Pike quickly described the light to all the men behind, and everyone was immediately alert. This day had constantly shocked and surprised them to the point that they should have been immune, but this was a different sort of surprise. It couldn't be sunlight, and no other natural light was so bright, even and steady and that meant it had to be artificial. Artificial lighting meant there were other people around, and this was somewhere people just shouldn't be. They had lost just over a hundred men to come this far, and there shouldn't have been any other force in the area with the power to cut a path through the bestial hordes. "What do we do?" Bill asked Pike. "We keep going. It's down there. We aren't far now," Pike answered. "But that light-" "We keep going," Pike cut him off, "Get your weapons ready and shoot on sight. There won't be anything good down there." The gruff Sheriff set off down the tunnel, with Earl on his left and Bill on his right. The empty tunnel sloped down gently, driving steadily deeper towards the illuminated cavern below. As they entered the light an impossible scenery greeted them. The cave ahead was covered in lush green tall grass. On the third floor of this strange complex, grass and weeds flourished just as it might in the light of the world above. It would have been beautiful had it not been covered with corpses. The grass had been trampled, bent, and broken with more of it covered in blood than not. Uncountable piles of bones littered the large room, and the scattered skeletons came from all kinds of mutated creatures. There were great serpents large enough to eat a man, dogs or wolves larger than great danes, large cats, a cougar and a great host of smaller beasts. There were many rat and other rodent corpses amongst the piles, but badgers, ferrets, and what appeared to be hedgehogs were mixed in as well. Their foe were less numerous, but only slightly. Hundreds of goblins had made this room of carnage their tomb, and if these childlike skeletons were goblins, then the larger ones that appeared to be the size of a man must be orcs. There were only a few, but they quickly drew Pikes full attention. They were definitely not human. Just like the goblins their teeth were sharp, jagged and crooked, and their oversized canines resembled the tusks of a boar. Their brow ridge was thick and jutted out far further than normal from the face and all of its bones were thicker, stronger, and more dense than any human bone he had ever seen, but still deformed like the smaller goblins. It reminded Pike of a Neanderthal article he had read while waiting his turn in the barber shop, if only they had tusks and a taste for human flesh. As Pike took his first step onto the grass floor, his boots splashed into the pooled ichor the dense and tall grass stalks obscured. In this moment Pike fibally knew why they hadn't seen any signs of battle for such a long time. The beasts had retreated and rallied to this place, abandoning the rest of the cave to make their stand here. Their great battle was something beyond imagining. A horde of strange, warped beasts who should have torn each other apart had somehow rallied together to defend their homes from monsters that had stepped out of the realm of fantasy to invade their world. He took another few squelching steps into the bloody mud of the room before he remembered something important. They were underground. The shocking scenery had drawn his attention to the ground, and he lost himself as he scanned the battlefield. He looked up and saw what had allowed him to imagine he was in a clearing in the open air. A large crystal was embedded in the center of the high domed ceiling and the crystal released an even, radiant light which recreated the invigorating warmth of the sun almost perfectly. It even had a slight tinge of orange to match the setting sun in the world above. Dotted around the rest of the dome were small, dormant crystals but what purpose they served Pike couldn't begin to imagine. The artificial sunlight explained how the grass had managed to grow, but how such a glowing crystal had come to be here and how it was powered joined the wild assortment of inexplicable impossibilities which had confronted them today. As he stomped through the blood, mud, bones and grass out into the center of the cavern his men slowly sloshed through the muck behind him. A chorus of curses and fearful grumbling followed their sloppy march through the wide cavern and yet another surprise welcomed them as they entered the tunnel Pike's sense led them to. Where the cavern had been the domain of the crystal sun, the tunnels were dimly lit with eerie green crystals. Their weak glow was barely enough light to see by, but after their eyes adjusted to the relative darkness he felt confident enough to continue their march without flares. They passed through two more gruesome grassy caverns, and two more tunnels before Pike called a halt. There was a bend in the tunnel just