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.

had all been

Sergeant Gere sighed.

We discarded a lot of it to lighten the load on the transports before the swarm arrived. It should not

a hand

about water. I have a literally endless

the tunnel, or remain where they were and try to dig their

options were less than

long I want to remain in the tunnel,

second option would force them to stay inside for much longer, but did not demand diving deeper into the

'Curses...'

really disliked the idea of staying in the eerie tunnel even a minute longer than

He sighed.

the engines.

minutes later, the Rhino came to life and rolled forward. slowly gaining speed. The beams of powerful spotlights installed on its roof cut through the darkness, forcing it to flee and cling to the walls of the tunnel. The civilian transports and the military vehicles followed, staying

once again behind them, making it seem as though the

into the darkness with a grim expression on his face. He was still blind to everything that was happening outside the small bubble of light, which made him

where is the source of all this darkness? When

passed, but just like during the

the stone walls seemed to move past them, vanishing into

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

to set: foot in those passages. We just need to reach the exit and escape this dreadful

like that, an hour passed, and then another, and another. The tunnel continued to stretch forward, seemingly endless. The

roof of the Rhino anti

Luster, be ground

enough. Stop

glanced at him questioningly, then

down, and then stopped. The other vehicles followed suit, and soon, the whole

Gere. and the members of his cohort soon approached from the direction of other vehicles, while Luster, Professor Obel, and Beth

gathered people had grave

mood, Luster blinked a

we stop?

at him