by Shawn Davis
Joe and Lisa took the lead, Peter the middle, Dave and Jessica the rear. The bridge creaked and groaned as they stepped across the rickety boards. Peter peered over the side and saw the chasm disappearing into darkness, apparently bottomless. After trudging forward fifty feet, they spotted the end of the bridge on the far side of the hundred-foot-wide abyss. Joe quickened his pace and the others followed.
“Hold up!” he shouted, motioning for the group to halt. “There’s something up ahead.”
Rayne strained his eyes in the darkness, trying to see past the heads of the people in front of him. What he saw chilled him to the bone. A group of dark, hunched humanoid shapes were gathering on the far edge of the chasm. Their eyes glowed like red coals and they appeared to be armed with clubs.
One of the shapes shambled onto the bridge with the gait of an ape and the others followed. Looking over his shoulder, he saw more hunched forms coming from the opposite direction behind Dave and Jessica. The creatures’ red eyes glowed like jewels in the darkness.
“They’re coming at us from both sides!” Rayne informed the group.
“What the hell are they?” Jessica asked from the back of the line as the hunched creatures shambled closer.
“Cave trolls!” Joe exclaimed from the front of the line. “Get ready!”
“We need to put some distance between ourselves so we can maneuver,” Peter warned as the group bunched up in the center of the bridge.
Rayne’s eyes widened as he watched a hunched, apish figure with gleaming white fangs at the vanguard of the attackers swing a club at Joe. He saw Joe parry the blow with his axe and kick the brute over the precipice. The creature let out an inhuman scream as it fell into darkness.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw another robot troll attacking Jessica. She screamed as she parried a club blow with the shaft of her crossbow. The dark figure with glowing red eyes pressed its attack and she screamed again as she was shoved off the bridge into the abyss. Peter was shocked as he watched her writhing body disappear into the blackness.
This is some serious shit. These robots aren’t fucking around.
Rayne readied his sword in front of him as he watched Dave raise his crossbow and fire at the monster that had just taken out his wife. A bright electrical surge erupted from the creature’s hairy chest as it was struck with a crossbow bolt. It roared like a wounded beast as it tumbled over the side and disappeared. Dave continued to unleash a flurry of bolts at the advancing attackers. One by one they fell, roaring, into the abyss.
Rayne seized the opportunity to turn around and felt a surge of hope as he watched Joe and Lisa fighting their way through the hairy attackers. Without glancing back, he followed them across the bridge, leaving Dave to deal with the monsters at the rear.
Suddenly, he heard a shout behind him and turned to see Dave attacked simultaneously by two of the robotic beasts. Dave dropped his crossbow into the pit below as he fumbled to pull his sword from its sheath. It was halfway out when he was pushed over the edge into the darkness. He disappeared from sight, screaming. His screaming ended abruptly a short distance below.
This isn’t good.
Rayne clenched his broadsword tightly in a two-handed grip as the monsters advanced towards him. As the creatures moved closer, more details of their savage forms became evident. They were half-man, half-ape creatures with hairy faces, flaring nostrils, gleaming fangs, and sharp claws.
Peter swung his broadsword at the foremost attacker, striking off its hairy head. Realistic-looking blood spurted from the stump of its neck as body and head tumbled separately into the blackness.
Rayne barely avoided a blow from the next creature as its club smashed into his left shoulder plate, knocking it into the blackness below. He parried another blow and swung downward to slice off the monster’s right leg at the joint. Blood spurted from the stump of its knee as it fell onto the bridge, blocking the progress of the others behind it. Peter used the opportunity to glance over his shoulder again. Joe and Lisa had made it across the bridge and were busily fending off attackers on the other side.
Peter didn’t have time to observe their handiwork as he heard a loud grunt emanate from behind him. He turned to see a cave troll leaping over the mutilated body of its fallen comrade. Rayne raised his sword and parried a downward blow from its club, but lost his footing on the narrow bridge. His sword flew from his hand as his arms waved wildly in the air. He tumbled over the side of the bridge and fell into the darkness.
