Again, sorry this took so long. I'm still working though, I promise. I'm planning for this to be a rather long one, so...yeah. I don't know how long it will take but I'll finish eventually. I know this is also a pretty short chapter, but I've already started the next one and I wanted to at least get something up for you guys. For those of you that are still watching this fic, thank you for your support.

The rusted garage door opened up about two feet above the ground and Alex ducked under and came rushing to Arwyn's side, pushing the man protectively behind him just before the creature swung. It missed them by inches. As it slammed its front stumps into the ground, Alex led it on and the thing followed him around until it was far enough away that Arwyn was safe for the time. He would have been able to get away but he couldn't leave Alex. He emptied shells into its face and Arwyn watched without a sound. His mouth hung open in shock and he watched, fearfully, as Alex fought with it. The massive creature fell, dead, to the ground after a few shots and no one had been hurt.

Inhaling deeply, Arwyn ran over to the other, ignoring any pain that raced through his body. The thin man stood close to the other, their bodies nearly touching, and held Alex's face in his hands. "A-Alex...you're okay..." He bit his lip, looking up at the other man with tearful relief.

Alex furrowed his brows at the other, "I thought for sure you were dead. What happened to you?"

Before Arwyn could answer, he heard the static of the radio again and knew that something more was coming. Alex briskly gripped his arm and led him away, lifting the manhole and sliding it off to the side. The shaken Englishman descended first and his counterpart followed immediately afterward, replacing the cover and sealing them in.

Arywn desperately gripped each rung as he made his way down the ladder on weak legs. He slipped a few times but always caught himself. The man above him urged him on in a confused and concerned fashion. After what seemed like eternity itself, they finally reached the bottom and after just a few more steps, Arwyn's legs gave out from beneath him and he collapsed. Alex, of course, was right behind him and caught the poor man as he fell, "Arwyn!"

He had so many questions...but first he needed to get the clearly injured man somewhere safer than this sewer. He hoped they could get through quickly, or at least hide out until the creatures above passed. He slung Arwyn's arm over his shoulder and led him off to the side to sit against the wall for a few moments.

"Arwyn...are you okay? What's wrong?"

The man paused for a few moments before forcing a reassuring smile, "Nothing. Don't worry."

Eventually the Englishman stood again. The duo dropped off the platform and moved forward through the tunnel, passing a rusted wreckage of a car on their way. There were several gates, and they opted for the one on the left with a valve beside it. Alex turned it and let the other through, who in turn cranked it open for him. The pair moved through and eventually found a large hole through the wall which led past an otherwise dead end. The descended on the other side into water which was up to their thighs. It made them both nervous. Arwyn hung back a bit behind Alex, just in case.

"Oh. Here, take this," Alex stopped suddenly, turning to toss the other a pack of ammo.

"Thanks," Arwyn spoke as he loaded his gun with a sigh of relief. Just as the revolver locked back into place, something stirred beneath the water. After merely one step forward, the creature jumped up. It looked like a person with their legs bound back behind their body. There were huge, metal, curved claws extended from what used to be hands. They swung forward with great strength, but Arwyn ducked out of the way.

The beast's vertical mouth pulsed open an closed as if it had no control over its muscle contractions. It spanned the height of its head and was lined with sharp teeth; that was where Arwyn aimed his gun. He emptied a few shots right into it, and the creature dropped dead without much of a fight. As the pair moved further, a second of these lurkers shot up from the water. Alex took care of it this time, fairly quickly, and they were able to move on.

They continued through many strange tunnels, over platforms, and through many broken walls before they reached an especially dark and snaking tunnel. Down a ways they found another large gate with a red valve. Alex cranked it open again and let Arwyn through. He went to turn it again but something was wrong. No matter how hard he twisted, it wouldn't budge.

"Alex, it's stuck..."

Before the other could respond, a shrill cry pierced the air. It sounded like a screaming, wailing banshee, and as they looked back they could see its source. It was a grey, eyeless creature, human in shape but listless. The face was serene and emotionless, aside from the gaping, toothless mouth which let out the horrible wail. The two couldn't help but protectively cover their ears, for the sound was deafening and terrible. Then the clicking started. Ten sets of metallic needlepoint legs tapped against the walls, the ceiling, the floor. They came in fast like a mob, surrounding Alex too quickly for him to comprehend the situation.

Alex held his gun at the ready and Arwyn urged him on, unable to pass through the gate and assist. He shot shells into crowd of them, sinking bullets into their bellies where their weakest points were. All the while the toothless creature screamed. Just barely ducking away from swinging blows from the needlers' legs, Alex emptied his rounds into what he thought was the last one.

He felt one of the legs collide with his back and it sent him forward to the ground. The creature lifted its leg, as if to pierce Alex with it, but was knocked off and startled long enough for Alex to sink his blade between its eyes. The monster fell over dead and left the man with merely a shallow cut down his back.

The needlers kept filing in after that. It was as if they were drawn to the squealing of the grey creature. Alex was baffled and distressed and Arwyn shouted, "Kill the mannequin!"

Hurrying to the creature in spite of the impeding swarm, Alex hoisted up his axe from his back. He swung hard, making contact with the mannequin's neck and taking off the head. Before their eyes, the head lost its fluid look and was nothing more than dull plastic rolling on the ground. The body toppled over and the wailing ceased instantly. He was able then to return his attention to the needle-legged creatures closing in on him. He shot at them, going along the circular edge of the crowd. They fell, one by one, and Arwyn breathed a sigh of relief as his line of vision opened up again to show Alex still standing.

