The rats didn't take long to recover, but by then, I was confident the distance between us was unbridgeable…

A man running for his life could sense when he had outrun the enemy, but still, I was determined to run some more…

It was one of the fundamental laws of the Universe – when running for your life, even if you know you already got away, run a couple more miles just to be sure…

And ran I did…

I was so desperate that my technique evolved as I ran…

My arms stopped rushing back and forth, and instead, I kept both hands behind my back as I ran like the world's greatest butler…

When that did nothing to enhance my balance, I started to wiggle my upper body to see if that would enhance my speed…

When that didn't work, I started making clicking noises with my mouth, not sure if I was trying to establish a paste or beatbox…

"Cht…"

"Cht…"

"Cht…"

"Cht…"

I ran so fast, so thoroughly, so instinctually that I failed to notice the sewer wall directly in front of me…

Anyone would have figured that, at some point, they would have to turn, but I was not everyone – I was a survivor…

And as much as a survivor liked to survive, our brief instances of stupidity would always hinder that goal in some unexpected ways…

It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened next…

---BANG---

Boy meets wall…

Boy and wall tussle…

Boy loses to wall…

I staggered back in absolute confusion…

The ringing in my ears was not that severe considering I already had a headache that was threatening to split my head apart…

Actually, banging my head against the wall, and the headache inside my head kind of canceled each other out a bit….

This gave me a brief instance of clarity…

---SQUEAK---

The squeaking of the rats focused my clarity, and I leaped into the air, grabbing a hold of the well-hidden ladder above…

I pulled myself upward, tossing myself into the small tunnel above the ladder…

I was confident the rats would not be able to follow me all the way up here, and just for added insurance, I glanced around to ensure no hands of darkness would reap my life…

Needless to say, Rena's and Agne's death had traumatized my already trauma-filled mind…

I peered outside the small tunnel, wanting to gloat at the unfortunate rats that had missed their meal…

I knew I should have run…

I knew I shouldn't have looked back…

But when rats were chasing you for the better of ten minutes, and you had lost all your friends, there was a certain thirst for vengeance that could not be quelled…

Sadly, I could not gloat…

The moment my head peeked out of the tunnel, I was greeted by the sight of hundreds of rats climbing a ladder…

I didn't even know rats could climb ladders, but I guess I should have figured…

If the cooperation could make a genetic blend of a Rat and a Wolf, then, of course, they could create rats that could climb ladders…

Though, it did make one wonder – would rats be the end of humanity?

Well, it was preferred to roaches…

I pulled my head back inside the tunnel and began to crawl, reaching the other side in record time…

It would usually take me ten seconds to clear the tunnel at my fastest speed, but today, it took me four mighty seconds, and a snake crawling technique, to beat all my previous records…

The moment I rolled out of one side of the tunnel, the rats flooded in from the other side…

Thankfully, escape was just ahead…

Soon, I would make it to the corridor of the bunker, and there were so many traps in that corridor that even an Indiana Jones movie would be put to shame…

Alas, it was not meant to be…

My time had come…

I was the last, but death came for us all in the end…

The moment I turned around, I was greeted by a dark humanoid figure…

Its back was bent all the way to the ground, and it stood on two feet and two hands…

It partially hid in the shadow, and I was certain if I could see its face, I would have died from a heart attack immediately…

Perhaps the creature knew it was ugly enough to scare me to death, so it hid its face to capture a live pray…

I was probably gonna be the unlucky one…

Rena and Agne died immediately, but thanks to my luck, I was sure the creature would take its time to savor my sweet bones…

In that instant, time froze…

My mind worked a mile a minute…

And something inside me clicked….

I knew I would die, but I could choose how to die…

Without any hesitation, I spun around and attempted to throw myself back into the tunnel, hoping the rats could devour my body…

Compared to the creature of death that could devour my soul, the rats were a much-preferred alternative, but I moved too slow…

I was a nanosecond too late…

An inhuman screech left the creature's mouth, and I felt my legs tugged from under my body before I could take the leap of death…

My soul froze, and I could faintly feel my Life Force draining from my feet…

In an instant, I was pulled into the darkness – the domain of The God of Death…

I punched, cried, and struggled as the creature dragged me deeper and deeper into the depths of the tunnel, but I could not gain any reprieve…

Then I remembered the name of the creature – a creature my mom often described in bedtime stories – the legendary Chupacabra…

An eater of souls…

A soiler of purity…

A creature with a tongue so long it could lick into the depths of your anus…

I unconsciously clenched my butt-cheeks as the creature dragged me away….

"HeHeHe…"

I heard a creepy laugh and I knew it was over…

The Chupacabra bit into my shoulder and I lost all the will to live…

My screams turned into whimpers, and when the creature's teeth released my shoulder, I curled up on the ground as madness seeped into my mind…

"Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now…"

"Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now…"

"Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now…"

My unconscious mumbles were a prayer that I didn't even know I knew, but I was glad I did…

I rocked back and forth, wondering when the creature would come back to finish its feeding but minutes passed and nothing happened…

Just as I was about to die from terror, I heard a faint cough from my left…

"I'm sorry, man…"

The voice sounded timid – a bit guilty even…

My head snapped to the left, and there was greeted by the sight of Rocky with black paste covering his skin…

Rena and Agne stood some ways behind him, choking back fits of laughter…

I was confused for a couple of seconds, not able to process what was happening "How?" I questioned, trying desperately to put the pieces together…

"Ha… Ha… HA…" Rocky made an awkward laugh, brushing some of the paste off his skin "Remember that one time we watch those old scary movies?" he asked, and I nodded…

Rocky continued, looking genuinely indignant "Well, there was this guy called Freddy, and the other one was called Jason… and they chased these bunch of tourists around all the movie… All the tourists did was running around as they were killed one by one… eventually, someone was like 'we need to kill these guys' and everyone agreed… in the end, only one of them survived, and I had an epiphany at that moment – what was the correct choice to ensure everyone survived I thought – then I realized the answer to beat the abyss it to become a part of the abyss!" he announced proudly…

Embarrassment was beginning to overcloud my earlier terror, but Rocky was not finished with his explanation…

"Why did they run from Freddy and Jason when all they had to do was become a monster that also killed their friends? Hence, when I saw the rats I knew – I just need to change sides!" Rocky announced, looking proud of his genius solution…

---BANG---

I wasn't even sure when I moved, I only knew that my first connected with Rocky's face the next instant…

Anger and Rage clouded my mind…

'How could this motherfucker dare to fuck with me like that?' I raged internally, showering fist after fist on Rocky's rock-like head, but all I received for my efforts was laughter…

"HaHaHa HaHaHa HaHaHa HaHaHa…" Rocky laughed and cover his head, trying to deflect my blows "I promise I won't do it again – your hands smell like piss, stop hitting me!"

"You motherfucker!" I yelled "I was so fucking scared… I almost committed suicide…"

Rocky pushed me away, still trying to choke back some laughter "You should thank me…" he snorted "You almost committed suicide by throwing yourself into a rat horde, but I – loyal as always – caught you at the last moment…"

I just sighed and lost all strength in my body…

Rocky was always going to be Rocky, and knowing that, I knew that shouting or punching would do nothing to someone who had been beaten and scolded all his life…

Still, there was one question left unanswered "Why did you bite me?"

Rocky seemed confused "What do you mean?" he questioned…

---GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR---

Rocky turned mechanically, peering into the shadows of the sewers, and by the time he turned around, me, Rena, and Agne were halfway into a new tunnel…

Needless to say, I had learned my lesson – always be the first one to run!