Ravage

The tunnels were dark and constricting. The woman and her companions made their way cautiously, slowly. They carried their supplies in slings upon their backs. They were meticulous in how they were rationed. They had no idea how deeply they must go.

The tube remained to their left as they traveled. The walls and floor were gray stone, coarse and worn down by trickling droplets of moisture which seeped and flowed and gradually abraded the surface over many long years. Sometimes small creatures could be seen, eight-legged and pale things which cast out gossamer strands to snare other, yet smaller creatures. They were too small to make a good meal for the woman and her companions, but they supplemented the dried flesh and greenery nicely.

They journeyed for some time, guided by the wavering light cast by their fat-burning lantern, until they arrived at a collapsed stretch of tunnel. The floor had given way and the chunks of rock formed a rough chute which led to whatever depths lay below. The gap was too large to leap and its opposite side was out of view, shrouded by shadows too distant to be banished by the lantern's light. One of the woman's companions tried throwing a rope across the chasm in the hopes of snagging it on something beyond, but these attempts accomplished nothing.

They tied their lantern to the end of the rope and lowered it carefully into the hole to see how deep it went. Some distance, but not insurmountably so. They discussed their options. The woman decided that they would descend and find a way to climb back up after.

He preceded them in their descent. The bottom was jagged and uneven. He was unsure what the slabs and shards of stone fallen from above rested upon. Their footing was uneven and shifted with the slightest motion. Smaller stones were dislodged to roll and clatter away in minor avalanches. The sound echoes loudly.

The woman retrieved the lantern and held it aloft. She and her companions held their sharpened metal poles at the ready. They were wary.

Their wariness was rewarded. There was something else which lived in this place, down below, amidst the rubble in an alcove formed by the crumbled stone. He saw it before they did. They were not taken by surprise. It was pale, bloated. It did not scurry or leap upon its many legs so long as heave its bulk at them. Its mandibles were large. Its eyes were pale. Its carapace rasped across the stones with a deathly, rattling scrape that reverberated hollowly.

One of the woman's companions fell. Blood spurted from a leg wound. The woman screamed and thrust her pole. It pierced the thing's hide. Milky fluid oozed from the puncture. The bloated thing chittered and tried to turn upon the woman. Its girth was not suited to such a maneuver. It sidled awkwardly instead. She stabbed again. This took it in the thing's head. It screeched and heaved. Its rear parts thrashed. Its legs scrabbled. It stopped moving.

The woman's companion was dying. The wound leaked blood and pus. It grew discolored. The creature was venomous.

The woman said some words to her dying companion. Then she thrust her implement through her companion's heart.

They were now three. He was with them, as well.