As the final creature convulsed and died, the valve loosened enough for Arwyn to turn it. With that, he called Alex over and the larger man ducked under the open gate. After making sure once again that the coast was clear, the duo continued through the maze of tunnels. They came across several more of the lurkers, but there wasn't much else trouble. Arwyn was getting a bit of a shake in his legs, though he grit his teeth and bore the pain. They had to be close.

Soon after, they arrived in an open circular area with a heavy grate beneath their feet. There were pillars around them a big gate on the opposing side. The valve was hard to turn, and after trying for some time, Alex stopped to the familiar clicking sound of needle feet. Both of them had their guns at the ready and waited for the creatures to approach. As they drew close enough, Alex aimed for the body and Arwyn for the head. There were only two.

Then there was a terrible howl. It was a low, guttural growl from behind them. Arywn recognized the sound from earlier and tensed in horror. From the darkness of the tunnel, the large creature which they'd seen outside the police station emerged. Alex let out a shotgun blast to its chest, and the damage was minimal. The creature swung its might arm at the man, and he just missed the blow but had fallen back from the impact shaking the ground. Arwyn shot his revolver, but the bullets seemed to do nothing. He shot at the smaller legs in back and the beast growled in pain at that. He kept shooting at those dainty legs, keeping his back to the wall and staying along the edge of the circle. After a few more shots, he had to jump out of the way of a giant arm, long legs stumbling over the grate to land him on his hip. The creature approached faster than he could get up, but Alex had recovered by that point and aimed his shotgun for the dangling legs. He kept shooting and shooting, and as the creature lifted its arm once more it fell over dead, body landing just beside Arwyn as he got out of the way at light speed.

Following a brief and terrified embrace on Arywn's part, the two continued to try the gate again. This time it opened, and they followed the procedure which they always had: Arwyn went through first and Alex followed. From there they could see the end: a ladder. Arwyn, in his weakened state, leaned heavily against Alex as they made their way toward it. The Englishman's arm was slung over the other's shoulder, and he could no longer hide his limp. Alex was worried, though he said nothing just yet. It wasn't the time for questions; he was more concerned with getting them to safety. They reached it, and Alex sent the smaller one up first so he could catch him if he slipped. Arwyn managed to make it up just barely, arms and legs shaking all the while. He used a great deal of his remaining strength to push the manhole open and crawl out of that sewer.

Upon reaching the surface, Arwyn collapsed again. The other hurried to his side, slipping his arms under the injured one's body and lifting him up to carry him the rest of the way. There was a small whimper, but nothing more.

Mere steps from the manhole from which they'd exited, the small radio attached to Alex's pocket buzzed on, "Alex? Alex! Come in, are you there?"

Alex held down the button to respond with his free hand, the other firmly holding Arwyn, "Wheeler? Are you alright?" Alex asked in concern.

"I've been better, but I'm okay. Did you find Elle?"

"No, I haven't seen her. I'm looking for her now. Where are you?"

"I'm just now leaving the station to find Fitch. Look, we need to stick together! Meet me at his office, maybe he knows where Elle is."

"Okay. I'll meet you there." With that, he slipped the radio back into his pocket.

As they started toward the office, Arwyn looked up in confusion, "Who's Elle?"

"A friend of mine. I've been looking for her for a while now."

"Erm...she doesn't happen to be a small blonde woman, does she?" Arwyn could feel the discomfort rising in his chest.

"Y-yeah, actually. Why? Have you seen her?"

"More or less. She…it was too late to save her when I found her. Something must have attacked her. That…I got this radio from her body. It's how I contacted you…"

"She's dead? Are you serious? Oh god…" Alex looked distraught.

"I'm sorry, Alex…I didn't know or I would have told you sooner," he frowned.

"It's…I should tell Wheeler. Let's just get to the office, alright?"

"Okay."

From then on, it was a near silent trip. Arwyn cradled his gun in hand as a few rustling sounds were heard, having it at the ready in case something came by. Sure enough, there were a few of those skinless canines which he'd seen earlier in the cemetery, but they were easy enough to be rid of. He took them out as the duo hurried through the streets.

There were droplets of blood on the ground as they reached the office, and from a distance they could see the frail old man holding some sort of blade in hand. Alex put a hand to his shoulder to get his attention when calling out elicited no response, "Hey…Doc Fitch? Are you okay?"

The old man whimpered, as if frightened, "What do you want?"

Upon examining the blade closer, it was clear there was no injury on the man and the blood which trickled down his hand was not his at all. "Whose blood is that? What have you done?" Alex demanded.
The doctor sprinted away from them, into the building, "St-stay away from me…"

Alex quickly made his way for the door which the doctor had slammed behind him, coming upon a small clinic inside. There was a loveseat and couch near the door and the counter where a secretary would normally be directly across from them. It was dark and empty, and most disturbingly lacking even the doctor who they'd both seen enter. Where could he have gone?

"Here," Alex spoke as he set the injured one down on the couch. "You should rest for a while, alright? I'm gonna search the place and see where Fitch went."

Arwyn looked up as soon as the other headed away, grabbing a loose fistful of his shirt, "Alex! Don't leave me…" He looked desperate, and knew he was being a touch clingy, but he didn't know what he would do if those creatures came for him again.

"Don't worry, Arwyn. I'll be right back." With that, he placed a kiss on the other's forehead and headed through the archway on the far right of the main room, entering into a hallway. The door to the immediate right was jammed shut, but the second opened just fine. It appeared to be a little girl's room, and it must have belonged to Fitch's daughter. It wasn't quite a bedroom, but it was certainly a playroom of sorts. There were no other doors inside and everything else in the hall was sealed tight. For the time being, it seemed the doctor had somehow disappeared. It wasn't worth searching now, so Alex turned back to be with Arwyn.

Though, as he went for the door, he could hear the clatter of heels against the floor outside. Something was out there.