FusionFall: Invasion

Chapter Seventeen: Belly of the Beast

We slid through the portal and landed on hard ground. I lay on my back, cringing at the pain. I slowly sat up, rubbing my back and looking around. It looked like an everyday kitchen. Except there was deadly Fusion Matter dripping from the ceiling and oozing down walls, piling up on the counters and floors.

"Oh my god..." Kitsu murmured. He stood a few feet away, gazing around his ruined home. I stood up and saw something that definitely did not belong inside a normal kitchen.

A massive, black hole gaped in the floor. A tunnel expanded further than we could see. Everyone looked to me, except Kitsu who had fallen to his knees.

I scratched my head. "Well...let's start by, um..." I stuttered, trying to think of the safest route to take from here. I looked up and saw solid roof. There was no way out from here. "Let's start by searching the rest of the house. No one go into that hole until we meet back here." I looked around at everyone. "Let's see...Tony, Marcus, Daniel, David, and Niko, stay here and guard that tunnel. Give a shout of anything changes. Everyone else, split up, but do not stay alone. Split up and search the house."

I stood before a door painted baby-blue. I slowly pushed it open. The hinges creaked as it moved inward. I heard a sniffle, and shuffling. I slowly pulled out my sword, and glanced behind me at Blake. I looked back into the room.

It was rather simple. A desk under the window, dresser in a closet from which the door had been smashed and lay splintered on the floor. Opposite the desk, next to the door, was a bed. There were everyday objects littered everywhere. A backpack, books, paper, blanket, pillows. A small teddy bear lay on the ground, half melted from Matter, which slowly sizzled through the floor and furniture.

A sniffle sounded from under the bed, and a voice cried out as I took a step into the room. Holding my sword above my head, I got down on my knees and peered under the bed. I saw a small child, a boy, huddled in the corner. He stared at me, and began crying. The little boy shrunk back as far as he could.

"G-g-get back!" He tried to call out, but his voice faltered, causing the words to come out in a whisper. "M-m-my brother w-will k-kill you!"

"Sssh..." I tried to comfort him. "We're not here to hurt you."

"That's what you said before!" He managed to say louder. Tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped from his nose. I looked up at Blake, who looked utterly bewildered and shrugged. I looked back at the sobbing child. Brother? I thought. He looks almost identical to...Kitsu!

I stood up quickly and whispered to Blake, "Go find Kitsu. Bring him here, and quickly. I'll stay here just in case something happens." He nodded and rushed out. I tiptoed out of the room, the kid's sobs echoing in my ears.

A few moments later, I saw Kitsu flying down the hallway. He ran, pushed me out of the way, and into the room. "Fujin!" He cried. The child stopped crying and I watched him slowly crawl out from underneath his bed.

"K-Kitsu?" He murmured. Kitsu embraced him tightly, patting his head and comforting the boy. I stepped back a little bit, watched them for a moment, and then turned, walking back to the ruins of the kitchen.

Kitsu and his little brother joined us soon.

"Alright everyone. Here's what we're going to do." I took a deep breath. "We didn't find anything up here, so...we'll have to head down the hole." Everyone started muttering to themselves and each other.

"You can't!" Fujin cried, eyes tearing up. "That's where they took mom and dad...They haven't..." He started sniffling and couldn't continue. He didn't need to. Kitsu reached down and comforted his brother.

I looked at the child sadly. "We have to. There's no way out from here, except down there." I said softly to him.

"But what if...?" Fujin said, drifting off. Kitsu stood and whipped up his scythe, twirling it in circles, narrowly missing clipping Brandon with the razor-sharp edge. He grinned at Fujin. "Don't worry squirt." He said, slamming the blade into the ground dramatically. "Anything down there I'll take care of." Fujin looked up admiringly at his older brother.

I nodded, and turned to the dark hole ahead of us. I fished my NanoCom from my pocket and switched on the flashlight, attaching it to my vest. I unsheathed both swords and took a step forward. The floor and walls were made of some kind of hardened dirt or shale. Except it was ridiculously smooth. It was...not of this Earth.

The company slowly delved into the belly of the beast, not knowing what we would experience in the darkness ahead.