The Unnaturals Prequel - Cataclysm
Despite the fact that you are safe for the moment, despair washes over you. Through the beams of flashlights in the darkness, you manage to find a small area against a wall to sit. You all but collapse onto it. Placing your head in your hands, you can't help but sob uncontrollably.
Your mind reels as it finally begins to process all that it has seen within the last few hours. You've witnessed the deaths of inumberable people, the destruction of your city and perhaps the end of the world. Of the several hundred people crowded in the underground tracks, not one is able to muster the strength to organize. Many people simply fall asleep wherever they are, hoping against hope that this has all been nothing more than a nightmare.
But when you awake in the dark, stench filled tunnel, you know that this is your new reality. There is some mild conversation around what to do next. The general consensus seems to be that you should all wait to be rescued. But, as yet another day passes by, it dawns on you that a rescue party may never come, and even if they did, who knows how long you could be trapped down here beneath tons of molten stone.
Most flashlights have burnt out by this point. The blackness is so complete that even your evolved eyes can barely make out so much as a shape. You are reduced to your sense of smell and hearing. Though your nose eventually becomes acustomed to the scent of fear, soiled clothes and death, your ears pick up new sounds. There is a soft trickling echoing through the tunnel system.
It suddenly dawns on your shocked mind that you and everybody else in this tunnel are likely dehydrated to near the point of death. You muster up the strength to pursure the sound.
You stagger through the darkness for a long while, occasionally bumping into another person, or tripping over a limp form. The trickling sound is getting closer.
Finally, it sounds as though it is right in front of you. The soft dripping is splashing onto something. You stumble forward, right into a person. With a snarl, the person lashes out, striking you in the shoulder. You fall onto the ground. The splashing continues and you feel a light spray on your legs. Anger floods your mind. With everything that has happened today and in your desperate state, you instinctively decide to fight. Reaching onto your tool belt, you take out a hammer. Even though you can't see your target, you can guess roughly where their head should be.
You swing with all of your might and feel the metal head of the hammer crunch into bone, followed by the sound of a body collapsing. You pause for only a moment to ensure there will not be another blow before stepping under the dripping. It splashes onto your forehead, then your nose and finally into your sand dry mouth. It is water!
Nothing has ever tasted so good in your life. Immense satisfaction flows through you as the water soothes your tongue and throat. You guzzle until you feel you might throw up. Only then do you realize you have killed the person who was there before you. Even though they hit you first, you can't help but feel a little bad.
Fortunately for your conscious, a rumbling in your stomach reminds you of the second most important resource you need: food. However, you are hesitant to leave this source of water as it may be the only one in the entire tunnel network.
Should you remain here with the water or go back to search for food?
Your mind reels as it finally begins to process all that it has seen within the last few hours. You've witnessed the deaths of inumberable people, the destruction of your city and perhaps the end of the world. Of the several hundred people crowded in the underground tracks, not one is able to muster the strength to organize. Many people simply fall asleep wherever they are, hoping against hope that this has all been nothing more than a nightmare.
But when you awake in the dark, stench filled tunnel, you know that this is your new reality. There is some mild conversation around what to do next. The general consensus seems to be that you should all wait to be rescued. But, as yet another day passes by, it dawns on you that a rescue party may never come, and even if they did, who knows how long you could be trapped down here beneath tons of molten stone.
Most flashlights have burnt out by this point. The blackness is so complete that even your evolved eyes can barely make out so much as a shape. You are reduced to your sense of smell and hearing. Though your nose eventually becomes acustomed to the scent of fear, soiled clothes and death, your ears pick up new sounds. There is a soft trickling echoing through the tunnel system.
It suddenly dawns on your shocked mind that you and everybody else in this tunnel are likely dehydrated to near the point of death. You muster up the strength to pursure the sound.
You stagger through the darkness for a long while, occasionally bumping into another person, or tripping over a limp form. The trickling sound is getting closer.
Finally, it sounds as though it is right in front of you. The soft dripping is splashing onto something. You stumble forward, right into a person. With a snarl, the person lashes out, striking you in the shoulder. You fall onto the ground. The splashing continues and you feel a light spray on your legs. Anger floods your mind. With everything that has happened today and in your desperate state, you instinctively decide to fight. Reaching onto your tool belt, you take out a hammer. Even though you can't see your target, you can guess roughly where their head should be.
You swing with all of your might and feel the metal head of the hammer crunch into bone, followed by the sound of a body collapsing. You pause for only a moment to ensure there will not be another blow before stepping under the dripping. It splashes onto your forehead, then your nose and finally into your sand dry mouth. It is water!
Nothing has ever tasted so good in your life. Immense satisfaction flows through you as the water soothes your tongue and throat. You guzzle until you feel you might throw up. Only then do you realize you have killed the person who was there before you. Even though they hit you first, you can't help but feel a little bad.
Fortunately for your conscious, a rumbling in your stomach reminds you of the second most important resource you need: food. However, you are hesitant to leave this source of water as it may be the only one in the entire tunnel network.
Should you remain here with the water or go back to search for food?