Chapter 8: Defiance in the Depths
The suffocating heat and the relentless droning of the zombie horde below made the darkness of the Hive even more daunting. The group had managed to ascend onto the pipes that crisscrossed the vast underground ceiling. Rain's hand was extended over the mob below, letting the dark blood from her wounds trickle down tantalizingly over the outstretched arms and gaping mouths of the undead. Each droplet met with a frenzy of frustrated growls.
"Rain!" Alice's voice broke through the haze of shock that seemed to have consumed the injured woman. "We need to address those wounds."
Rain's dazed eyes shifted towards Alice, and with a whisper of a voice, she murmured, "I'm fine." It was clear that she wasn't. The crimson streaks on her pale arms told another story.
Alice took a step closer, reaching out to touch Rain's shoulder gently, trying to ground her back to the present. The touch was met with unexpected force as Rain jerked away, snapping, "I said I'm fine!"
It was a twisted mockery of their situation—Rain taunting the zombies by dripping her blood onto them. The scent of fresh blood was irresistible to the zombies below, making them even more frenzied in their desperation. It seemed this small act was Rain's form of defiance, her way of reclaiming some semblance of power in a world that had gone mad.
Spence, meanwhile, stared at the horde beneath with fear evident in his eyes, the weight of their situation threatening to crush him. Kaplan, looking down with a distant gaze, muttered, "She was right... We're all going to die down here."
Jameson, ever the optimist, immediately countered, "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that as long as you're breathing, there's hope."
Alice nodded, seconding Jameson's sentiment. "We're all going to make it out of here," she declared with determination.
In a single-file line, they began their painstaking crawl along the pipes: Matt leading the pack, followed closely by Spence, Rain, Alice, Kaplan, with Jameson at the rear. The metal was cold, a stark contrast to the heat below, and its gritty texture offered some grip for their trembling hands.
Soon they reached an area where the pipes were suspended from the ceiling with a maze of wires. The space between them widened, and there was enough room for the group to stand. Matt was the first to make it across, kicking down a grate on the other side to grant them an exit. Spence and Rain followed suit, their combined weight shifting the pipes ever so slightly.
The subsequent weight of Alice and Kaplan proved too much. One of the wire anchors gave way with a metallic scream, causing the pipe to sag ominously. Kaplan lost his footing, teetering at the edge where the undead clamored to get a piece of him.
"No!" Alice screamed, lunging to grab Kaplan. But her movement coupled with Kaplan's frantic flailing was too much. Another anchor snapped.
The pipe's sudden lurch threw Alice towards Matt, Spence, and Rain. As she flailed in mid-air, Matt's hand shot out, grabbing her by the arm. With Spence's help, they managed to pull her to safety. But Kaplan was sent sprawling to the floor, the shadows of zombies immediately converging on him.
Amidst the groans and gnashing teeth, Kaplan's fighting spirit was clear. He lashed out, his frantic flailing keeping the zombies momentarily at bay. With a powerful kick, he knocked one away, creating a brief opening that allowed him to scramble to his feet.
From her precarious position on the pipe, Alice shouted at Rain, who was hesitating with her gun aimed at the horde. "Rain! Help him!"
Rain's face was twisted in panic, her gun aimed but her finger frozen on the trigger. "I... I can't..." she stammered.
"What are you waiting for?!" Alice's voice was frantic.
"I can't focus! I can't see!" Rain's voice was desperate.
As they argued, a particularly gruesome zombie tackled Kaplan, sending both of them crashing onto the inclined pipe. Kaplan struggled, holding the creature's snapping jaws inches from his face.
Without a second thought, Alice snatched the gun from Rain's trembling hand and fired. The zombie's head snapped back, and it went limp on top of Kaplan.
"Climb, Kaplan! CLIMB!" Spence's voice cut through the chaos. Along with shouts from Matt and Alice, their encouragement became Kaplan's lifeline as he began the grueling crawl up the steep incline of the pipe.
"We're getting him out!" Alice shouted, her voice filled with hope and determination.
But Kaplan, checking his gun and finding just one bullet left, laughed dryly, "Well, that's lucky." He interrupted the group's flurry of planning, "Just go! I won't make it!"
Alice was adamant, "We are not leaving without you!"
Matt and Spence, seeing the truth in Kaplan's words, moved forward, Rain in tow. But Alice wasn't ready to abandon hope. Kaplan's voice grew more desperate. "Go, Alice! Go!"
It was Jameson, still on the other side, who broke the deadlock. "I'll go with him!" he declared, using one of the hanging wires to swing over to Kaplan.
Kaplan, exasperated, asked, "You planning on dying here with me?"
Jameson grinned, pointing behind Kaplan to a narrow crawl space, "Or we could try that way."
Their eyes locked in understanding. Jameson turned back to Alice, his tone firm, "We'll catch up. Now go."
The narrow crawlspace made movement arduous for Kaplan and Jameson. With each shuffle, they could hear the distant groans of the undead. The faint luminescence from Jameson's wristwatch illuminated a junction ahead; one path hinted at the muffled echoes of familiar voices, while the other was silent.
Kaplan's ear picked up the strains of a tense conversation. "There's a cure!" It was Alice's voice, filled with a mix of hope and desperation.
"A cure?" Jameson whispered, eyes wide. Kaplan merely nodded, the implications of the revelation heavy in the tight space.
As they moved closer, the crawlspace expanded into a wider chamber, permitting them to kneel. The voices became more distinct, but they seemed to be coming from beyond a reinforced door.
"We have to get in there," Kaplan murmured, noticing a control panel on the side. Its circuits and wires looked like something he could manipulate. "Keep an ear out."
Jameson nodded, focusing on the muffled voices. Suddenly, the raw emotion in Rain's voice became clear as she urged Alice to finish it. From amidst their harrowing exchange, the Red Queen's unyielding voice pierced through, "Do it, Alice. It's the only option. Eliminate the threat. NOW!"
As Kaplan worked on the circuitry, the sound of Rain's desperate pleas continued. The atmosphere grew palpably tense. Suddenly, there was a charged silence, followed by the unmistakable sound of an axe being lifted. Jameson's heart raced. "Kaplan, NOW!"
Just as Alice's arm was mid-swing, the door clicked open. The sight that greeted Jameson and Kaplan was one of raw emotion: Alice, axe in hand, looking torn between desperation and determination, Rain, eyes filled with a mix of resignation and hope, and Matt, trying to provide some semblance of support.
Alice's swing, instead of meeting the kneeling target, ended up smashing a speaker, silencing the Red Queen's insistent voice. The room was filled with the remnants of the tense standoff.
The Red Queen's voice, now emanating from a different speaker, addressed Jameson, "You're deviating from our objective, Jameson."
Jameson, undeterred, shot back, "You're acting like I haven't handled dozens of infected since this whole mess began. What's one more if the cure fails?"
Kaplan, sensing the tension, interjected, "Let's not waste any more time. We need to get to that train platform."
Alice, her gaze still locked on the destroyed speaker, nodded. "Yes, let's get that cure."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone