Apocalypse: The Ice King Returned

Chapter 9: Underground

It roared, and it stomped the ground harder. It looked like a large ball of muscle, ready to strike. The whole parking lot shook. It suddenly ran at Constance.

It bolted forward and crashed into a car, totaling the entire driver's side.

Luther's eyes widened. Where he stood, he could not see his sister.

"Luther..."

Luther heard her calling him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Listen, Constance! It’s a rank four, so it’s much faster and stronger than us. But it’s too fast for its own good, so we can dodge it better if you don’t run in a straight line. Find something to hide behind and keep looking for a manhole!"

The monster turned its attention to him once he spoke, and Luther ran to hide. Luther could still hear the zombie horde getting closer and he knew they were running out of time.

Luther hid behind a column, and the large beast rammed its body into it before running the other direction. It left a large crack in the cement and dust picked up and filled the air from his attack. Before he was reborn, Luther had fought many Viro-Cryptids. He learned about their many advantages in destruction and endurance, but he learned their weaknesses too. These monsters were unable to change their direction in the middle of an attack. They also needed time and distance to gain momentum before they charge at their target. These were not new beings to Luther, and he knew exactly how to defeat one without getting hurt.

As the zombies entered the garage, Luther was able to plow them down by using them as an obstacle between himself and the monster. This went on for the next few minutes, but Luther was still full of energy.

"Luther, I found it! Here, under the car." 

Hearing his sister’s voice, Luther hurried over. He gave a half-smile in relief. He pushed the car with all his might.

Constance warned him as he pushed, “They’re coming!”

Luther glanced back at the Viro-Cryptid as it got ready to charge at them from about thirty feet away. He pushed the car faster and quickly pried up the metal lid. He took his sister’s hand and helped her down into the sewer.

As they dropped to the bottom, a loud crash echoed down into the sewer system and they looked up to see that the opening had been covered by the beast.

They must have jumped down just in time to dodge it. Constance gasped as they sat on the wet floor of the sewer. She looked over at Luther who began to stand. As he helped her up, she realized they would have been meatloaf had they stayed another second on the ground above. 

As Luther started walking down the sewer system, Constance shook her head at him. She still did not know the experience he had living like this, and she only viewed him as a freak.

Luther caught his breath as he walked. He spoke over his shoulder, "Hurry up, the Viro-Cryptid won’t be able to follow us down here, but the zombies can still fit through that manhole."

Constance nodded and picked up her pace. 

They moved forward in the sewers. There was a disgusting rotten smell, like the scent of a zombie. Constance covered her mouth to avoid gagging, but Luther did not seem to care. He just held up his flashlight and kept walking.

The sewer had a canal half about two feet deep and nine feet wide. The stench came from the smelly water in this canal. It was filled with sewage and all kinds of trash and filth. The smell was rising from the water on the bottom.

Luther and Constance walked on the narrow walkway above the water to avoid stepping inside. Apart from the sound of their own footsteps, as well as the occasional dripping of water, the silence of the sewer was eerie and sent a chill up Constance’s spine.

Constance was a very brave person, but even so, she felt afraid as she stayed close to her brother as they walked on.

They had walked for over half a mile before they heard the vague echo of a zombie roar behind them. Even though it was very far behind them, Luther started to pick up his pace.

 "The horde isn’t going to walk slowly. We need to keep our distance."

They walked faster now, but the shrieks seemed to echo louder behind them. 

"Run." Luther had underestimated the bloodthirst of the zombies. They were going much faster than he anticipated.

After they turned down a few corners, Constance tapped her brother’s arm. "Luther, there’s a gate." 

Luther looked ahead and saw a large archway where the water was running, but it was sealed off by a rusty iron gate. Trash and filth had collected there, and it seemed pointless to try and open it. 

Constance turned pale and sighed, "It's over." 

"Not yet," Luther said coldly. He rushed to move the garbage out of the way, and he called back to his sister, "Come and help me."

Constance hesitantly joined him. She asked, anxiously. "Luther, why are we moving trash?" 

But he did not answer. He just focused on moving the garbage until he found a black iron bump. "All right, stop." 

Constance asked, "What is that?" 

"The handle that opens the gate," Luther replied, reaching down to pull it as hard as he could. It was rusted and he could not make it budge. He breathed harshly, "Give me a hand. The handle hasn’t been used in so long, I can’t get it to move on my own.”

As she stepped forward to help him, a loud roar shook her entire body and she stood, motionless. Behind her, a few zombies had turned the final corner and saw them. The sound of footsteps and screams showed that there were dozens more just behind that corner.

"Don't just stand there, come help me." Luther scolded her.

Constance quickly ran over and gripped the handle with Luther. They both tugged it hard and fell back with a loud Crack!

The handle broke off in their hands.

"It's broken. What do we do?" Constance started to panic. Her eyes were wide as she glanced back at the zombies that were starting to close in on them. Her face was frozen and draining white. “Luther, what do we do?!”

There were beads of sweat on Luther’s forehead. Just as he was about to throw away the broken handle, he had an idea. 

Luther quickly put the broken piece back where it came from and put all his energy into freezing it. The metal was bonded by ice, but the ice did not look strong enough to support it. 

His eyes turned red. He used his power, not to make more ice, but to make the ice stronger. This was new for him, something he hadn’t tried before. He had to use his power to achieve the third level of strength in his ice. He was just a rank two bronze, and even a Silver level Erazer would have trouble attempting this.

By now, the zombies were only seconds away. Constance understood what her brother was trying to do, so she took a deep breath, then pulled out her fire ax and stepped up to the closest zombie. She was terrified, but it was time for her to protect the man who had saved her until now.