An Aura of Bloodshed

Chapter 2: The Abandoned Railway Project

After a bit of a trek, Kitsune and Jesse found themselves in front of a boarded off cave. The surrounding area had handcrafted wooden barricade- three of which have been crushed, and two barrels that reeked of gunpowder. By the cave were two signs- one stating the obvious: that the project was abandoned and that going into the cave was dangerous. The other sign warned of a 'strange creature' that just looked like a shambling pile of limbs...

Yeah, that's mildly concerning.

"They've boarded it up..." Jesse noted.

Kitsune nodded from beside him, her arms folded. "Seems so, yeah. Hold up- I have just the thing!" She chirped, reaching for something on the sides of her skirt.

Jesse glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" He asked.

The redhead grinned a bit, pinching the two very subtle zippers on the sides of the skirt of her dress. After pulling them up, it was revealed that the zippers went all the way up to her hips- black fabric shorts being revealed in the process. Multiple different weapons were strapped to her thighs- most notably a dagger, a small tomahawk, and a butterfly knife.

She took the tomahawk from its holster, twirling it around in her hand before chopping away at the boards. The wood was surprisingly frail, so with little effort, they were out of the way. Kitsune returned the small ax to its holster, turning back to Jesse. She gave an innocent smile as she tilted her head. "All clear~!" She chirped.

Jesse was at a loss for words for a moment, before clearing his throat. "That... That was unexpected. But good work, nonetheless. I didn't even notice the zippers." He commented.

"Heh, why thank you, doctor. I try my best." She turned to the cave. "Anyways, shall we go?" She asked.

"Right." Jesse nodded, entering the cave first as Kitsune followed.

Inside the cave were just a few objects- some -rather horribly smelling- barrels, a lone rusted pickaxe, and a sack of grain on the ground. To the far left was a staircase. The two Chastisers nodded at one another, before descending two staircases- the one they saw, and another one on a subfloor.

"Ah, here we are. We should be able to find those grates if we continue through this tunnel." Jesse remarked.

Kitsune nodded, starting to walk with him down the center path on the main railroad. "Man, it's really creepy down here... This is some liminal space type shenanigans- it's so eerie." She commented.

"Liminal spaces?" Jesse repeated.

"Yeah, like- places that seem... More or less in perfect order, but they're just empty. It just leaves you with an uncomfortable feeling like- 'shit, I'm probably not supposed to be here if no one else is'. It's kinda like that." The redhead explained.

"Hm, I see..." Jesse nodded. "In that case, I must agree- it is somewhat unnerving down here. No matter, we must continue. We have a job to do." He stated, as they walked through another tunnel.

"Ughh, it smells really dusty in here.." Kitsune remarked.

"It does, doesn't it. Apparently this place has a history of cave-ins, so that might-" Jesse paused, noticing a faint light up ahead. "That light!" He ran over to it, Kitsune following suit as they both looked up.

"I can see the grates up there." Jesse pointed out.

"Yeah, and there's blood dripping from em!" Kitsune nodded.

"Maigata was right- the water really has cleared most of the blood already..." Jesse stated. "The culprit is down here somewhere- we just have to find them. It's only a matter of time." He stated.

"Yeah, but we may have to find another route. No way in hell we're getting through this." Kitsune responded, tapping her foot against a giant pile of rubble that blocked your path.

Jesse nodded, testing one of the smaller tracks. It led off to the left. However, no sooner than he had stepped foot on it, did a rock that was overhead fall. Kitsune saw it almost instantly, grabbing Jesse's vest and pulling him back- a loud crack resounding as it crashed onto the tracks.

"Easy there, Doctor Thornhart! That coulda been really bad." Kitsune yelped.

"You're right, it could've... Thanks, Kitsune." Jesse responded, looking back at her.

"Hey, think nothing of it. Come on, let's try something else. We gotta be careful though." The redhead responded. Jesse nodded, following after her as they navigated the apparent maze of rails.

After walking through the slight maze -with random piece of rails falling into the murky water below, and rocks falling from the ceiling- the pair eventually found themselves at the other end of the main track. After watching one last railing fall, they turned to the cave they were to enter. But before they could even think about investigating the next room, the wooden floor below them sudden gave way- letting them fall.

And so they descended even further into the depths- where they'd come to learn that the nightmare is only just beginning.