The Unnaturals Prequel - Cataclysm
You stumble back the way you came, absent mindedly speaking into the darkness, "There is water back that way..."
Ocassionally a voice in the dark responds, but mostly you are only talking to yourself. The hundreds of people have now spread out through the miles of tunnels. You know that they go through and around the entirety of the city.
𝘓𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦.
Now that you've drank your fill though, you know that you won't die for at least a few more days. No point in suffering this terrible hunger for all that time. Could there be vending machines around? Perhaps even a cafeteria of some sort? Not likely, but worth a try.
You head back towards the platform where you spent the night. There are still a large group of people here. You hear some arguing in the darkness.
"If only we had some tools, we could give this electrical panel a shot!" Someone says.
𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴... You think sluggishly, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴.
"I have tools!" You call out.
"Well get over here then!" The voice shouts back. You stumble in that direction, bumping into people until you can feel the innards of an electrical panel open before you.
"Anybody have a light?" You ask. It will be virtually impossible to do this in the pitch black. However, everyones phones and flashlights have died.
Suddenly, a flicking sound gets your attention just before a zippo lighter is ignited somewhere behind you. At the sight of the flame, several people scream in fear.
"Bring it here," you call gently. The person obliges. With the help of the light, and the tools on your belt, you make some quick repairs to the breakers.
With an intense flash, several of the light bulbs around the platform flare to life. It is blinding and once again people cry out in pain and fear. After a few moments, your eyes adjust and you look around. Down the tunnel, you can see that the light only extends for a certain distance. There are around a hundred people gathered around the platform, and they all look terrible. Eyes are sunken in from traumatic stress as well as a lack of sleep and sustenance. Most people's skin has begun to pale, which looks strange given the typical lustrous golden-bronze of this evolved group of humans. Some have some pretty nasty burns. Everyone is looking around, confused as to what to do now that they can see.
You clear your throat and announce loudly, "There is some water trickling from the ceiling down the tunnel not far from here, you'll hear it if you go that way." You point in the direction you're pretty sure you came from, although everything looks different now that the lights are on. Some people begin heading off.
You turn to the some of the others who helped with the repair.
"Any chance of food down here?" You ask.
A younger man steps forward. "I've ridden these tunnels quite a bit. This is a rest stop between platforms with exits. There should be a small cafeteria here somewhere."
Everyone begins looking frantically around the newly illuminated area. Within seconds, someone calls out that they found a door. Almost at once, dozens of people begin scrambling towards it. There is some shoving and tensions skyrocket.
Despite some shouting for calm and order, almost no one listens. Everybody has the same manic look of desperation to appease their hunger, as if they will devour all of the food inside like a hoard of locusts. You have no choice but to join the stampede.
Ocassionally a voice in the dark responds, but mostly you are only talking to yourself. The hundreds of people have now spread out through the miles of tunnels. You know that they go through and around the entirety of the city.
𝘓𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦.
Now that you've drank your fill though, you know that you won't die for at least a few more days. No point in suffering this terrible hunger for all that time. Could there be vending machines around? Perhaps even a cafeteria of some sort? Not likely, but worth a try.
You head back towards the platform where you spent the night. There are still a large group of people here. You hear some arguing in the darkness.
"If only we had some tools, we could give this electrical panel a shot!" Someone says.
𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴... You think sluggishly, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴.
"I have tools!" You call out.
"Well get over here then!" The voice shouts back. You stumble in that direction, bumping into people until you can feel the innards of an electrical panel open before you.
"Anybody have a light?" You ask. It will be virtually impossible to do this in the pitch black. However, everyones phones and flashlights have died.
Suddenly, a flicking sound gets your attention just before a zippo lighter is ignited somewhere behind you. At the sight of the flame, several people scream in fear.
"Bring it here," you call gently. The person obliges. With the help of the light, and the tools on your belt, you make some quick repairs to the breakers.
With an intense flash, several of the light bulbs around the platform flare to life. It is blinding and once again people cry out in pain and fear. After a few moments, your eyes adjust and you look around. Down the tunnel, you can see that the light only extends for a certain distance. There are around a hundred people gathered around the platform, and they all look terrible. Eyes are sunken in from traumatic stress as well as a lack of sleep and sustenance. Most people's skin has begun to pale, which looks strange given the typical lustrous golden-bronze of this evolved group of humans. Some have some pretty nasty burns. Everyone is looking around, confused as to what to do now that they can see.
You clear your throat and announce loudly, "There is some water trickling from the ceiling down the tunnel not far from here, you'll hear it if you go that way." You point in the direction you're pretty sure you came from, although everything looks different now that the lights are on. Some people begin heading off.
You turn to the some of the others who helped with the repair.
"Any chance of food down here?" You ask.
A younger man steps forward. "I've ridden these tunnels quite a bit. This is a rest stop between platforms with exits. There should be a small cafeteria here somewhere."
Everyone begins looking frantically around the newly illuminated area. Within seconds, someone calls out that they found a door. Almost at once, dozens of people begin scrambling towards it. There is some shoving and tensions skyrocket.
Despite some shouting for calm and order, almost no one listens. Everybody has the same manic look of desperation to appease their hunger, as if they will devour all of the food inside like a hoard of locusts. You have no choice but to join the stampede.