32

We went to look for the kidnapped by a strange company.

Because I never imagined Adrian with us.

He... For some reason, he looks adequate in my understanding only on stage.

— If you get as close as possible, I can throw the rope down!—Adrian pushed the reel of rope over to the window.— Let's go down and explore these damn ruins! —

— Are you sure he's there?—Cornelius asked.

— I was in the air when you had a shootout and that explosion...—Adrian looked out of the window and began slowly unwinding the cable down.—He's crawling in there, but I'm the only one who didn't dare get in there...—

— Apparently, you have a very well—developed instinct for self-preservation. I would have rushed there without hesitation...—Cornelius said.

I looked out and looked down.

— We are. Will be. Go down. There?—I asked, looking down warily.

I've never even told Kirby how much I'm afraid of heights.

— Yes, a decent distance, but it can be sustained, right?—Adrian said.

— Maybe...— I noticed from his look that it seems...

We have the same phobias?!

— My head is already spinning...—Adrian blinked his eyes quickly.— Let's do it! —

Cornelius did not take his eyes off the bottom of the crater as we went down.

And I started to feel dizzy at the very beginning of the journey.

— Ugh... It stinks!—Adrian said, being the last to reach the bottom of the crater.

— It smells good. It smells of rapidly approaching troubles...— Cornelius suddenly pushed me aside and shot at what was behind me.

At that moment, for some reason, I imagined myself as a character in a stupid cheap horror movie.

It seemed that the most ordinary zombies were climbing on us. But apparently they were people...

a man with no eyes and no skin clung to my jacket.

— The knife! Use a knife!—Adrian shouted, wielding a machete. He had already hacked several mutilated people to pieces.

The pieces were moving, but they no longer caused any special difficulties.

It feels like Cornelius felt a little sorry for these people. He cut off the hands of the one who grabbed my jacket and chopped him into pieces very quickly.

The ground was turning into a black and bloody mess from the blood.

— That tunnel over there! Maybe...—Adrian pointed out.

— Maybe?!—Cornelius asked angrily.— You do understand that if this is the wrong tunnel, we will simply be overwhelmed?!—

— I understand, but I couldn't figure out exactly which tunnel he was going into!—Adrian angrily stabbed the machete into the crater wall.— Come on! If anything, I'll cover for you two!—

The earth is raining down on our heads at almost every step.

—Did he dig this tunnel with his teeth?—Cornelius touches the wall with his fingers and pulls his hand away.

— He ate it. Mariusz is eating the earth! It's a weird diet, isn't it?—Adrian let out a nervous laugh.

He's afraid... After all, Adrian is afraid! But he's coming with us anyway!

Iron claws popped out of the ground and severely cut Cornelius' back.

The cuts were very long, but they didn't seem to be deep.

We ran forward as far as possible in the hope of avoiding these blades.

The earth is falling on us in large chunks. It seems that the tunnel is about to collapse. Apparently, this trap is set here for this very purpose.

Stopping abruptly, I fired several times at the blades.

One of them squeaked disgustingly on my gun.

I already thought that these blades would chop me into mincemeat...

— That's crazy!—Adrian said behind my back.

It was only at that moment that I realized that I had reflexively closed my eyes out of fear.

Opening my eyes, I looked around. Apparently, when I was shooting, I managed to get one of the shots into what was moving those creepy blades.

— Does it hurt much?— I touched the wound on my beloved's back.

— It's okay. Can you give me a scarf?—Corey asked.

I pulled the scarf out from under my hoodie and helped Cornelius use it as a bandage to protect the wound.

Although the situation is tense very carefully...—Cornelius said in a whisper.—What about your hearing, Prior?—

— Not very well. I've been concussed twice, so my hearing sometimes fails me...—Adrian sighed.

— It's bad... So Adrianna and I will pay more attention to the noise...—Cornelius sighed.

We turned around very often. Sometimes even the sounds of our footsteps seemed suspicious.

It was very scary for me to imagine even for a minute what had just happened to the people whom Cornelius and I love very much.

Kirby, Dariusz, Ryan...

If anything happens to any of them, it will be impossible to survive it.

They are just incredibly dear to us...

— Someone is coming...—Cornelius stopped us with a wave of his hand.

I listened.

At first I thought someone would come around the corner, but it was above us...

— He's listening too... That's for sure...—Cornelius began to speak.

— Wait! It could be...—Adrian stood on tiptoe and tapped on the ceiling of the tunnel. He listened for a while. He seemed to put all his hearing abilities into it.— Don't be afraid, this is my dad.— He said after a couple of seconds.

—Is he going to patrol us from above?—I asked.

— No. This is a reinforcement.—Adrian smiled. His eyes shine in the dark like a cat's.

If it gets any darker, we won't be visible at all. We'll probably be given away by a few bleached strands on Adrian's head.

Although, maybe it's gray hair...

instead of the ground under my feet, I suddenly felt it... Iron?

It looks like some kind of metal...

— We are in the basement of the laboratory...—Adrian commented.

— Are you sure? How do you know that?—Cornelius looked around.

— I feel it. My rather big... nose feels it.—Adrian laughed.— I'm sorry... The lab smells special. And that smell crept under my skin. I remember the Needle Machine... My main fear in life...—

His eyes changed color.

Deep blackness. Just like Cornelius.

We went on.

Adrian caught the chain of the locket on the roots of a tree in the dark and clamped both hands over his mouth to keep from screaming.

I ran over to unhook the chain and felt like I realized that what I first thought were the roots of the tree were wires in the ground.

— Don't kick, the wires are sparking! I don't want you to get electrocuted!—I said, holding Adrian's shoulder.— Be careful, you almost hit the wire right now!—

Gas began to flow into the tunnel. It's probably toxic.

It's definitely toxic!

We held our breath, and Adrian lifted the bandana hanging around his neck to protect his respiratory organs.

The gas burns the eyes, it is impossible to see at all.

It seems that the gas burns out my eyes...

— Hold my hands!—Adrian said. His voice was heavily distorted by what he was hiding under a bandana.

There is a smell of blood in the air. Although I try not to breathe, I still do it by accident.

Adrian took out a lighter to light the way a little where there wasn't much gas.

— Put the fire away!—A hoarse cry rang out on the last effort of exhausted ligaments.

I recognized that voice...