The tunnel was an old, corroded water pipe, dark and suffocating, with rust flaking off its walls like ancient scars.
It was narrow, forcing J and Kane to crawl on their hands and knees, their equipment scraping against the metal as they moved.
Lilith led the way, her movements careful but swift, while Ash followed closely behind her, glancing nervously at every shadow.
"Shh... no one makes a sound," Lilith whispered, her voice barely audible over the faint echo of their shuffling movements.
"Voices will carry through the tunnel."
At the end of the pipe, faint light spilled in, revealing an open area outside. Lilith crouched at the exit, peering into the ruins beyond.
The landscape ahead was bleak and exposed—an empty expanse of cracked earth with no cover in sight until the next line of buildings, roughly 100 meters away.
She froze, her breath catching as she spotted movement. Three Reclaimers roamed the open space—a pair of Runners and a Fang.
The Runners, towering at nearly 2 meters tall, moved with twitchy, predatory energy, their long limbs ready to spring into action.
The Fang, smaller but just as deadly, prowled the area with unsettling focus, its sharp claws scraping the ground.
"Shit," Kane muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing at the creatures.
"How many sonic disruptors do you have left?" J asked, her voice a low whisper.
"Just two," Kane replied, holding them out reluctantly.
J took the devices, tucking them into her suit before turning to Ash and Lilith. She raised her hand, signaling them to stay put and wait.
Her gaze shifted to Ash, who grabbed her hand tightly, his wide eyes silently pleading with her. She understood the message: *Come back alive.* She gave him a firm nod before pulling away.
J exited the tunnel, stepping into the open, her back straight and her blade held loosely at her side. The Reclaimers spotted her immediately.
The Fang was the first to react. It turned its beady eyes toward her and let out a guttural snarl before charging. Despite its smaller stature, its speed was ferocious, closing the 50-meter gap between them in seconds.
The Runners, noticing her as well, joined the hunt, their long legs propelling them forward in a terrifying sprint. Their movements were frantic and uncoordinated, each fighting to claim the meal first.
J's heart pounded as she calculated their approach. The Runners, with their longer strides, would reach her before the Fang. She crouched slightly, gripping her blade tightly, her Aegis suit's systems whirring to life.
At just the right moment, she hurled the first sonic disruptor toward the approaching pack. The device landed and detonated midair with a sharp 'crack,' releasing a concussive pulse that sent the creatures stumbling.
Without hesitation, J moved.
The ground cracked beneath her as the Aegis suit amplified her speed, propelling her forward like a coiled spring unleashed. In a blink, she was upon them, her blade slicing cleanly through the neck of the first Runner.
Blood sprayed into the air, but J didn't stop. She twisted her body mid-strike, pivoting toward the Fang, which had caught up in the chaos. Her blade gleamed as it cut through the creature's torso, leaving it in two lifeless halves on the ground.
The second Runner, slightly farther back, leaped away just in time to avoid her next swing. It landed a few meters away, snarling and hissing, its sharp claws scraping the dirt as it eyed her warily.
J straightened, her blade dripping with black Reclaimer blood. She took a slow step forward, her movements deliberate, her breath steady.
"Not so tough now, are you?" she muttered under her breath, readying herself for the next strike.
J didn't waste a second. She gripped the blade firmly and hurled it toward the Runner, aiming for its head. The creature moved just enough to avoid the fatal blow, but the blade sank deep into its shoulder with a sickening 'thunk'.
The Runner snarled in pain, staggering, but before it could recover, J was already closing the distance.
She moved like a blur, her Aegis suit amplifying her speed. Her footsteps hit the ground with rapid thuds, the dirt crunching beneath her boots.
In one fluid motion, she delivered a spinning kick to the side of the Runner's head, the impact echoing like a dull 'crack'. The force sent the creature stumbling backward, disoriented.
J didn't let up. She followed the kick with a bone-crushing punch to its chest, the sound of ribs snapping filling the air 'CRACK!'.
The Runner let out a garbled screech, black blood dripping from its mouth.
Without hesitation, J grabbed the hilt of her embedded blade and yanked it free. In one swift, decisive motion, she slashed the creature in half, her blade slicing cleanly through its torso.
The sound of tearing flesh and splattering blood 'SPLAT!' 'THWACK!' filled the air as dark liquid sprayed in all directions.
The Runner collapsed into two lifeless heaps, its blood pooling beneath it in a thick, oily puddle.
J stood over the corpse, her breathing steady, her blade dripping with black ichor. She glanced back at the tunnel and raised her hand, signaling the others to move.
Ash and Lilith watched in awe, their eyes wide. They had seen Reclaimers tear through humans like paper, their strength unmatched.
But J?
She had just made it look effortless. To Ash, it was another moment of clarity—these monsters could die. They weren't invincible.
"Move!" J called out, her voice sharp but calm.
The group emerged from the tunnel and broke into a sprint, running across the open ground. The 100-meter stretch offered no cover, just cracked earth and debris scattered across the desolate plain. Every step felt heavy, every breath loud in their ears.
They all shared the same thought: What if another Reclaimer appears? Who will sacrifice themselves this time?
The ground behind them remained eerily silent, but they didn't dare slow down.
Finally, they reached the other side, where the ruins of a street awaited them. Buildings lay in crumbled heaps, their walls caved in, and rusted cars lined the roads like forgotten relics of a better time.
Small cracks ran across the ground, nothing like the gaping chasms they'd seen earlier.
J led the group to a towering apartment building, its façade cracked and leaning precariously as if it might collapse at any moment.
Despite its fragile appearance, it offered temporary safety. They ducked inside, the shadows swallowing them whole.
J leaned against a wall, catching her breath.
"Shit," she muttered, wiping sweat from her brow.
"At this rate, it'll take forever to get to the Citadel."
"Not when you're out there wasting those damn monsters like that," Kane said with a chuckle, his tone trying to lighten the tension.
But Ash and Lilith didn't share his humor. Guilt weighed heavy on them, their shoulders slumped.
Three people had died to protect them, to buy them time. How many more lives would be lost because they were slowing the group down?
Ash clenched his fists, frustration burning in his chest. Lilith placed a hand on his shoulder, sensing his turmoil, but said nothing.
They both knew the truth: this journey was only going to get harder.
It was only day two to the Citadel.