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.

been patched up and ready to

Sergeant Gere sighed.

of drinking water are also severely reduced. We discarded a lot of it to lighten the load on the transports before the swarm arrived. It should not become a

waved a

about water. I have

could either pass through the tunnel, or remain where they

were

how long I want to remain in the

escape from underground sooner... if all went well during the drive to the opposite exit. The second option would force them to stay inside for much longer, but did not demand diving deeper into the chilling darkness.

'Curses...'

in the eerie tunnel even a minute longer

He sighed.

engines. We're

few 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

them, making it seem as though the convoy was traveling

the darkness with a grim expression on

it... where is the source of all this darkness? When will

just like during the scouting mission, nothing

rolled forward with modest, but constant speed. Meter after meter of old asphalt disappeared under the wheels of the Rhino, and the stone walls seemed to move past them, vanishing into

All these paths sloped down, leading deeper

We just need to reach the exit and escape

that, an hour passed, and then another, and another. The tunnel continued to stretch forward, seemingly endless. The more time passed, the deeper Sunny's scowi

a while, he finally left the roof of the

be ground

enough. Stop

at him

other vehicles followed suit, and soon, the whole convoy came to a

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

of the gathered people had grave expressions on their

the grim mood, Luster blinked a couple of

we stop? is there a

looked at