening, its shut" Bebop shrieked. Avea turned back to face the stone, seeing that the opening had indeed sealed itself shut. She couldn't escape.

“No…no no no” Avea cried, clenching both her fists she slammed them repeatedly against the barrier of stone …again and again until her knuckles were raw and bleeding. Trapped with nowhere to escape to, no stray racers, ledges or crawl spaces. She didn't know how or why, but she could feel its presence stirring, blind in the darkness, only sensing the shifting movement. Avea could hear the scrappin along the walls once again, “the shadow…’” she whispered breaking the silence. Only the sound of scraping had turned into angry sounds of destruction heading towards her. The creature trapped within the walls tore and rampaged through the passages around her leaving them in ruins. Avea could now see the terrifying claw marks slashed across the stone. Her fingers grazed it, they were deep.  "Bebop whatever you do stay behind me" Avea commanded.

She could only brace herself. 

Terror clutched at her; Avea only on legs ran from sound of furious destruction. Every bend she turned led straight back to the same dead-end, where the shadow cut off her route. She was running so fast through these tunnels, only to keep coming back to the same point. "LEAVE ME ALONE" she screamed behind her at the wispy shadows that were following her. Promise me you'll never leave the border, her mother's voice said inside her mind.

"...V watch out!" Bebop said, "What?!... Ahhh", Avea cried out. Watching the dark shadows stalk towards her, devouring any glint of light from the crevices of the tunnel passage. "Bebop, please tell me. Do you see that?" Avea whispered. "I see it now", Bebop said, the bot beside her could see the wisps of shadow lingering, cutting them off and trapping them. These weren't like any shadows that Avea had seen before. They felt alive, as though they were simply watching and waiting for her to do something.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" she cried into the empty passageway. The shadows then halted, sweeping along the bottom as if to not startle her. Avea pressed up against the sealed barricade, pleading for it to magically reopen itself. Closing her eyes tight. The narrow passageway was drowned out by the destructive force barrelling towards her, all she could do was press up against the cold stone silently praying that whatever this being was it wouldn't be able to see her. Racking through her mind, so far tonight she had survived foul plays, attempted murder, being ditched in the tunnels and now some unknown shadow creature was trying to kill her. Not exactly the glorious triumph she had planned, Avea thought as she hid in the darkest corner making herself as small as possible, not even daring to breathe. She could sense the creature stop at the mouth of the passage where Avea held in her ragged breaths, clasping a hand over her mouth.

At her feet the wisps of shadow dancing in front of her. Their soft hissing became clear whispers that seemed to say..." uri ...release the URI" over and over. What the hell is a Uri? Avea thought.

That stirring feeling inside her grew stronger, and she could now feel it as if it were a tether at the very core of her being. She'd never felt anything like this before, but the further she ventured into these outlands the stronger it'd become."Leave me alone", Avea whispered, tears in her eyes. Why was it just staying there? The stirring emotions inside her were becoming unbearable waiting in the dark for this thing to attack. Maybe it couldn’t sense her here? Shuffling back silently Avea grazed her hand against the rough surface of the rock wincing at the stinging in her calloused hands. She could sense that stirring feeling inside her again, there was an undeniable pull deep within her. There was something about these tunnels that had drawn her in.

Deep inside her, it felt as though every fibre of her being was calling for her to take hold of it. Avea didn't have the slightest clue what she was doing, but something nearly primitive took over her. The shadows sulked towards her, crawling over the expanse of the narrow passage. They were going to devour Avea, the same way they'd devoured the Skulldaggers. "V whatever you're thinking, now would be the time to do it!" Bebop shrieked. Summoning every ounce of her will, she stilled anchoring her consciousness."Release the URI", the shadows whispered and chanted softly around her.

Then she found it, the tether, a tangible thing existing inside of her that she'd never felt until now. "Okay, V, if you're done with your nap...DO SOMETHING!" Bebop shouted at her. Seeing the shadows brushing up against them. Avea felt the tether inside her, she felt it surge up inside her, urging her to take hold. She'd resisted it this whole time without even realising it was there. The shadows were now sweeping at her feet, "RELEASE THE URI!" She grasped it, an immense surge of power flooded through her veins. She felt her mind flailing desperately, trying to hold onto anything to keep her grounded, as the rush took over her, obliterating all of her sense of reality.

