Domino

2 Objective Achieved

After her descent down the long escalator, way below street level and into the underground system of the city, she paused to briefly consult the rough map she had sketched on the folded paper after retrieving it from inside her flight suit jacket. 

In the yellow glow of her visor's night vision overlay, the sketched route to her goal stood out as black contrasting lines on the paper, her only issue being orientation with the street level above. Quickly calling up a navigational compass on the HUD allowed her to adjust her direction to the correct tunnel, along which her targets destination lay.

The large tunnel bored from the solid rock stretched away from the platform to her left, the almost ominous opening nearest to her being coated with moss and seemingly glistening with moisture which coated the surface, the enhancements of the overlay on her visor adding to the effect. Dropping nimbly from the edge of the train platform onto the ground level of the tunnel and landing aside the rails  which disappeared into the consuming gloom, she quickly glanced behind her along the continuing length of track and the opposing tunnel to the one she was heading for. 

If the transit system had been operational then her current situation would have also posed the danger of electrocution from the live rails, but as the power was completely dead to the tracks, she was safe to glance against them as she moved along towards the gaping tunnel opening, keeping her footing on the large stone chippings which were piled along the floor and had also accumulated their own covering of damp slime and moss. It was as if, in the absence of constant tending and restrictive action by mankind, that nature was making a concerted effort to regain control, to assert itself once more where humanity had tried to tame it. Quickly adjusting her visor overlay, her attention focused on the path ahead as she scanned to and fro across the width of the tunnel before her, checking for any potential surprises in the form of concealed bodies, inhabitants of these lower levels which some in the more privileged surroundings of the protectorate Arcologies rather derogatorily referred to as 'Moles'.

Satisfied that her path ahead was seemingly devoid of obvious heat signatures, she switched back to the night vision, for help in her choosing the right footings as she progressed deeper into the gaping maw of the tunnel.

The size and effort to actually bore out these tunnels was not lost upon her as she made her way further away from the sanctuary of the station, as they were quite obviously wide and tall enough to take the trains which ran along them, carrying their car loads of passengers to and fro about their daily business.

Along the sides of the tunnel were intermittent junction boxes and large lines of cabling, which were once essential in carrying the controls for the signalling and thus allowing the controllers to remotely monitor the progress of the trains along the length of the system. Now though, there were bodies and bundles of rags piled in intermittent intervals, and scatterings of meagre possessions, where the scraps of society had sought refuge down here from the ravages in the aftermath of the war, only to die amidst the dark and damp conditions which ultimately claimed their lives.

The whole experience was one she desperately tried to deny her conscious mind from absorbing in its entirety, simply concentrating on her passage from point A to her destination at point B, doing her utmost to block out the fine examples of how low society had sunk.

"Journal update," she quietly murmured as she stepped around yet another bundle of rags piled high against the side of the tunnel. "I've descended into the tunnel system, which is cold, dark and damp, not to mention the littering of bodies down here and the ungodly stench which my filtration system is now working to eliminate. The next time someone commissions my services and tells me there's a tunnel system to navigate, let this pose as a reminder for me to tell them to go to hell. I'm nearing the target point now, so not much more of this to endure, aside from getting out again. I'm not charging these people enough; I'm going to have to burn these boots later. God knows what I've stepped in down here!"