Rayne only fell a short distance before he struck something soft that felt like a large net spread across the base of the chasm. The straps on his chest plate snapped and he lost half his armor in the darkness. He tumbled down the sloping net and fell onto a slippery metal slide that shot him down into unknown depths. His body careened down the slide for a seemingly interminable amount of time before he struck a hard level surface. His leg plates were knocked off as his knees struck the ground.
Peter lay on his back for a moment, trying to regain his equilibrium. As he attempted to get his bearings, he pulled off the remaining armor plates from his forearms and tossed them aside. Shaking, he stood in complete darkness. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed his lighter, fumbling with the mechanism as he stepped forward.
Where am I?
Rayne’s first step landed him on solid ground, but his second step encountered only empty air. Losing his balance, he fell forward into the darkness. His lighter flew from his hand as he struck the floor. The fall knocked the wind out of him, bruising his chest and hands.
He swore when he realized he had lost his lighter and was now lying on a cold floor in complete darkness. Reaching out his hands, he felt an uneven stone surface like the floor of a cave.
Reaching further out, Rayne felt his hand touch something wet and sticky. It felt like a small puddle of slimy water. He crawled forward several more feet, finding himself thoroughly soaked in the cold puddle.
This just keeps getting better.
The chamber was cold. Rayne couldn’t comprehend why the temperature had dropped so dramatically from a comfortable level in the cavern above to a bone-chilling icebox here. The pitch-black chamber was eerily silent, broken only by an occasional liquid dripping. In the darkness, he couldn’t figure out where the dripping sound came from. His hands slid on the slick, slimy surface, causing a sudden flashback to the abhorrent sewers on the mainland several weeks before.
Am I lost? Did I somehow end up in the basement of the Powerdrome itself?
Rayne crawled onward in the darkness. Reaching out his hand, he felt contact with a hard, tangible object.
All right. This must be a wall.
Rayne stood cautiously in the slime puddle. The surrounding wall had an uneven, ridged texture to it, as if the room had been carved out of rock with a hammer and chisel. He moved steadily along the uneven wall until he reached a flat wooden section that felt like a door.
Peter’s foot collided with a small metal object as he felt along the wooden surface. Reaching down, he picked up his lost laser lighter.
What a lucky break.
Peter pressed the lighter’s side button and a bright white beam illuminated a small section of the chamber. He was in a circular cave that appeared to be made of solid rock. A solid wooden door stood before him. The door had a black metal handle shaped like a tiny curved skeleton.
Maybe I should explore the cave before I open the door.
Rayne made his way back to the place where he fell and shined his light on the puddle he crawled through. The bright laser gleamed on water that had a thick, sticky red substance floating on its surface. He touched the floating red substance and recoiled with shock. He pulled his hand away as if he had just burned his palm on a hot stove. His hand turned completely numb while a slow, creeping numbness extended up his arm. In seconds, his arm wouldn’t move. When the numbness reached his left shoulder, it stopped spreading.
That stuff must be the nerve gel Joe described. I was lucky I only got a sm
all drop of it on me.
A drop of water struck the top of Rayne’s head. He lifted his lighter to see where it was coming from. It was dripping from a small crack in the cave ceiling. The water had mixed with a smaller puddle of nerve gel on the floor, diluting it.
But where did the nerve gel come from?
Circling around the puddle, he continued his exploration of the cave. A strange, shadowy object in the far corner caught his eye. Stepping cautiously forward, he held his lighter in front of him like an explorer.
Peter was startled when his faint light revealed a human skeleton. The skeleton’s wrists hung from a pair of rusty iron chains imbedded in the rock wall. Moving closer to it, he shuddered at the sight of moldy shreds of dried skin hanging from its bones. Moving along the wall, he was startled again when he found a second skeleton hanging in chains. This particular one appeared to be wearing the remnants of rusty metal armor.
This just keeps getting better.
Passing by the second skeleton, he found the rectangular opening he had originally entered through. He felt a mild air current rushing against his body.
Okay, I came in from that chute. But into where? Where am I? What happened to the rest of my group?