ahead, and the light of another crystal sun found its way into the tunnel. They were about to enter another cavern, but this one was different. His sense was screaming. His foe was just ahead. This was the end. Pike called his deputies over to him along with Bill, Duke, and Earl. "This is it men," announced Pike, "After that final turn our enemy is just ahead. We've had it easy till now, but our enemy knows we are here. I can feel it watching us. There might just be another pile of bones ahead of us, but we have to be ready." "What's the plan?" asked one of the deputies. "I'll take a look around the corner and make sure the entryway is clear. If it is, my six with Bill, Earl and Myself at the head will storm through the doorway and lay down suppressive fire into whatever is waiting for us in that room. The first and second groups will rush out and to our left and immediately take up a kneel fire formation. The third and fourth will do the same to our right. If we are quick we can form up before the enemy can reach us, but we should be prepared for things to go wrong. The men all have their close combat weapons, and by this point they all know how to use them. Go to your men, and get ready. We won't wait for long. Any questions?" "Yeah, boss?" Bill mumbled. "What is it?" "Were underground. It's a bit tight in here." "Yeah?" "Were bout to fire off a whole lot of noise here in a minute." "Hell..." Pike groaned "What? What is it?" another deputy demanded. "The echo," said Pike, "We're underground in close quarters. All of us firing our guns off at the same time is gonna make us all go deaf. Put your earplugs in and tell your men to use it if they have them, share if they have extras, and suck it up if they don't." Pike watched the deputies relaying his orders before he blocked off his ear canals with the standard issue plugs OSHA had mandated he and his men carry. It was the first time he was glad to have them, and the first time he had used them. He crept through the unnatural green light into the rays of false sunshine radiating around the corner. As he stared out into the cavern ahead, one word came to mind. Fuck. "Lets go!" he roared before he charged out into the light of the cavern ahead. The sudden roar in the nearly silent tunnel was clearly heard by the men despite the muffling of their ear protection, and it took them only moments to answer his call. Earl and Bill followed at his heels as fast as they could run and as they stepped out into the cavern the rest of the men came behind. They thundered past as they raced to take their formations, but they weren't the only ones charging. Or roaring. The vaulted cavern they had rushed into was nearly as large as a football field, and a slavering horde of three hundred of the largest rats they had seen so far stood guard at the far wall. The smallest among them was nearly as large as Pike's mastiff, but there was something far more terrifying behind them. Towering over the rodent horde was a grizzly bear, and it was the largest grizzly anyone had ever seen. The great beast was covered in scars from hundreds of battles, and its body bulged with an unnatural strength. The mighty beast let out a deafening roar in reply to Pike's shout. The entire cavern shook with the force of the beast's voice, and the roar was a signal for every last rat to charge forward across the barren ground. The shaking of the cavern did not stop as the bear's roar faded into silence because it was replaced with the stampede of the rodents. Pike dropped to a knee as the deadly tide of rats thundered towards them, and pulled the trigger of his rifle. He felt a click from his rifle in reply, but it failed to fire. Fuck. Now, of all times. He had never had a misfire with this gun, but his luck had run out. He quickly ejected the dud, replaced it, aimed, and pulled the trigger. It clicked uselessly once more. The rats were charging closer as he fussed with his weapon. After a third failed shot, he dropped the rifle and readied his shotgun, but as he did he saw the rest of his men. Every last one was fumbling with their gun. They were ejecting rounds, frantically trying to find and fix whatever was wrong with the firing mechanism, or even pounding the weapon on the ground. Nearly all of his men were in position and attempting to fire into the enemy ranks, but not a single shot left the barrel. "Piece of shit!" Bill cried out, before he threw his rifle at the enemy. It fell short, but it came far too close to hitting them. They had wasted far too much time and the beasts were nearly upon them. It was absurd, but Bill had the right idea. If they wasted any more time they would die. Pike tore the useless plugs out of his ears, and stepped out from the firing line. His ears were instantly assailed by the rabid chattering of the rats, but he could finally hear the frustrated cursing from his men. All eyes were upon him as he chucked his shotgun down on the ground and drew out his machete and his hunting