Leaving the cars behind, they carried their gear in backpacks as they trudged through the humid mines through the mountains. It didn’t take them nearly as long as they thought it would to get through, coming out on the other side of the range, in the darkness, in just a few hours. But, being north of the range meant they had to back track their way south to get to the makeshift tunnel the Shadow People had created to get into Stardew Valley.
Marlon checked Maru’s map from time to time as they walked south through the forest, keeping away from any roads and as out of sight as possible. The makeshift tunnel started just outside the closest town, to the east of the range where they often went on supply runs. That would be where the closest storm drain was, but Maru warned them not to go in through the drain.
Instead, they were headed for the sewage plant just north of the town. Following that, she said, would bring them to their destination just as well, while making them less likely to be seen. According to her data, which proved her own hypothesis, the Shadow People did, in fact, stay clear of those plants, giving the humans an opportune way in.
They reached the plant late in the evening, quickly finding the entrance to the sewers and climbing down into the long, dark tunnels. The green glow sticks provided by Maru were all they had to guide their way through. Less obvious than flashlights, she had said, and more likely for any shadow brute to think of them as friend rather than foe, buying them a chance to fight back should it come to it.
They followed the map as best as I could, immediately recognizing where the sewers ended and the more recently added tunnels began. While the sewers brought them to a grated dead end where the water was allowed to rush into a near by lake, a tunnel carved out to their left brought them further south once more, just where they wanted to be. If they continued to follow that tunnel, it should bring them to another cross roads, where turning right would bring them towards Stardew Valley.
X marked the spot at the crossroads. X marked the spot where Gil had decided to blow the tunnels to bits, blocking up not just one, but all four tunneled roads. Not only would they be prevented from tunneling further towards Stardew Valley, but they would not be able to go north to get out through the plant, or south to start a new tunnel around to the valley. Of course, they could likely tunnel their way through once more, but it would take time to get through the rubble or even start a new tunnel, and that was precisely what the humans needed. Anything to impede their progress and buy them time.
As they neared the crossroads, they could hear the familiar hissing of the Shadow People echoing off the walls of the tunnel. Every now and then, their hissing was drowned out by the sounds of tunneling; tools against the hard, underground surface where they borrowed their way through.
“What’s the plan?” Alex muttered. “Go in guns blazing?”
Gil shook his head. “It won’t be safe to shoot in here,” he said. “Bullets could ricochet. We’re better off waiting until they leave.”
“What if they don’t leave?” Sam asked.
“Then I guess we plant the dynamite as close as we can and hope for the best.”
“I could go in,” Marlon said, his hand on his trusted sword. “Take ‘em out myself. Doesn’t sound like there’s too many of ‘em.”
“There’s no way you’re getting all the fun,” Gil said.
“Hey, you get to blow up dynamite.”
“Fine,” Gil said. “Take ‘em out so we can get outta here.”
Marlon drew his sword and trotted the rest of the way down the tunnel as Gil began to prepare the dynamite.
“I don’t like this,” Najia muttered. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that something was wrong. That it wouldn’t be as simple as Marlon fighting off a small group of Shadow People.
The hissing grew angry as Marlon made his entrance. One by one, the hissed voices were silenced, but new voices arose in the distance. Human voices.
“Blow it up, boys,” a voice said.
“What the fuck,” Gil growled as he cocked his rifle.
They hurried down the tunnel until they got to the crossroads. A few shadowed bodies lay across the ground.
“Get down!” Marlon threw his body against them, pushing them to the ground just as a grenade exploded further down the eastern tunnel. The tunnel shook violently as rubble began to fall from the ceiling.
Gil set up the dynamite quickly, extending the string and running it down the northern tunnel where they had come from.
“Let’s get out of here,” he shouted to them as rocks crashed around them.
They sprinted back up the tunnel until the string reached the end. Gil hurried to light it and watched as the flame made its way back down the tunnel towards the dynamite.
“Move,” he shouted to them once more.
They continued to sprint back through the tunnels. After a few minutes, they could hear the blast at the cross roads. The echo rumbled towards them as they ran along the wall. After another few minutes, it grew silent in the tunnels, and they slowed their pace to catch their breath.
“What the hell happened?” Sam asked.
“Humans,” Marlon said. “They were waiting for us. Threw a grenade at me.”
“How did they know we’d be here?” Alex barked.
“We need to get out of here before they follow us back to the valley,” Gil said.
Even at their quickened pace, it would still be hours before they made it back to the plant, bringing them well into a dark morning, over twenty-four hours since they left the valley. And it would still take them almost a day’s walk to make it back to the valley. Over twenty-four hours and counting they had been awake, running on adrenaline. She hadn’t felt the effects yet, but Najia knew she would shortly, as soon as they got out of the sewers. Even the thought of it made her grow suddenly weary.
They continued on quietly until the morning came around, bringing it the ladder that would bring them out of the sewers and back into the plant. Najia climbed up first, her hands missing a couple of rungs as she staggered back to the surface of their dark world. She crawled onto the ground and forced herself, exhausted, back onto her feet. A cocked gun sent a shiver up her spine. She turned around slowly as a group of armed men stood across the plan, waiting for their arrival.
Shane pulled himself out of the sewers next. He searched her horror stricken eyes before he turned around to see the welcoming party. One by one, the survivors pulled themselves out of the sewers, turning to see the armed humans just on the other side, now moving in slowly.
“Is this our escort home?” Shane muttered.
“Down on the ground!” one of the men shouted to them. “Drop your weapons and get down on the ground.”
“Fuck,” Alex spat.
They let their weapons drop as they got to their knees, placing their hands behind their heads.
“Shit, fuck, dammit,” Alex hissed. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”
“They’re gonna straight up assassinate us,” Najia muttered. Her heart raced, screaming at her to turn and run.
“We’ll get out of this,” Shane said.
“I’m glad you think so,” Najia muttered.
The armed men were in front of them, looking down on their captives.
“Thought you could just drop in and fuck up our work, did you?” one of the men hissed.
“Why are you working with the Shadow People?” Sam barked at them.
“Sorry, kid, we’re not doing this.”
“So, arrest us and get it over with,” he muttered.
The man smiled wickedly. “Our orders are to bring you back… dead.”
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I am officially an old fart. With the exception of the Associated Press machine, which in my days would have been a dot matrix printer, this is very similar to the setup I started using when broadcasting on KXRJ in my college years. #kxrj #radiodays #collegeradio #oldfart #fortsmithmuseumofhistory #fortsmith #arkansashistory #arkansasmusic #SpringBreakOn71 #openroadtrip #visitarkansas #us71 #openroad #epicroadtrip #cbopenroad #hondaroadtrip #arkansashighways (at Fort Smith Museum of History)
Inside the unassuming exterior, the Scott Theater can seat 230 on two levels. #scotttheater #waldronarkansas #letsgotothemovies #oldtheater #SpringBreakOn71 #openroadtrip #visitarkansas #us71 #openroad #epicroadtrip #cbopenroad #hondaroadtrip #arkansashighways (at Scott Theater)
