16) Hello darkness my old friend

The three of them set into the tunnel after a short rest, they didn't know what to expect as Skye only knew the first 100 meters or so were safe. Everything past that was a complete unknown. With any luck they didn't just jump from the frying pan into the fire, but what other choice did they have but to risk getting burnt rather than eaten.

The air flow was slight, but it gave them hope that there would be an exit at the end of this. Why else would they have built an escape hatch if it only left them cornered in the end. 

Light was being produced by patches of blue moss here and there with small growing mushrooms, leaving large parts of the tunnel completely dark. Skye took the lead, using Thorn as a bit of a walking stick to feel the ground in front of him. He didn't want to survive all this time to only comically fall into a pit like a real jackass. Mainly because it would be the first and only time he would have made Kai laugh. 

Elli was behind him, and Kai took up the rear, all holding on to a rope Skye quickly made to keep the group together. At first they were too afraid to speak, thinking their voices would attract the attention of some new hungry friends. As time passed uneventfully they began to build up some confidence. They would walk in silence until someone replied to their mark or asked a question, and then eventually they'd talk about how crazy this all was as a form of small talk. They even discussed where they all came from and their first few days here. 

Elli told them about the Underground Bunkers in the north, and how the vast wastelands of radiation makes it impossible to live anywhere else. During the greatest and last war humans finally pulled the trigger and answered the biggest question, what would a nuclear war look like? The answer was simple, very one sided.

If the history articles on the net could be believed, and very often they couldn't, in the golden age of humanity a nation started to invade it's neighbours one by one, making up justification as it went on. The leader of the most powerful nation on Earth didn't stop this from happening, in fact made excuses for it, due to blackmail being held over his head. The warring nation was left unchecked, with even the Nations United were unable to make a move. 

Due to the quick expansion of the conquering country, their resources grew thin and their personnel incompetent. A weakness in their chain of command was exploited and in the dead of the night the Nations united launched a wave of warheads and drones were activated within the boarders. The order to retaliate was sent from the president and never reached the people who actually pressed the buttons. A simple assination of a middle man left them unable to react in time. 

The bombs hit and only the people in the Underground Bunkers connected by the metro were able to survive. Luckily as they expanded so did their bunker system, afraid that this day would eventually come. Millions were saved and started to grow their empire again, this time underground. 

Even in the Dome they've heard rumours about the monsters that crawl out of the wasteland, either people, animals, or a fused version of both. The underground was the only place people could survive there.

Kai and Skye were a bit more close in proximity; he came from the warlord factions of the New Desert, commonly known as the Raiders. When Skye heard those words come out of Kai's mouth he uncontrollably gulped. As a child he would hear scary stories of the Raiders feeding on the blood of children like him just to taste the water in their veins, and if he wasn't good, they'd come for him. As Skye grew up he realised that the only difference between the people of the Dome and the Raiders was the wall between them. 

They were all just trying to survive in this shitty world they inherited. 

Skye told them he was from one of the Dome cities scattered around the world, and they quickly made fun of him. To the Raiders, the people who lived in the Dome were weak without their high walls and turrets, and the Undergrounders apparently thought they were all fat and spoiled with all the room they had to expand. 

He wanted to argue back and tell them of the hardships he faced at the hands of the ruling class and the Rippers, but he decided not to and just gave his backstory. 

He did his best to explain that no Dome is the same and they're all isolated for the most part, how some could be good and ruled under the guise of democracy, but for the most part they were all the same. The rich and powerful stayed rich and powerful and the poor died sickly in the streets. He quietly mentioned the part of the Outer Rim he lived in, called the Fabric Allies, which wasn't covered by the Dome roofing. The alleys were tight and fabric sheets were used to block out the worst of the harsh sun. 

Kai was surprised to hear this, the Raiders would do the same between vehicles and tents to hide away during the high sun times, building small towns under the shade of the largest dunes.

As they talked they noticed that the tunnel started to split and curve, turning into a maze of too many choices. They tried to look for any type of carvings or signs, but the way out must have been a memorised secret held by the royal family to make sure that if anyone was giving chase, they'd surely get lost forever. 

Many times they had to turn back on themselves or retrace their last few turns. Elli was keeping a mental map but Kai and Skye didn't even try. By the third turn around they were both way out of their depth. 

On the bright side, the walls were wet in some areas, with water generously flowing from above and disappearing into small holes in the ground. They didn't know if the water could be trusted but they came up with the idea of filling up their water skins and putting them in Elli's storage for an hour or so. 

The idea was that nothing could survive in the void of her storage dimension. Living things could not enter. They weren't biologists but they assumed that bacteria would also fall into that category. And for the most part they were right. Kai drank the water first and after a while, showing no symptoms, Elli also joined in. They didn't tell Kai that he was the test subject and he didn't pick up on the fact that no one else was drinking for a while. He was just happy to finally get some water and they were happy he didn't die.

Skye was a bit more untrusting and decided to absorb the water through his roots as he did before, keeping the waterskin to his side and open while sending a handful of twisted roots into it. It may be a slow process but it was continual and safer. 

Now they just needed to find something to eat and a place to sleep. At the time they didn't think about trying to clean and eat some of the roach rodents but at this point they would have bitten into their sickly grey bodies like wild dogs.

They continued to wander and chat, Elli marking the paths with an X or an O by carving into the stone with an arrow head above a glowing patch to signify if it ends or circles back around. They had no idea how close to the exit they may be but their exhaustion caught up with them. Kai had finally gotten enough mana back to place a ring of protection down and allow everyone to take a break. 

Kai paid the price in pain, and everyone else got to reap the benefits. He mumbled to himself how it wasn't fair that everything he does costs something while they just get to do theirs for free. He was still happy that his ability wasn't worm based.

Skye's ears tingled a bit as the thought passed Kai's mind, his eyes darting around looking for whatever put him on edge. He grabbed Thorn and walked to the edge of the ring and stared into the darkness. .

"We should set up a watch or something"

He said as he turned around on his heels to face the group. Elli agree'd, she had the same thought. Kai chimed in and told them they were crazy for being so willing to waste a perfect moment for some rest with his ring in place. 

They didn't have anything to argue back to him other than it was safer. 

"Just get some sleep and if anything happens you can tell me how right you were. Or don't, I don't care. I'm going to bed, you can do whatever you idiots want. If anyone wakes me up for a turn looking into the darkness I'll pull out the whip. Not for you though worm boy, I'm afraid you may enjoy it."

His points were solid, all except the part of Skye enjoying a whipping, that has yet to be tested. They were sleepy and they were idiots to waste a moment of peace. Skye said he would lay down some roots just in case, if anything came close he'd sense the vibration. 

They both sat with their backs against the walls and his roots shot forward and started to divide, covering the ground around them. 

He closed his eyes and felt the vibrations around him.

Ping

Must be the vibration from a drop of water hitting the floor. His eyes got heavy.

Ping… Ping.

Two this time, he could feel his heartbeat start to slow down and the vibration of the world radiated through him, nothing to cause alarm about.

Ping….PING..

Two drops… one closer… Small… no worry…. Sleep now

He was already gone, the pain and exhaustion of the last three days catching up to him. He was gone to the world in seconds.

PING PING PING PING

Too gone for the light steps that were as light as dropping water to wake.