The subterranean wastes lay still, laden with overgrown ruins and signs of a civilization that had once been, illuminated via various species of bioluminescent fauna. Mossy lakes could be seen scattered everywhere, and only the dripping of water from the jagged stalactites that riddled the ceiling could be heard, echoing throughout the vastness of the subterranean wastes.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by heavy, echoing footsteps in the distance. Labored breathing escaped the man's faceplate as it filtered fresh air into his system. His four-legged canine companion trotted by his side, staring at the gash on the leg; streaks of crimson oozed through the man's padded trousers. A severe wound had been inflicted on his right leg, deep enough to cause the man to sprint with a slight limp. Echoing, animalistic cackles could be heard in the direction from which the two companions had emerged from; this sent a chill down the man's spine.
Gasping for air, the man darted behind a large boulder. "C'mere girl!" he bellowed to his dog; she obeyed the command, and they lay low behind the cover of the boulder. The man was visibly struggling to breathe. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a circular object and removed a similar-looking one from his faceplate. He then screwed the object on, and his breathing eased again. "Curses! I'm down to my last filter; we must make it back to Site Delta before the sun roots go out for the night," he murmured to himself as he glanced up at the bright, luminescent bulbs that emulated a bright light similar to the sun.
The man groaned as he glanced at his bleeding leg. "Fuck! Those damned scraggs got me good, there were way too many to handle." Visibly frustrated, he glanced at his dog, his expression softening as she whimpered, "Easy girl, it's alright, we'll make it back home." The man reached into his bag and pulled out an ointment, which he proceeded to rub on his wound. He groaned in pain, but he'd been through worse. He then wrapped his leg with surgical tape. "Heh, good as new," he muttered to himself. Just then, various sets of rapid footsteps could be heard approaching from the distance, followed by maniacal cackling, "Damn it! The fucking scraggs are still onto us!" The man uttered to himself in frustration. He glanced at his hip; something that resembled a handgun lay holstered there. However, this handgun had some unusual features; it was old and rusted; yellow streaks of light could be seen coursing throughout various parts of the weapon; and there was a screen on the back of it that read *28%*. The man cursed under his breath as he saw the number "Shit! My sun gun is low on charge. If only I could reach one of those sun roots on the ceiling." He drew his weapon and lay silently behind the boulder. He gestured to his dog to do the same, and she obliged.
The two waited, as the cackling and footsteps rapidly approached, until they had arrived at the boulder. The man could clearly see them dash by, creatures roughly the size of a large dog; they were a grotesque cross between what looked like a rabbit and a bat. How they came to be is unknown. However, that didn't matter to the man right now he needed to figure out a way out of this.
There were roughly fifteen of these creatures. In a direct confrontation, the man and his canine companion would stand no chance, so the only way out of this was to avoid confrontation. To the man's relief, most of the pack ran past the boulder and into the distance. To his dismay, however, three of the creatures seemed to have stayed back; they had caught the scent of the man's blood and began searching the area.
The man held on to his gun tightly as he heard one of the scraggs approaching. It soon came into view, cackling with a vicious toothy grin. These creatures were blind, but their hearing was immaculate, and they had a keen sense of smell. The man aimed his sun gun at the scragg's head, turning a valve on the side of it to lower the power output in hopes of reducing the noise made by the blast. He pulled the trigger, and a muffled zap emanated from the gun, followed by a thin beam of pure light piercing the beast's skull. It fell to the ground, dead, without a sound. However, even after lowering the energy output, the other two scraggs were alerted by the commotion, and in a split second, they were right on top of the man. Another two blasts emanated from the gun, hitting one of the scraggs in the chest; however, this was still not enough to put it down for good, though it was visibly injured. The man glanced at the screen of his sun gun, which read *0%*. "Tch! So be it," he muttered to himself. He then reached towards his left hip, pulling out a large knife and roaring at the beasts. "Come get some you ugly bastards!" He readied himself in what looked like a combat stance. The first scragg lunged at him; it was the injured one. The man expertly maneuvered the knife cleanly through the head of the beast, killing it; it had nearly gotten into his throat. Before he could prepare himself for the next one, a sonic blast emanated from the maw of the other scragg, knocking the man off his feet. His knife lay out of reach. The beast quickly pounced on the man, its maw aiming to make the killing blow, going after the throat. The man quickly blocked the bite with his arm, teeth shattering on the metal plates of the armor. "Sic this fucker, Rose!" The dog pounced on the beast, biting into the back of its neck. This was enough for the man to free himself and fetch his knife. Rose remained stubbornly on top of the creature, mauling the back of its neck. The man aimed his knife at the scragg's skull while it was distracted and plunged it through; blood spewed everywhere, and the creature fell cold on the ground, twitching; it was dead.
The man also fell to the ground, panting; it was a rough fight. He pet Rose on the head and said, "Good girl, you saved my ass out there, Rose," before tossing her a treat. The dog looked satisfied, and after washing off the blood at a nearby lake, they once again embarked towards Site Delta.
They traveled through the echoing, desolate underground for miles until a wet tower came into view. It was the watch tower guarding the outpost known as Site Delta. The man sighed in relief; however, as he approached the tower, he said, "We made it, Rose; let's get us some rest." However, this relief was cut short when the man realized the watch tower seemed empty. He called out to it, "Hellooo?! It's me, Artyom! is anyone up there?!" In as loud of a voice as he could muster. There was no response. A terrible feeling dawned on Artyom as he made his way to the entrance. It was unheard of for the outpost to remain unguarded considering the dangers that lay outside. Rose began to growl as they approached the entrance to Site Delta, and Artyom's worst fear came true as he spotted a strange growth of crimson-red mushrooms purtruding through the main entrance. This alone was enough for Artyom to know that the outpost was now beyond saving. He fell to his knees and, in despair, muttered to himself, "T-The bloodletting plague... but... h-how?" In that instant, he wondered whether he would ever reach the illusive "overwold." Would the world above be as cruel and unforgiving as it was below? Before he could think any further, he felt something hit him in the back of the skull, hard, and his vision immediately went dark.....
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