> "Yeah I'm ready."
> Look at Dayna.
> "You wanna join us? We could probably use some help for this."
>Dayna nods curtly while McHarl leads the two of you away to the...motor pool? Garage? Whatever. You crowd into the back of some military jeep, along with four other men, while McHarl takes the wheel.
>You...actually recognize one of them. Private...private something or other, from that day. He gives you a smile. "Thanks for the save, then." You nod back, not knowing how to respond.
>McHarl gestures to his squad. "Pass Mac the equipment HQ set out for him. The lady here...don't think she needs anything?"
>One of the soldiers nods and passes you a wonderful looking knife...and a pistol?
>The Captain shrugs. "Technically illegal, but we're not really by the book anyway."
>Okay...deciding to just go along with it, you slide the weapons into the provided holsters and pocket the magazines someone passes you.
>"Here's the plan. Denburg on point, Smarts on mark. Mac and Dayna here are in the middle. Keep them alive, they're our best bet. Mac here can stop time, amongst other things, and Dayna is as dangerous as anything we've fought so far, if not more so."
>"With all do respect sir, seems like they'd be the one protecting us."
>"Hoo-rah," two men chorus back.
>"Haha, very funny. HQ's gonna have a fit if we somehow let a minor die on this mission. So sit tight ladies, and enjoy the ride. We're going in deep, we're going in hard, and we're getting our men out. No matter what."
>"Yessir!"
>Dayna looks at you with a confused look on your face. "...ladies?"
>...the joke must have been lost on her. And...wow, that's...
>You must have all realized the humor in that simultaneously, because not a second later everyone in the truck bursts into laughter. Save poor, oblivious Dayna.
>...
>The truck screeches to a halt.
>Everyone rushes out of the vehicle with alarming speed, you and Dayna lagging slightly behind. After throwing a camo'd tarp on to the jeep, McHarl gestures to the dark entrance of the cave not three meters away. "Let's roll gentlemen."
>It's cold. Dank. Humid and musty. The walls are plastered with some strange, dark gunk that absorbs the light, making even McHarl's industrial strength flashlight more or less useless. All you can do is move forward.
>Drip. Drip. Drip. Some unseen puddle is disturbed over and over, filling the caverns with that infernal
dripping.
>..."Dayna."
>She nods at you. Something...something's here. Something's watching, something powerful and deadly, evil...but unseen. Nothing you can do, but...tch, what a pain.
>"Sir, be on your guard...be
very careful."
>McHarl nods and draws his men closer.
>...nothing happens. Minutes? Hours? Nothing happens. It's...eerie. Too quiet. Too...strange. Why hasn't anything happened yet?
>"Sir, any clue how much longer-"
>It begins. Something encroaches upon you, evil and oppressing. A presence that is felt more than seen, distorting and blurring the edges of your vision.
>"Dayna..."
>She nods, sensing it as well.
>"Sir, be on you guard..."
>Immense pressure, like being thrust into the bottom of the sea...it's clawing at your senses, an evil presence that threatens to drive you mad. You feel it...it's...it's here!"
>"DAYNA!" you scream on instinct as time
stops.
>The attack comes from both sides of the cavern. Hands attached to thin tentacles, tipped with wicked claws that are already reaching for you and your companions. You can't push them out of the way fast enough. Your gun can't shoot fast enough to intercept them, and when it's empty and useless you can't slash fast enough to weave a defense to protect them.
>Ten. Twenty. Thirty. Sixty. Hundreds. So many attacks from so many angles...it's...no. It's not impossible. Not yet.
>You can only hope Dayna reacts in time, but even then you do not stop when time resumes.
>Gore splatters everywhere. Chunks fall to the ground and dissolve into more goop. Nothing is spared. You're too focused to really notice...protect, kill, slash, move
live.>You notice that Dayna's own tendrils have burst out of her arms to meet the attack. You notice a cacophony of gunfire as the soldiers lay down a curtain of steel. And you most certainly notice them screaming out.
>"Damn, what the fuck?!"
>"Keep up the fire!"
>"Reload!"
>"Captain, orders?!"
>"Keep! Him! Alive!"
>It ends. Eventually. You don't know how long. Your arms fall limp to your sides. Breath...breath deeply. Loudly. Three wounds in total...right flank, left calve, right shoulder. Fairly minor, but painful.
>Sudden exhaustion strikes you...you didn't even realize you fell until Dayna rushed to your side to support you. As the squad medic scrambles to sterilize and wrap your wounds, McHarl clasps a hand to your shoulder.
>"I owe you again, kid. That...that was something else."
>The attack? Or you? Both were...strange. It was indiscriminate and wild, unfocused, merely meant to cause as much chaos as possible and not actually kill anyone, as far as you could tell. If they went specifically for you, or Dayna, or anyone...doubtless they would've perished. But it wasn't...and that's worrying.
>You're being played with.
>McHarl grimaces. "Should we keep going?" he wonders to himself, not really a question to you. But you answer anyway.
>"Yes. We have to save them."
>The men turn to you and stare. In awe or fear, you don't really know. But Dayna gives you a reassuring squeeze, and then it doesn't matter.
>The Captain studies your expression for a long moment...then nods. "Right then. Same formation boys."
>The trek continues. Your wounds are...background noise. It's that strange focus again...that desire. You can't place it, but you're thankful for its presence. You're not backing down this time. Not now. Not ever.
>The path forks. One cavern leads to what sounds like water, while another stretches into an ominous pale glow. Dayna shakes her head when you look at her...there's nothing she can feel.
