The Safe Zone - Ascension (Book 4)

Chapter 8: Descent into the Underworld

Lena:

The ruins of the abandoned city loomed in the distance like the skeletal remains of a world long forgotten. Its crumbling towers reached up toward the gray, cloud-choked sky, and the streets that once teemed with life now lay silent, overgrown with twisted vines and debris. The wind howled through the empty buildings, a mournful sound that echoed off the shattered windows and broken walls, as if the city was crying out in its final death throes.

We stood at the edge of what had once been a bustling metropolis—now, nothing more than a graveyard for a civilization that had been swallowed whole by the Directive. The entrance to the underground tunnels was somewhere beneath the city, hidden deep within the wreckage, and that was where we needed to go. We had intel suggesting that this facility was critical to Phase Three's infrastructure, and if we could destroy it, we might have a chance to slow the Directive's advance.

But looking at the city, knowing what we were about to walk into, made my stomach twist with dread.

I turned to Carter, standing beside me, his expression as grim as I felt. "Are we sure this is the place?" I asked, my voice barely audible over the wind.

Carter nodded, his eyes fixed on the crumbling skyline. "The intel is solid. The Directive has been using these underground tunnels to transport supplies and personnel. If there's a facility here, it's deep beneath the city."

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. The thought of descending into those dark, abandoned tunnels, knowing what might be waiting for us, sent a chill down my spine. But we didn't have a choice. If we wanted to stop Phase Three, we had to go in.

Zara approached from behind, her rifle slung across her back, her eyes scanning the horizon. "We're running out of time," she said, her voice low and urgent. "If we don't move now, the Directive will tighten their defenses. We'll lose our window."

I nodded, tightening my grip on my weapon. The thought of the Directive closing in on us, of them knowing we were coming, was enough to make my blood run cold. But we couldn't afford to hesitate.

"Let's move," I said, my voice firm, though my hands trembled slightly as I motioned for the team to follow.

The others formed behind me—Carter, Zara, and other resistance fighters who had survived the previous assaults. We moved silently, our footsteps muffled by the wind and the debris beneath our feet. Every step felt heavy like the city itself was trying to pull us down, to drag us into the darkness that waited below.

As we made our way through the city's outskirts, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. My eyes darted to the shattered windows of the buildings around us, half-expecting to see a figure standing in the shadows or a drone hovering silently above. But there was nothing. Just the empty, lifeless ruins of a city long abandoned.

Still, I couldn't shake the unease that clung to me like a second skin.

We reached the entrance to the underground tunnels—an old subway station, its entrance partially buried beneath rubble and overgrown vines. The once-grand archway that welcomed commuters now stood cracked and crumbling, the words above barely legible. But it was enough. This was it.

"Here we go," Carter muttered as he pulled a crowbar from his pack and pried away the debris blocking the entrance.

I knelt beside him, helping to clear the rubble with my hands. The others formed a perimeter around us, their weapons at the ready, their eyes scanning the ruins for any sign of movement. The tension in the air was palpable, like a storm building on the horizon.

After several long minutes, we finally cleared enough of the entrance to squeeze through.

The tunnel beyond was dark, a yawning black void that seemed to stretch on forever. The smell of damp earth and decay filled the air, and the faint sound of dripping water echoed off the walls. I pulled out a flashlight and flicked it on, the beam cutting through the darkness to reveal the cracked, crumbling floor of the tunnel ahead.