The explosion above came a second too late. As the rocks fell from above to stop anybody from getting through, Fidelis had already jumped through the gaps, the doctor’s devices being the only light in the tunnel. Troy clutched at the bottle of air on his side, making sure it was fastened properly as the doctor came hurtling towards him. The man was without remorse and hesitation as he came closer and closer. Even in the water, he was a beast ready to kill, ready to restrain, and more than ready to get what he wanted.

The tunnel went further and further underground, nearing more than fifty meters of just going downwards. If not for the suit, Troy would have died by now. Even still he could feel his body being pressed by the pressure of the depths, his ears feeling like the pressure was too much. Even if it was a fraction and it had already hit the max, he knew it would be painful to continue.

Yet calmness was required if he wanted any chance at survival. The doctor was getting closer, the man relentless in his pursuit. Even down in the water, he was without a thought about himself. Perhaps he was so high above a normal human that the requirement of air was more than a suggestion. Troy had no way to know. He only knew one thing and one thing only. He had a gun and he knew how to aim it.

As the doctor came closer and closer, the young man tried to fire the shots off. And… they were certainly leaving the chamber. The extreme brightness blinded him yet allowed him to see the wicked smile on Dr Fidelis’ face. The bullets weren’t doing any damage.

‘You need to let him get closer if you want to hit him,’ Adam came in through the earpiece. Troy made a few words with hand gestures before aiming yet again. The lack of light wasn’t looking like a requirement for the doctor to know where he was. That could mean that-

A turn in the route flung Troy onto the side of the tunnel. Sharp rocks spared the air tank but shredded his lower legs. He wanted to scream out in pain but had to restrain it to a few deep breaths. There was nothing good from letting go of the oxygen tank and the mouthpiece. Only a swift death would come from such a thing and the young man wasn’t going to die now of all times.

Then the doctor came close enough to touch Troy and he felt real fear. Dr Fidelis grabbed a hold of the wetsuit by his left arm making it possible for the young man to aim with his left. The shot binding both parties this time around but the closeness to the target made it clear that the shot impacted at the very least.

But he wasn’t letting go. The doctor wasn’t even lessening the power of his grip. A revolver to the chest did nothing. So Troy did it again. And then two more times. Five shots had been wasted in the endeavour and there was only one left. Not wanting to remove his only chance at the light, Troy put it back into the belt for it as he began to fend off with the doctor.

Dr Fidelis didn’t fight Troy directly, just holding on to him. But… no, he was getting them closer to the edges. Trying to get a hold around the walls. Why? Was he… no. Troy grew fearful as he had an inkling of what was going on, making him try and get away even more.

The man was trying to get them back out the same way they had come. Fifty meters underwater and the man only cared about catching the target. Troy was crazed at the dedication but couldn’t do much. The small knife he had was swatted away and any attempts to simply pull himself free was without merit. Troy was becoming more helpless by the second.

‘He can’t survive the entire route,’ Adam pointed out. ‘He’s trying to get back the way we came because he can’t hold his breath for the entire trip.’

… It made sense. With a quick set of signs using his right hand, Troy asked for advice.

‘Delay. Shoot him in the eyes. Do anything to make sure he can’t get a grip on the side while still holding you.’

It was at that point Troy began to wrestle around for real. When underwater body mass meant a lot and the ability to twist around their positions made it possible to hinder any good angles to latch onto. While it wasn’t doing anything obvious, the young man felt that-

Dr Fidelis tightened his hold around the young man’s forearm, breaking the bone into splinters. Troy screamed, opening his mouth in the process and losing the tube that brought him air. The bottle itself was still attached to his back but the tube was flinging around in the darkness. Troy couldn’t breathe.

‘Ignore the pain and find it, Troy,’ Adam ordered like it was the easiest thing to say. Troy had tears in his eyes as he wore the goggles, his heart beating a thousand times each second. He could feel the tube flinging around down by his legs but he couldn’t get a hold around it. The seconds continued to pass and his hysteria made it all harder to focus.

The air was running out. He was dying. If it wasn’t already black all around him his vision would have darkened. And then… the tube was grabbed ahold of and air returned into Troy’s body, it coming inside like the gift of life itself. The arm was still screaming in pain but he could breathe.

Any thoughts of happiness were stopped as Troy began to realize they were slowing down. While the doctor wasn’t stopping them entirely, they were grinding against the wall enough that he could use his hand as an anchor. They were soon to start the return trip. That couldn’t be done. He pulled again but the tightening of the already broken arm was enough to make him stop. Troy thought it impossible to win until the revolver came into play yet again. Bringing it out and holding it to the doctor's left ear, Troy shot it directly inside. It likely never breached the skin but that impact was enough to disorient the doctor for him to let go, making it possible for the young man to float along again.

There weren't any more attacks from the doctor. Troy had no clue if he survived or not. The remaining minutes were spent shielding his body from the corners and making sure his left forearm wasn’t broken more than it had already been before. Adam spoke in a soothing voice during the entire trip to make sure they didn’t lose all their air because of the insanely high pulse but it wasn’t working too well. It was a piece of good luck that they’d gotten enough to do the trip twice over.

Soon enough, light shined through as Troy left the tunnel. He did not breach the water above, his body utterly unable to force movement of such a calibre. His body was too cold at that point to do anything. Adam was afraid they were going to die. Troy had hope.

Each had new ideas about their circumstances as a body pulled them towards the shore.

“I am the newest one in the group and even I could remember where we were meant to meet,” Cassandra noted as she pushed Troy’s body the final stretch, letting him lie on the beach with deep breaths. “What happened to your arm?”

“Crazy doctor,” Troy said in deep breaths before getting on his side to lose a few extra stomach contents preserved from last time. It was terrible before and the new round wasn’t making it better. “Barely got away.”

“... I suppose I made the right choice,” Cassandra commented as she helped Troy up while side-stepping the piece of organic material. “Come on. The other two got through as well.”

That was always good news. Making sure Troy didn’t fall over in the process, the two youngsters got over to the other two in the group. In the distance, a smaller city could be seen, likely not having more than a few thousand people. The young man guessed that was their new destination soon enough.

Charlie was checking and making sure that Dr Hale was doing well enough, giving her a few energizing shots and taking vitals. Seeing that they were coming, the man bundled them up again before looking at Troy’s arm.

“That’s why I wanted to be last,” Charlie commented, clearly guessing where the wound originated from. “Did he get through as well?”

“No, he had to turn back due to the lack of air,” Troy said, much to the satisfaction of Charlie. “I shot a bullet directly onto his ear. Might have helped in making him turn back.”

“That would certainly do it,” Charlie agreed, smiling more than he had in many weeks. “Now change over to the prepared outfits. We need to look ordinary when we enter… “

Above them, a larger plane slowly became visible. It came from the side of the country they’d just left, clearly being military in origin. It flew lower than normal as it headed towards the city Troy had seen mere minutes before. As it got closer, objects began to fall, nearly twenty coming out before the plane was shot down from the side.

Troy wasn’t sure what exploded first. The bombs or the plane. All he knew was that they would need a new destination. The stand-off between the two countries had officially turned into a war.