The surge of energy welling up within her was overwhelming, igniting every fibre of her being with such intensity that she felt as though she were being devoured. She hesitated, and in her moment of panic, she released her grip on the elusive tether. The energy coursing through her subsided before it could completely overcome her. Avea found herself breathless as her eyes snapped open to see the lurking shadows retreat. "What the hell was that?" she gasped, her shaking body pressed against the cold stone barricade. Allowing her weight to press against it to prevent her body from crumbling to the ground. She couldn't explain the feeling that had come over her, but it felt like there was lightning coursing through her veins."V, what's wrong?" Bebop asked, flying in front of her face. "I think Mum might have been right about these tunnels", Avea whispered. They sat in stunned silence, unable to make sense of what had just occurred.

"V, how are we going to get out of here?", Bebop asked, but Avea couldn't move. She was trying to ignore the incessant thrumming inside of her, beckoning to reach for that tether inside of her once again. She had to be slowly losing her mind; maybe she had suffered a serious concussion, or perhaps it was a lack of oxygen down here? "What's happening to me?!" Avea cried out in a fit of rage, clutching her hand in a fist and slamming it against the stone barrier. Veins of silver light sprouted out from where Avea's hand touched the cool stone. She snatched her hand away on instinct, and immediately, the silver light vanished, leaving them standing in pitch darkness. "What was that?" Avea whispered, "Probably something else that wants to kill us," Bebop said. Her blood seemed to thrum in response to the silver light, almost like she could hear the pulse of it beating inside the stone. The heartbeat of the outlands. Avea didn't hesitate this time, placing her palm firmly against the rock. Silver light erupted from deep beneath the rock as though moonlight were shining out from the tunnel wall. Avea gasped, stunned by the sight of light spreading outwards from her palm. "Are you doing that?" Bebop asked. "I think so..." Avea whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from the silvery veined walls, marvelling at the light dancing beneath her fingertips. Avea planted her other hand against the wall, and the iridescence glowed even brighter, spreading all throughout the stone walls surrounding her, brimming with life. All the way through the passage walls, until the entire caved in tunnel was alight with this iridescence. "We need to warn the clans", Bebop said, interrupting the loud thoughts in Avea's mind. Avea laughed, "They'd never believe us."

Did no one know?

Has no one ever seen it?

Was it alive?

Was it dangerous?

The silver light had completely enthralled her, so much so that she didn't want to part from the stone barrier. Avea struggled to release her hand. The dancing silver light seemed to flow through her as though the streaming light had turned to liquid gliding along her bones. A sense of rightness she'd never felt before came over her.

Avea could sense it before the sudden chill sluiced through her, ice flooding through her veins, staring down into the dark stone, willing the light to resurface. Inside the dark stone, she caught something surging forward, "V, watch out", Bebop screeched; the robot threw her to the ground seconds before a deafening sound erupted from the stone. Collapsing onto the hard ground with Bebop using its tiny mechanical body to shield her, Avea remained curled, holding her hand to her chest. “V…V…AVEA" her robot screeched, shoving its tiny body repeatedly, ramming into her hunched body. "I'm okay, Bebop… I'm okay," she whispered, moving to her feet. Looking up, Avea's breath caught, her eyes widening in horror at the sight of the enormous, overpowering crack directly over where she had placed her palm mere moments before. Seeing the deep, jagged edges like something was trying to claw its way out from the inside.

"Avea?" Bebop's wary voice echoed. That's when she saw the monstrous shadow form in stone in front of her, and the twisted horn stood across entire expanse of the passage. Avea's breath was coming out in short, sharp gasps almost like all of the air had been sucked out of this tunnel. A sharp bolt of terror shot through her, leaving her paralysed with fear. The looming shadow morphed over her, from the twisted horns to the taloned claws. It was very clear to Avea what this was.

A predator circling its prey.