Circling the chamber, he found more skeletons chained to the walls, some wore rusted armor like their predecessor. A faint light gleamed on the floor next to one of them. Moving closer to it, Peter’s eyes widened as his lighter revealed a gleaming silver metal broadsword lying on the cold stone floor. Reaching down for it, he seized the hilt of the weapon and lifted it up. Examining the fine craftsmanship of the sharp blade, he was again impressed by the amazing detail of the Dark World props.
Rayne heard the wooden door creak. Moving toward it, he watched it swing open as if pushed by an unseen force. Bright light flooded the chamber; a dark, human-shaped silhouette stood framed against the light. Two small glowing red dots hovered where a person’s eyes would have been. The silhouette stepped through the lighted doorway and the door swung shut behind it, returning the chamber to darkness. Moving toward the shadowy figure, Peter held his lighter in front of him while he lifted the sword over his shoulder.
Peter stood frozen in mute terror as his lighter revealed a ghastly countenance. He was standing face-to-face with a grinning skull. He watched the skull’s jaw open and close, open and close. He felt like he had been paralyzed with a dose of nerve gel. The thing standing in the doorway was a human skeleton dressed in black chain-mail armor. It was carrying a sharp-looking battle-axe. A pulsing red glow emanated from its sunken sockets.
My God. It’s a complete skeleton and not just a man wearing a skull facemask. I can see the thing’s bony wrists and hands protruding from the armor plates covering its forearms. I can also see the thing’s knee bones and shinbones between the plating. What the hell is it?
Rayne’s terror prevented him from engaging in analytical thought. Instinctively, he knew he either had to run or prepare himself for an attack. Unfortunately, his legs were frozen, unable to obey his commands. Rayne was jolted out of his stasis as the armored skeleton took a clattering step forward and lifted its gleaming battle-axe high into the air.
Rayne’s instincts took over. He swung his broadsword to meet the creature’s descending battle-axe. Sparks flew as the steel weapons clashed. The thing appeared thrown-off by his sudden defensive move. The undead warrior lowered its weapon, opening and closing its jaw with apparent frustration.
Taking another step forward, it swung its battle-axe in a sidearm motion, racing the blade in a glittering arc toward Peter’s exposed mid-section. Peter parried the blow with his heavy broadsword and saw sparks shoot out as the weapons clashed.
His lighter suddenly went out. During the combat, he had taken his finger off the power button. He heard the metallic clinking sound of the thing moving toward him. Flicking on his lighter, Peter saw the axe swinging toward his face. He narrowly blocked it with his sword.
It’s forcing me back.
Rayne retreated as the creature moved toward him. In the dim light, he couldn’t tell if the skeleton’s axe had a blunt or sharp edge to it. The axe was dripping a sticky red substance that resembled blood.
It must be nerve gel.
Slowly, he backed away from the advancing creature.
There must be a way to defeat this robot. Its armor looks impervious to my sword, but its brittle-looking bones look vulnerable.
Rayne drew his sword back and swung at the creature’s left side. The creature parried the sword with its axe a split second before it could strike its bony waist. Peter didn’t let the sudden parry slow him down. Pulling back, he lunged at the robot warrior and struck the center of its armored chest. The blow knocked it backwards. Peter lifted his sword over his shoulder and swung it down in a glittering arc toward the creature’s exposed wrist bone. The sharp blade sliced cleanly through the wrist and the bony axe-hand dropped to the floor.
Peter dodged backwards as the animated skeleton reached out with its remaining hand, trying to claw his face.
It doesn’t give up easily.
Rayne kicked it in the chest and it fell back hard, clattering onto the cave floor. He lifted his sword above his head to end the creature’s misery, but stopped in mid-swing. A sharp pain shot through his ankle as if half-a-dozen tiny knives were plunging into his skin. Looking down with horror, he saw the creature’s severed hand grabbing his ankle in its claw-like grip.
It actually crawled across the floor to reach me.
Peter gasped with pain as the animated hand’s claws sank deeper into his skin. Meanwhile, the rest of the robot was back on its feet and coming after him again. Hobbling back a few steps, he felt searing pain shooting through his ankle as the claws dug deeper into his flesh.
