Humbaba

The sound of the magnum shot was still echoing in Sasha's ears as she turned a corner and slumped down against the wall of the sewer system, ripping a clean part of her shirt off and holding it carefully against her cheek, dabbing the blood off. She let her eyes close, mangled cybernetic left arm dangling beside her. When she opened them back up again, she was no longer in the sewer system, the chips of concrete in her cheek not from the near miss of a magnum shot slamming into concrete, but from plasma slamming into the wall behind her, spraying superheated chips of material against her face and armor. Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, she cursed and crouched down to run along the low wall, making it a few steps, before slipping on something wet below her foot. Slamming into the ground, her left arm was useless once more, and, rolling onto her back, she found herself staring back up at the ceiling of the sewer system, wearing not armor but a tattered set of civilian clothing. Standing up, she tore off her left sleeve with a shaky hand, using it to make a sling for her broken cybernetic, and continued into the empty darkness stretching before her.
As she continued along her way, heart slowing from the incessant pounding it had started in her chest as she fell back into one of her past battles, Sasha came along a grate, carefully peering out into the streets of the city above, looking for anything that looked like a hangar. Sighing as she saw nothing of the sort, she stepped back down into the main tunnel, and continued on her way, following the slight flow of the sewage to her left, hoping it would lead her to an exit. As she walked, time seemed to blend together, a blur of darkness next to the flowing water and bright light streaming in through grates, each one leading to as much disappointment as the last.
She couldn't tell how long it had been when she walked past one more grate and suddenly heard footsteps behind her, followed by a voice shouting down into the sewers. Turning, Sasha ran and, as she did, found her magnum in her hand, still smoking as the passage in front of her morphed from a sewer into a combat bunker, the grates looking more and more like sniper holes. Feeling the weight of armor on her body once more, and a gas mask pressed against her face, Sasha felt her heart pounding in her chest, and her breath grew heavy. Sprinting the last few meters down the hall, she reached the point where she just had to stop and slammed her back against the wall, eyes closing as she caught her breath, just listening for anyone behind her.
Slowly opening her eyes, Sasha found herself back in the dark of the sewer once more, pounding heart and heavy breaths returning to normal. Minutes passed as she readjusted to the facts of the situation, forcing herself to think of the here and now over the memories flooding back into her mind in the silent darkness. Feeling herself calm down, Sasha slowly pushed off the wall behind her and continued walking. Even with the flashback behind her, the grip of her pistol remained in her hand as she carried on, avoiding even so much as taking a peek out of the sewer grates anymore, just pushing along, the flowing water beside her.
Rounding one last corner, she saw light filtering in through a grate leading outside the city in front of her. Taking a deep breath, Sasha raised her magnum and slid along the few shadows that remained for the last few meters of her trip through the sewers. Reaching the grate, she looked out on the fields below, and as her sight adjusted back from the darkness behind her, they seemed to flash to the burning forests of Sirona for just a second, before fading back into the empty grasslands of Gilgamesh. Sliding her pistol back into her waistband, Sasha cleared her head with a small shake, before removing the grate in front of her. With one last look over her shoulder into the darkness, Sasha lowered herself down onto ground below, slinking away from the sewers. As the sounds of nature filled her ears once more, she felt her mind clear for the first time since she had first slipped away into that silent darkness.
Category:The Weekly
Category:The Weekly Winners