The shadows advanced steadily, growing larger as the marauders approached. Silvanus could see their silhouettes now, distorted by the flickering light of their torches. He counted at least six, maybe more. They were moving slowly, cautiously—clearly not in a hurry but knowing they had the upper hand.
"We're cornered," Marcus whispered through gritted teeth, his weapon trained on the tunnel entrance. "We can't fight them head-on in this tight space."
Silvanus nodded, his mind racing for a solution. The tunnel was too narrow for a proper firefight, and they had nowhere to run. The walls pressed in on all sides, and the only escape route was back the way they came—a dead end. Panic threatened to set in, but he forced it down. He had to think.
"Silvanus," Nadia whispered, crouched beside him behind a fallen section of pipe. "What do we do?"
"We need to make them think we have more numbers than we do," Silvanus muttered, his eyes scanning the tunnel for any possible advantage. "Keep them at a distance, pick them off one by one. We can't let them get close."
He glanced at Luke and Anna, huddled together behind a chunk of collapsed concrete. Luke's eyes were wide with fear, but Anna's face was blank, her expression disturbingly calm. She hadn't spoken much since they joined the group, but Silvanus couldn't shake the feeling that she was more dangerous than she seemed.
"Marcus, Claire, you're with me," Silvanus said quietly, his voice firm. "We'll set up a crossfire from here. Nadia, stay back with Luke and Anna. If things go south, take them and run."
Nadia nodded, though Silvanus could see the fear in her eyes. She wasn't used to being told to run. She was a fighter, but even she knew when the odds were stacked too high.
The footsteps grew closer, the flickering torchlight reflecting off the damp walls of the tunnel. Silvanus could hear the low murmur of the marauders' voices now—laughing, taunting, unaware of the danger waiting just ahead.
Silvanus steadied his breathing, raising his rifle. He could feel the tension in the air, the weight of what was about to happen. Every second seemed to stretch on forever, the anticipation coiling tight in his chest. He glanced at Marcus, who gave him a sharp nod, his face set with determination.
The first marauder stepped into view, his torch casting long, eerie shadows against the walls. He was tall and broad-shouldered, his face hidden beneath a ragged hood. Behind him, five more figures followed, their weapons glinting in the dim light.
Silvanus held his breath, waiting for the perfect moment. He couldn't afford to miss.
The marauders moved forward, oblivious to the trap they were walking into. Silvanus' finger tightened on the trigger.
Now.
A single shot rang out, the sound deafening in the enclosed tunnel. The lead marauder staggered, his torch dropping to the ground as blood bloomed across his chest. He fell to his knees, choking, before collapsing face-first onto the ground.
"Ambush!" one of the marauders shouted, raising his weapon, but Silvanus was already moving. He fired again, hitting another marauder in the shoulder, sending him spinning into the wall. Marcus followed up with a shot of his own, taking down a third.
Chaos erupted in the tunnel. The marauders scrambled for cover, their torches flickering wildly as they tried to figure out where the shots were coming from. But in the narrow confines of the tunnel, there was nowhere to hide.
"Push forward!" one of the marauders yelled, clearly their leader. He fired blindly into the darkness, bullets ricocheting off the walls and sending sparks flying.
Silvanus ducked behind his cover, gritting his teeth as a spray of bullets narrowly missed him. "Keep them pinned down!" he shouted, reloading his rifle as quickly as he could.
Marcus and Claire fired in unison, keeping the marauders pinned against the walls of the tunnel. But Silvanus could see that the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. The marauders were getting more desperate, pushing forward despite the onslaught of gunfire.
"We can't hold them off much longer!" Marcus yelled over the gunfire.
Silvanus knew he was right. They were outnumbered, and the marauders were getting closer with every passing second. If they didn't find a way out soon, they'd be overwhelmed.
"Nadia!" Silvanus called, glancing back at her. "Get Luke and Anna ready. We might need to fall back."
Nadia didn't hesitate. She crouched low, motioning for Luke and Anna to follow her as she made her way toward a small maintenance hatch set into the wall a few meters behind them. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
Suddenly, a deafening explosion rocked the tunnel, sending chunks of concrete and dust raining down from above. One of the marauders had thrown a crude homemade grenade, the blast tearing through the tunnel and leaving a gaping hole in the wall.
Silvanus was thrown backward, his ears ringing from the explosion. For a moment, all he could hear was the dull roar of blood rushing in his ears. His vision swam, the tunnel spinning as he struggled to regain his bearings.
Through the haze, he saw the marauders pushing forward, taking advantage of the chaos. They were almost on top of them now.
"Silvanus!" Marcus shouted, grabbing his arm and dragging him to his feet. "We've got to move!"
Silvanus blinked, shaking off the disorientation. The fight was slipping away from them. They had to retreat.
"Fall back!" Silvanus yelled, stumbling toward the maintenance hatch where Nadia was already pulling it open. Luke and Anna scrambled inside, followed quickly by Claire.
Silvanus fired a few more shots, covering Marcus as he backed toward the hatch. The marauders were closing in fast, their leader barking orders as they advanced.
"Go, go, go!" Marcus urged, shoving Silvanus toward the hatch.
Silvanus ducked inside, the narrow space barely large enough for them to crawl through. The walls were close, claustrophobic, but it was their only chance. He heard the sound of gunfire behind him as Marcus fired one last shot before sliding in after him and slamming the hatch shut.
The tunnel plunged into darkness, the only sound the labored breathing of the group as they crawled through the maintenance shaft. It was tight, the air thick and stale, but it was a relief to be out of the open and away from the marauders.
After what felt like an eternity, they emerged into a small, crumbling service room. The walls were lined with rusted pipes and broken machinery, the floor slick with grime. But at least it was a place to catch their breath.
Silvanus leaned against the wall, wiping sweat from his brow. His hands were shaking, the adrenaline still coursing through him. That had been too close—far too close.
"Everyone alright?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Nadia nodded, though she looked pale. "We're fine. What about you?"
"I'm good," Silvanus replied, though his head was still spinning from the explosion. "We need to keep moving. They'll come looking for us."
Luke, sitting beside Anna, finally spoke up. "How did they find us so fast? We were careful. We stayed underground."
Silvanus had been asking himself the same question. The marauders had found them too easily, too quickly. It wasn't just luck.
"I don't know," Silvanus admitted. "But they're not giving up."
Marcus, still catching his breath, slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. "It's like they knew exactly where we'd be."
Silvanus glanced at Luke and Anna. The thought had crossed his mind more than once, but now it seemed even more likely. There was something they weren't telling him.
"We'll deal with that later," Silvanus said, his voice hard. "Right now, we need to figure out our next move."
Claire, ever the pragmatist, stood up and dusted herself off. "We can't stay here. We have to keep moving east, like we planned. It's the only way."
Silvanus nodded, though his mind was still racing. They had narrowly escaped the marauders this time, but how many more close calls could they survive? The journey east was only getting more dangerous, and the group's resources were dwindling.
But there was no other choice.
"Alright," Silvanus said, standing up and shouldering his rifle. "We move out. Quietly. Stay sharp, and stay together. We make for the next station and figure things out from there."
With that, the group gathered their things and slipped out of the service room, disappearing into the dark, winding tunnels once again, the weight of the unknown pressing heavily on their shoulders.