knife. He couldn't shout over the squeaks and squeals of the horde and still be heard through earplugs, but he didn't need to. Many amongst the warband saw him in front with blades drawn and realized that no amount of percussive maintenance or begging would cause their useless guns to fire. There was nothing wrong with their rifles, fifty guns wouldn't all fail all at once without intentional sabotage. As the beasts closed the last few feet, they cast aside their firearms and drew their blades and hatchets. They stepped forwards to stand with Pike and then the rats were upon them. The battlefield erupted in shouts, screams and screeches as blades cut into rodents and teeth tore out chunks of flesh. Despite Pike's stand and the obvious failure of their arsenal, a few men failed to prepare. The natural fear of the charging rats was driven to terror as their trusted guns failed them. No amount of thought or reason could sway their minds. Those who had blindly refused to give up on their guns until it was far too late were helpless before the storm. They desperately tried to fend off the rats using their rifles as clubs or pull out their knives, but such a pitiful defense was not enough to stem the tide. These men were torn apart in the first moments of battle, but the rest fared better. The first blows of the battle were the most fatal. The men had time to aim their first hit carefully, and they were able to wind up their body to swing with all their strength. Axes and hammers crashed down on their skulls, machetes cut through necks, and the front line of the rodents collapsed, but then more surged over the top of their fallen brothers. Axes, blades and knives rose and fell in a chaotic flurry of violence. The hunters cut down many rats for each man they lost, but the rats kept coming. Any slip, any lapse, or any mistake would prove fatal as they were swarmed and devoured. Pike was at the front of the chaotic battle line, leading his men from the front as he laid waste to the furious rodents around him. His machete chipped on the brow of a great rat as it cleaved through it on its way to the rodent's brain, but it was not the only new notch on the blade, and he didn't have time to care. Before he could retrieve his embedded weapon another rat leapt through the air in a wild tackle. Just as it was about to chomp down, he caught it in its breast with his hunting knife. The momentum of the beast had fully impaled itself onto the short weapon, but then pain erupted from his left arm. The beast hadn't died from the blow and tore out a large chunk of flesh from his bicep as it flailed. Pike cried out in an agonized roar, desperately tugging on his machete to free it from the other rat. Long claws like talons scrambled on his jacket as the rat furiously lunged at his face leaving deep gouges in his flesh. Still he held onto the dagger planted firmly in its chest for dear life, keeping the rat just out of reach before it bit down on his arm again in frustration. Something important was severed as another chunk of flesh was torn from his arm and his arm went limp. Whether it was a muscle, a tendon, or a nerve Pike didn't know, all he knew was that his arm could no longer protect him. He abandoned his weapon as the rat lunged again, knocking Pike to the ground as it furiously pressed against his remaining good arm to tear apart his vitals with its furiously chomping teeth. He struggled desperately, but he couldn't hold off the beast, and its teeth sunk into the side of his face. Then a great force suddenly slammed into Pike's chest and the teeth left a messy wound on his face as the rodent's head roughly smacked into his. Pike's left cheek had been almost entirely torn off, it was held on by a thin string of flesh as blood poured out from the wound, but that was all. The rat had stopped fighting, biting and clawing. In only a moment, the rat was thrown off him and Bill pulled Pike back behind the battle lines. From what he could guess from the mangled corpse of the rat as he was being dragged, Earl had slammed his sledgehammer with all his might right down onto the beast's spine at the base of the neck, killing it instantly. He gazed around the battlefield as Bill dragged him further back, and despite their heavy casualties, the rats were being slaughtered. Watching Duke and Earl swinging around their heavy crowbars, it wasn't hard to imagine why. The rats had numbers, but most of his men could kill one with a single well placed blow or two, and the brothers swept their crowbars in devastating blows, blasting away any rats unfortunate enough to be caught in their path. It would be close, but if things kept going like this they could win. They could hold out, kill the rats, destroy whatever controlled this unnatural den of evil, and go home. They were almost there. But then he heard a noise which crushed his hope. A mighty roar once again shook the cavern, and the great bear broke into a furious charge as he rushed into the battle.