One Character (22)

Chapter 22 - Explosion in the Tunnels

The decommissioned train shot through the darkened tunnels. The rhythmic clatter of wheels on tracks and the occasional jarring jolt were the only sounds.

Chaz carefully repositioned Kazuma’s unconscious body on the worn bench seat. He stared down at the pale face of the young tech wiz. He felt a bit regretful.

“Damn… Should’ve pulled you out sooner, kid. Got greedy.”

He sighed, then his expression shifted. He remembered something. He rummaged through his worn leather pouch; pulled out a small, sealed vial of viscous, glowing green liquid.

Wes, seated across from him, observed the action curiously. “What’s that, Chaz? Some kind of antidote for that tentacle slime?”

Chaz shook his head. “Better. Rejuvenate. Synthesized from a rare Category 1 Lumina Bloom. Boosts cellular regeneration, kicks the system into overdrive.”

“Strong enough to help Kazuma?” Olive Woo asked as she leaned forward from her seat beside Bernam.

“Maybe. His wound’s closed, thanks to Specter. This dosage might be enough to bring him around.” Chaz carefully opened Kazuma’s mouth and poured the Lumina Bloom extract inside.

They waited. Five minutes passed. Nothing. Kazuma remained still and unconscious.

“Doesn’t seem to be working, boss,” Bernam observed.

“Yeah, maybe it needs a… boost?” Olive Woo offered.

Chaz nodded. “Might as well try.”

He placed his right hand on Kazuma’s chest. His Resonance Socket buzzed faintly, and a crackling arc of electricity formed around his palm. He pressed down, using his Character’s energy like a makeshift defibrillator.

“Clear!”

A jolt surged through Kazuma’s body. He didn’t move. Chaz repeated the process, increasing the energy output slightly with each shock.

Finally, after the fourth attempt, Kazuma’s eyelids fluttered open. His gaze was hazy at first, then cleared slightly as he focused on the faces hovering over him. He blinked, confused, then winced in pain.

“Easy, kid,” Chaz said gently. “You took a hit back there.”

Kazuma’s eyes rolled back, and he slumped again.

“He passed out again?” Chaz was startled.

“Maybe he needs air!” Olive Woo pushed Chaz aside, leaned over Kazuma, and pressed her lips firmly against his. She slipped her long, slippery tongue down his throat.

Wes stared, flabbergasted. Was she blowing air into his lungs or trying to suck the kid’s tongue out?

Whatever her technique, it seemed effective. Kazuma’s eyes snapped open again. Olive Woo’s lips still pressed against his.

Bernam suddenly burst into laughter, pointing. “Look! He’s got wood!”

Kazuma’s eyes widened. He looked down, then his face flushed crimson. A noticeable bulge had indeed formed beneath the thin fabric of his trousers. Mortified, he jerked himself away from Olive’s grasp, covering his crotch with trembling hands.

“I… I’m sorry!”

Olive smirked. “Sorry? For getting a boner? You’re a virgin, aren’t you, Kazuma? If you’d like, I could take care of that little problem for you.”

“No! I mean… I’m fine!” Kazuma shrieked and scrambled away until he bumped his head on a support pole.

“Fuhuhu. That expression is priceless.” She licked her lips.

“Enough,” Chaz interrupted firmly. “He’s still recovering. Leave him be.”

Kazuma clutched his head. “Boss… how… how am I still alive? I thought… that tentacle thing… and Specter, he…” He looked towards Wes with a flicker of fear upon remembering what happened.

“Specter’s healing bullet. Expensive shot, but kept you from bleeding out.” Chaz explained.

Kazuma turned to Wes. “Thank you… Specter.”

Wes barely acknowledged the thanks. He rummaged frantically beneath his duffel bag.

“Where is it? Damn it…”

He stood up abruptly, looked around the narrow space. Then searched beneath the seats.

“What’s wrong, Specter? What are you looking for?” Chaz asked.

“The tentacle. The one I picked up in the vault. Can’t find it. Don’t even remember when I dropped it.”

“That thing…?” Chaz’s easy demeanor evaporated. Something felt wrong. “Olive, scan the car. Now.”

“On it, boss. Luminx Vision!”

Olive’s eyes glowed with analytical yellow light as she scanned the train car.

Suddenly, her eyes widened. “Everyone get down–”

BoOM!

A large, slimy, green tentacle burst through the floor plating directly beneath Olive, narrowly missing her as she leaped back. More tentacles erupted that ripped through the walls and ceiling. They thrashed violently and entangling the train in their grip and constricting.

The car groaned under the pressure. Then, with contemptuous ease, the tentacles lifted the entire train car off the tracks and hurled it forward like a discarded toy.

The Harmonics screamed as the car hurtled towards the tunnel wall. Bernam lunged for his heavy bag of credits. Wes reached for his own, he secured it, but it was too late.

CRASH!

The impact was deafening. Metal shrieked and buckled. Wes and Bernam were flung from the wreckage like rag dolls onto the hard tracks.

