Scavenger Hunt. (1)

Deep within the Acathus Passage, a labyrinthian series of tunnels which were as dark as they were complicated, a small unit trudged its way through said darkness. The unit comprised of five people; all of whom were clad in Rigs – diesel powered exo-suits. Three of them were clearly combatants, wearing Light Rigs. Although, said Rigs barely counted as more than scrap, crudely cobbled together and hooked up to unstable Power Cores and frequently repaired fuel tanks. Mechanised arms topped with flickering UV lights that constantly emitted a sort of low frequency hum jutted out from various points on the Rigs of the combatants. They also had regular torches on their helmets, and had a combination of guns and melee weapons hanging on their waists and their backs.

The non-combatant members of the team were also clad in Rigs, however whereas the combatant Rigs contained chest plates, shoulder pads, greaves and boots, theirs simply had chest pieces, and the assortment of tools that they needed. They belonged to a group called Scavengers – people who scoured the various Passages of the Abyss, searching for supply caches stored by Humans during the early decades of the Siege of The Sightless – the first skirmish between Humans and Vampires. The biggest and tallest member of the group had the visor of his helmet up and a perpetually smoking cigarette in his mouth. He walked with his right hand constantly resting on the massive, holstered revolver on his hip and as his UV lights darted in every conceivable direction every few seconds, so too did his eyes shift about and constantly scan the tunnel they were in.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to smoke in here, Ruon?" One of the Scavengers asked.

"Do you really think my smoke is going to be the problem when you're the ones lugging explosives and drills around, Sheeva?" Ruon retorted, his weathered face barely moving as he spoke. "Besides, we're close enough to a decommissioned mine shaft that those fucks won't be able to smell anything." 

"Well, it's their job to protect us, Sheev." The other Scavenger chimed dryly. "So long as we're able to do our jobs, let them attract all the Six-Heads they want."

"That doesn't mean we should walk face first into danger, Kraigg." Sheeva answered as she shook her head. "Besides, those fuckers swarm and before you know it, they're all over you like ticks on a Tunnel Mutt."

That statement was enough to put an end to the conversation, as the group continued to make its way down the tunnel which was becoming progressively narrower as well as stuffier. The air became almost tangible in nature, fighting its way into their lungs as opposed to them breathing it in, and the UV started to reflect against the thickening smog. It was as if they were walking through progressively solidifying cream cheese, which prompted them all to either close their helmets, or in the case of the two Scavengers, flip their goggles down and their masks up. Sheeva pulled out a tablet, on which was a weathered map of the Acathus Passage. It was not only faded, but torn in places, covered in stains and there were a few too many areas of the map that had been filled in by hand. She pressed a button and a number of small lights illuminated the map, revealing a number of spots on various parts of the map that had been crossed on

"The thickening air leads me to believe that we are approaching a cache." Sheeva said.

"Ya think?" Ruon responded, his hand now firmly clasping his firearm. "We should be getting close to the depot."

"According to the map we should be coming up on Bulwer Station."

"Which means we are approaching what could be an active hunting zone for Stragglers." Kraigg chimed in. "Luckily these three muscular, heavily armed gentlemen are with us."

Nobody responded, as the mere mention of Stragglers immediately tensed the three men up, with their hands instinctively grabbing their weapons. The group continued to move in silence, and it didn't take long for them to reach a large 'Bulwer Station' sign, of which a few letters were missing. It was riddled not only with bullet holes and gashes, but dry, caked on blood as well. The head torches illuminated enough of the sign to display all of those details. The large metal gates were closed – barred shut, even – and after spending a few moments to not only take in the size of the gates but also just how barred they were, the group moved again. This time though, Ruon moved in front of the two Scavengers, and the other two mercenaries flanked them, which immediately alerted the two to the shift in tone amongst the three men. As the group continued to make its way town the tunnel, they came across and walked past previously plundered supply caches, the doors of which had not only been welded shut, but also had giant crosses blow torched into them, as well as having what was obviously religious iconography branded above the cross. The group did not spend any amount of time looking at the doors, and continued walking. The doors they came across all corresponded with the markings on the map, and the further along they went, the damper their surroundings became. It wasn't long until their footsteps were accompanied by wet squelches, and droplets of something echoed through the tunnels. The smell became progressively more rancid, and the visors and masks were working overtime, with everybody wiping their visors and goggles clean with increasing frequency. Fleshy sacks and growths of varying sizes began to litter the tunnel walls and floor, although most of them were deflated and empty.

"It seems the Stragglers that live in these tunnels have already eaten whatever unfortunate creatures were in here." Sheeva commented.

"Exactly. So be careful for Husks on the floor. If you step on one, one of those bastards might hear the crunching on the bones."

"Roger that." Kraigg responded.

They reached another door, and propped up against it were two more Mercenaries, equipped with light Rigs and melee weapons.

"How's it looking?" Ruon asked as the group approached the pair.

"The cache is up ahead, but there are a hell of a lot of Sacks up ahead." One of them replied.

"How moist are they?"

"Honestly? It's so wet around here, it's hard to tell if they're freshly opened, or just saturated. What we did confirm however was that there weren't that many Husks on the ground."

"So they were either removed and consumed elsewhere…"

"Or they weren't completely drained, and became Thralls."

"Listen up." Ruon said as he turned back to face the Scavengers. "We might encounter whatever critters were caught by the low level Stragglers that populate these tunnels, so be on guard. The cache shouldn't be much farther, but keep your wits about you, yeah?"

"Understood." Sheeva said with a nod, before the entire convoy, along with its new additions, set off.

Their walking pace lowered significantly, as caution was the overarching theme amongst the group. Sheeva took a second to wipe the buildup of sediment from her goggles to look at the map once more, using the radiant light cast by the ever swiveling UV lights to confirm what she suspected.

"We're about five minutes from the cache."

"Copy that." Ruon acknowledged simply, and sure enough, within five minutes, they were standing at yet another massive door which was also boarded, bolted and welded shut.

There was however, a much smaller entrance which was locked. Without wasting any time, Sheeva and Kraigg stood in front of the door, with the latter pulling out a truly bizarre looking contraption, with a segmented looking key type thing on the front, a barrel and then all manner of spindles, pins and the like jutting out from the back. Sheeva took it from him and placed the key shaped side in the keyhole before adjusting, twisting and pulling a multitude levers and needles, which not only changed the shape of the key, but made it jerk and slide forward as it progressively changed shape to match the key hole.

The combat focused members of the small unit were not standing on ceremony either, as they too had gotten to work, pulling various bits and pieces out of carry bags they each had slung over their shoulders and carried on their backs. They worked with the kind of dexterity and efficiency that belied their raggedy and shabby appearances, and within a matter of minutes, they had constructed three fairly small carts motors and wheels. As if planned, the moment the construction was done, Sheeva finished her fiddling, and with a loud click, she unlocked the door successfully. Kraigg, who had been greasing the hinges while she worked, helped pull the door open as quietly as possible, and once it was the pair looked at Ruon and nodded, before sliding in.

"Go I after them." He whispered to fellows. "And remember to prioritise small and heavy items that we can pack comfortably on the carts."

"Roger." One of them replied before walking in as they wheeled the carts in.

"Banshee – you stay with me." Ruon commanded. "We'll stand guard together."

The one called Banshee simply nodded, and stood on the other side of the doorway.