The ankle wound is painful, but it’s not the most immediate threat.
As the lumbering monstrosity closed in on him, he swung his sword in a vicious arc, striking its exposed neck bone. The helmeted skull flew from its shoulders and struck the floor. The sudden loss of its head did not stop the skeleton from using its remaining claw to swipe at his face.
Parrying the swipe with his forearm, Peter swung his sword toward the creature’s torso. The broadsword sliced through the monster’s spine, severing its body in half. The upper and lower half tumbled to the floor in opposite directions. The skeleton’s legs continued to move, spinning the entire lower section around the floor like a demented top.
With the main section of the body out of commission, Rayne was free to turn his attention to the severed hand digging its bony fingers into his ankle. Dropping his sword to the floor, he reached down and seized his bony assailant in a tight grip. He used all his remaining strength to pry the fleshless fingers apart from its vice-like hold on his ankle. Gasping with pain, he tore the severed hand away and threw it across the stone floor.
Peter picked up his fallen broadsword and swung it down hard on the wriggling, spider-like menace. White sparks flew from the wreckage of the skeleton hand as it shattered into smoking bone fragments.
Rayne stepped away from the robot debris and lowered his sword. A sharp, biting pain shot through his ankle. He placed his sword on the cave floor next to the robot’s fallen axe. Bending over, he checked his ankle wound. There were five small puncture wounds corresponding with the animated hand’s bony digits.
Sometime during the battle, his dress shirt had been ripped at the shoulder. Peter completed the job by ripping off the shirt’s right sleeve. Using the tattered remains as a makeshift bandage, he wrapped it several times around the puncture wounds and tied it off.
Peter glanced down at the robot’s fallen axe. Reaching down, he ran a finger lightly along its edge. Like the other weapons he had encountered so far, the axe was designed to look like it had a sharp edge, but was actually blunt. The only harm it could cause was from the slimy red nerve gel oozing from tiny holes in the surface. He regretted touching it as his hand went numb.
Rayne tossed the axe on the floor
and it hit with a dull thud rather than the expected metallic clang. Picking up his sword, he tried not to put weight on his injured ankle. Taking a few tentative steps forward, he found the pain wasn’t bad if he put most of his weight on the other foot.
Continuing forward, Rayne reached the thick wooden door with the creepy skeleton handle. Placing his ear against the door, he heard the faint clanging of steel and muffled shouting.
Rayne reached down for the bony skeleton handle and pulled it open. The sounds of clanging and shouting became louder. Peering through the doorway, he saw a spacious torch-lit chamber. Twin rows of stone columns lined the borders of a walkway leading to the far side. Peter’s eyes widened as he looked in the direction of the sounds.
Tightening his grip his broadsword, Rayne watched a group of what appeared to be ordinary people engaged in sword fights with a larger group of heavily armored knights. Four patrons were doing battle with twice that number of knights.
They’ll get slaughtered!
Peter gripped his sword like a cane and hobbled down the walkway toward the battling group. Looking ahead, he noticed a raised platform where a shadowy figure sat on a gleaming silver throne.
A knight struck a patron in the head with a heavy mace. The man collapsed from his exposure to the mace’s nerve gel. That left three people standing against ten armored knights closing on them from both sides. The floor was littered with the bodies of more people exposed to the paralysis gel. Rayne quickened his pace toward the combatants.
Rayne felt like he was moving in slow motion. Concentrating on the nearest knight, he lifted his sword into position. When he was finally in range, Rayne swung his broadsword in a glittering arc that decapitated the armored robot in a single sweep. White sparks shot from the robot’s severed neck as the helmeted head flew through the air and dropped heavily to the floor – shooting out more sparks. The armored body took a few wavering steps before collapsing next to its head.
Rayne didn’t waste time contemplating the result of his savage strike. The robot knights were still closing in on the desperate tourists. He lifted his sword high over his head and brought it down hard onto another helmeted skull. The heavy sword pierced the helmet, cleaving halfway through the knight’s head. A slight jolt of electricity surged up his arm as he watched more white sparks shoot out from the gash in the helmet.