From within the twisted remains of the train car, muffled cries came from Chaz and Kazuma. Olive Woo emerged, coughing, then screamed as she saw what waited for them further down the tunnel.

The rogue Harmonics regrouped. Before them, writhing and pulsating, stood the same tentacle monster they had supposedly destroyed in the vault – larger, angrier, with multiple deadly eyes.

“How…?” Chaz stared in disbelief.

“The tentacle. It regenerated.” Wes was dumbfounded.

“You idiot!” Olive shrieked. “You brought that thing here?! Now look!”

“Should’ve left it in the vault!” Bernam shouted.

“Enough!” Chaz snapped. “Olive, find the weakness just as before! Bernam, prepare to attack!”

Olive Woo activated Luminx Vision again. “Scanning… dense biomass… highly regenerative… multiple energy signatures… but… no Resonance Bulb. Boss I can’t find a core!”

“To hell with it!” Bernam activated his Character. “I’ll blast the whole damn thing!” He aimed his pulsating palms at the creature.

“DESMATE-ZADOLA!”

The destructive pulse shot forward. It struck the Unus squarely in the center mass. The creature began to collapse inwards, just like before.

“Yes, got the karking bastard!”

Bernam grinned triumphantly, but his smile faded instantly.

The tentacle monster abruptly severed its own lower half, allowing the destructive energy to consume only the detached portion while the main body recoiled unharmed. The severed portion rapidly dissolved into nothingness.

“It… it got smarter!” Bernam hollered in disbelief.

SCREEEECHHH!

The Unus regenerated its lower half instantly. It extended dozens of thick vines, coiled them like springs, and then unleashed a rapid-fire volley of the projectiles at the rogue Harmonics.

“Incoming!” Wes yelled.

They dove for cover behind the wrecked train car just as the vines slammed into the metal, tearing through it like tissue paper.

“It’s evolving!”

Chaz ejected the spent energy cell from his heavy-caliber sidearm and slammed a fresh one home with grim efficiency. His ammo reserves felt dangerously low after the last encounter.

“Adapting. That regeneration, dodging Bernam’s pulse… This isn’t just Category 3 anymore. It feels… Omega. Smarter.” He glanced at his own depleted Resonance Gauntlet, useless for now. “We’re outmatched.”

“Karking slimy bastard!”

Bernam spat onto the tracks and clenched his fists. His own power felt sluggish and drained after unleashing the Desmate-Zadola pulse earlier.

“If I could just hit it again… one solid shot…” His voice trailed off; the futility evident even to him.

“Wishing won’t get us out of this tunnel, Bernam,” Olive countered. She scanned the oppressive darkness behind them, searching for any possible escape route that didn’t lead back towards the implacable monster.

“Boss, we need a plan. Now.”

Before Chaz could formulate a response, the screeching intensified. Massive, slime-coated tentacles tightened their grip around the wrecked train car they used for cover. Metal groaned, buckled, and tore with agonizing slowness under the immense pressure. Sparks showered down as internal support structures fractured and vital conduits snapped.

Kazuma whimpered beside Chaz as he watched the metal shell deform inwards. “It’s crushing it… it’s going to…!”

Wes’s eyes shot towards a buckled access panel near the train’s undercarriage, where faint energy sparks now flickered erratically. He recognized the jury-rigged components beneath.

“Chaz! The Resonance Capacitors! That unstable fuel mod… If those tentacles rupture the primary housing… It’ll blow this whole section of tunnel sky-high!”

“Everyone out! Now!”

Chaz picked up Kazuma and started running.

They scrambled away from the collapsing train car just as the tentacles crushed the fuel cells.

BOOM!

A blinding flash engulfed the tunnel followed by a deafening roar. The shockwave hurled them forward like ragdolls. Fire, fueled by the volatile fuel and oxygen-rich air, rushed down the tunnel after them.

Chaz, burdened by Kazuma’s weight, struggled to keep up. Olive ran beside Bernam. Wes lagged behind.

“Dammit! All that booze made my legs this weak. Guys wait up!”

Wes cried out but no one was willing to slow their pace when being chased by hellfire.

Ahead, a diverging service tunnel offered a slim chance. Wes aimed Aroth at the junction and fired. Not a killing shot, but a specialized Ghost Bullet.

“Ghost Tether!”

A shining line of pure resonance energy shot forward, anchoring itself to a support beam at the tunnel entrance. Wes grabbed the tether. It tightened instantly and began pulling him forward with incredible speed, like a high-velocity grappling hook.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Bernam yelled, seeing Wes shoot past them.

“Hey, what about us!” Olive screamed!

“Only one can ride the Ghost Tether!” Wes shouted back. He vanished around the bend into the service tunnel just as the main explosion reached them.

BOOM!

The force of the blast slammed into the diverging tunnel entrance. Fire roared past the opening, continuing its relentless chase down the main tunnel, consuming everything in its path.

The fates of Chaz, Kazuma, Olive, and Bernam remained uncertain. They were swallowed by flame and darkness.