The Van Helsing Incursion

FOUR HENS WITH ONE STONE

Julia caught the sound of three muffled explosions coming from the surface. She looked up, and saw nothing but the night sky. That was good news, otherwise, her goose would have been cooked.

The fact that Clara was once again wreaking havoc reinforced the idea that she needed to get her ass in gear. Now she dropped one rung every time, giving up entirely on the idea of confirming they were safe before placing all of her weight on them.

"Fuck!" Julia yelled when she heard another two blasts.

Those were a lot closer, since the sound reached her from below. Wait! Why would Clara block off an exit?

"Oh shit!" Julia swore. "Company!"

* * * *

Adrienne let go of the breaks when the three blasts went off. As the skip accelerated, she reached for the lever, but a second set of explosions went off overhead.

Because of the angle of the shaft, she could not see the blast, only an orange hue. Rubble would be following her lead, and she was the proverbial speed bump.

"That bitch!" Adrienne said before contemplating why the blast sounded like something from a Saturday morning cartoon skit.

Despite the reference, if any of that rubble hit her or the skip, she was done for. Her only chance was to reach the flooded levels before all that shit did. That would at least slow down the debris. Wouldn't it?

"This is going to—" Adrienne whined.

* * * *

Julia was moving from one rung to another as fast as she could. Her mind was on autopilot, since overthinking at this juncture would not only slow her down, but would increase her chances for a fall.

That likelihood jumped when the skip slammed into the water at high speed, an impact violent enough to cause the water to ripple below.

"What the—" Julia exclaimed after realising that both her hands had been jerked free of the ladder.

Her loaded backpack shifted her centre of balance backwards. With no ability to regain equilibrium, she launched herself clear of the rails using her legs. I hope that I have a clear path to the water.

"This is going to—" Julia said.

* * * *

Clara watched as the grenades struck the mine shaft. Unlike a Hollywood explosion, there was no powerful fireball, only a brief flash of orange light, smoke, and flying debris.

It was hard not to grin at the sheer destructive power of military munitions. The skip's control mechanism had been shredded, and a part of the rock face was gone. Presumably, that debris was taking the express down.

She rarely had the opportunity to examine her handiwork. Clara heard several whines and whimpers from below that were normally associated with wounded prey. Perhaps this pack believed they would make short work of her, but that turned out to be a pipedream.

Or so she believed, right up until a blur appeared at eye level. Clara focused on those eyes, a predator's which were focused exclusively on her. This was not a small specimen either. In fact, it dwarfed those she engaged earlier.

Having temporarily expended her ability to manipulate time, all she could do was watch as its clawed hand rose above its torso. Ready to strike, she knew exactly what the next few steps would be.

"This is going to—" Clara said.

* * * *

Elizabeth had no idea what was going on. The shaft near her position had been the source of several odd noises for several minutes now.