Shadow Slave

Bravig the silent darkness, they retraced their steps and arrived back to the collapsed entrance ot the" tunnel after a long and tense hour. Nothing dangerous happened on their way back, and the convoy seemed to have fared well in their absence, too.

The uneventfulness of it all was deeply disturbing.

Hiding his concern, Sunny glanced at the dark walls surrounding them. The battered vehicles stood motionlessly, their wheels resting on the cold asphalt floor. Here and there, people could be seen resting or hurrying to complete various tasks.

'...I don't like this.'

Frowning, he headed toward the hatch of the Rhino. The people he needed to hear from were already gathered there, ready to report the state of things.

As Sunny passed the sentries, one of them suddenly called out to him.

"Captain Sunless, sir..."

He slowed down and gave the soldier a dark look.

"Yes?"

The man hesitated for a few moments. His face was still, but his tired eyes were full of some unknown, intense emotion.

"Outside, l was part of the rear vehicle's crew. What you did for us back then, near the end... you really saved us. Thank you, sir."

Sunny stared at him blankly for a bit, then turned away with a scoff.

"I am in charge of this convoy. These are my vehicles, and you are my people. No one takes what's mine... especially without paying a price. Do you even know how much a vehicle like that costs?"

With that, he shook his head and walked away.

'What a weird guy...''

The Irregulars, as well as Sergeant Gere, Professor Obel, and Beth were waiting in the command suite of the Rhino. Sunny received several reports, which slightly improved his tnood.

The convoy had lost one civilian transport and one military vehicle as the result of encountering the Devouring Cloud. Luckily, it did not affect their logistics too adversely. After sacrificing the mobile infirmary to accommodate the displaced refugees, all they had really lost was a bit of firepower.

vehicles had all been

Sergeant Gere sighed.

discarded a lot of it to lighten the load on the transports before the swarm arrived. It should not become a problem in the next several days,

a

water. I have a literally endless source of

considering the options. They could either pass through the tunnel, or remain where they were and try to dig

options were less

long I want to remain in the

from underground sooner... if all went well during the drive to the opposite exit. The second option would force

'Curses...'

the end, Sunny just really disliked the idea of staying in

He sighed.

the engines.

spotlights installed on its roof cut through the darkness, forcing it to flee and cling to the walls

flowed back and devoured everything once again behind them, making it seem as though the convoy was traveling inside

and stayed there with Saint, staring into the darkness with a grim expression on his face. He was still blind to everything that was happening outside the small bubble of

is the source of all this darkness? When will it

during the scouting mission,

disappeared under the wheels of the Rhino, and the stone

time to time, side passages opened up to either left or right of the convoy, making Sunny especially nervous. All these

in those passages. We just need to reach the

another, and another. The tunnel continued to stretch forward,

left the roof of the Rhino anti dove

Walking up to Luster, be

Stop the

him questioningly, then

followed suit, and soon,

left the Rhino and stood still for a few moments, staring at the weathered asphalt. Sergeant: Gere. and the members of his cohort soon approached from the direction of other vehicles, while Luster, Professor Obel, and Beth exited the Rhino through the hatch. Saint walked over to the edge of the roof, looking at them

people had grave expressions

Luster blinked a couple of times, then

we

looked at him