Ethan held the candle high, its flame casting a weak glow across the drainage canal's slick walls, the light bouncing off moss and trickling water. The tunnel stretched ahead, concrete arching low overhead, forcing him to stoop as he led the way southwest. Mia followed, axe scraping the floor with each step, her boots sloshing through the ankle-deep muck. Cal gripped the crowbar behind her, the rope coiled at his belt brushing the water, while Tara brought up the rear, bat tapping the wall in a restless rhythm. The air hung thick with rot and salt, the drip ahead growing sharper, a constant plink against the damp.
The tunnel's walls bore scars—cracks spidering through the concrete, roots punching in from above, twisting like skeletal fingers. [Perception] caught the details: rust stains bleeding down from old pipes, a faint shimmer of scales embedded in the muck—shed skin, not fresh. [Predator Sense] hummed, picking up no heartbeats, no skitters, just the echo of their own steps bouncing back.
"Smells like a sewer," Tara muttered, kicking a clump of moss into the water.
"It's drainage," Mia said, lifting her axe to avoid a dangling root. "Rainwater, not waste. Still nasty."
Cal snorted, crowbar tapping a pipe. "Nasty's fine if it's clear."
Ethan paused, raising the candle higher. The tunnel split ahead—two paths diverging, one southwest, the other veering south. Water flowed faster from the southwest fork, a shallow current tugging at their boots, while the south path sat dry, its floor caked with dirt and debris. He knelt, holding the flame near the muck, and spotted a rusted sign bolted to the wall: SW Exit - 0.8 mi. The south fork had no marker.
"Southwest's the way," he said, standing. "Matches Riley's map."
"Wet's a bad sign," Cal said, peering into the current. "Could flood."
"Dry's a dead end," Ethan replied, nodding to the south fork's clutter—broken pipes, a collapsed grate. "We push on."
They waded into the southwest path, the water rising to their shins, cold seeping through their shoes. The tunnel narrowed, walls pressing in, the candle's light barely reaching the ceiling. A low groan rumbled through the concrete, not a quake but a strain, like the earth settling under pressure. Ethan steadied himself against the wall, the shovel's blade scraping moss, and kept moving.
The drip sharpened into a rush ahead, the current swirling faster. Ethan rounded a bend, candle flickering, and stopped. A metal grate blocked the tunnel, its bars bent but holding, water gushing through from the other side. Beyond it, the canal continued, but something caught the light—a pile of bones, human, tangled in the bars, scraps of cloth clinging to the ribs. A skull stared back, jaw hanging open, half-submerged.
Mia gripped her axe tighter, stepping beside him. "Survivors?"
"Were," Cal said, crowbar resting on his shoulder. "Didn't make it."
Tara leaned forward, bat tapping the grate. "Bars are solid. How'd they get stuck?"
Ethan held the candle closer, the flame glinting off the bones. [Perception] picked out a detail—a rusted padlock chaining the grate to the wall, its keyhole clogged with mud. "Locked in," he said, pointing. "Tried to get through, drowned."
"Great," Tara muttered, stepping back. "So we're screwed."
"Not yet," Ethan said, handing the candle to Mia. He jammed the shovel's blade into the lock, prying hard. The metal creaked, rust flaking off, but held. Cal joined him, wedging the crowbar alongside, and they heaved together. The lock snapped with a sharp crack, the chain splashing into the water.
The grate swung open, groaning on its hinges, the current surging stronger. Ethan took the candle back, holding it over the bones as they stepped through. The tunnel widened beyond, the water calming, the walls smoother—less cracked, less rooted. A faint breeze brushed his face, carrying a hint of fresh air.
"Exit's close," he said, leading on. "Keep moving."
They pressed forward, the candle's wax dripping onto Ethan's hand, the flame steady. The bones stayed behind, a silent warning, but the tunnel stretched on, promising a way out.
[Objective completed: Scout the drainage canal]
[Attributes Gained: +1 Perception]
[Rewards Gained: None]
The light ahead grew, a sliver of red sky piercing the dark. They were almost through.