Scott could barely see where he was going. He heard the whistling of pipes and felt all sorts of metallic objects around him but he had no idea where he was headed. He stumbled around a lot trying to find his bearings. The overwhelming smell of metal made him a bit dizzy. Hopefulness started to leave him bit by bit the more he stumbled around trying to find the exit. A pipe extended across the ground caused him to stumble but catch himself at the last second. He paused for a moment, then remembered his son. He looked into the sash where his son was, safely snuggled in there. From the darkness, Scott could make out his son's facial expression. He wasn't happy, he had a very scared look but he still kept quiet. Scott kissed his forehead to reassure him everything would be alright and closed the sash. He started carefully walking again towards the direction he thought was an escape route. He noticed a small light ahead of him, about twenty feet away. As he walked closer, he could make out the light coming from the metal grate from above, splitting the bright light from a hallway so it was in a striped pattern on the floor. It was enough light for Scott to see where he was going. He heard a couple panicked guards talking ahead but he couldn't make out what they were saying. The hiss of the pipes was too loud, it overwhelmed a lot of the noise above. The grate light seemed to go on for the rest of the walkway Scott took. It seemed like a few minutes of walking, something stopped him in his tracks. He heard a loud echo from a bang somewhere behind him. He held his breath to listen to any footsteps coming at him. He heard, at first, the quiet trampling of something heavy and metal on the floor as it clanked closer and closer to him. He could see a faint red light bob up and down in the distance. He squinted his eyes as he made out the crude form of the hungry, metallic creature, still hungrily pursuing him. Oh fuck…! He snapped out of his trance and whipped around. He sprinted as fast as he could away from the monster, dead set on his path to escaping this horrid place. The monster was still pursuing him..! How the hell did it get past the door..? Oh fuck I need to find a way out of here quick! Through his thoughts, he noticed there was a fork in the pathway ahead of him, pipes leading to the left and right of him. He didn’t stop to think which way was correct, he swung to the right and kept sprinting. He could hear the creature stumble a bit as it slid across the ground. It made a loud clunk as its body slid into the wall of pipes that made up the fork. It shook its head and adjusted itself before continuing the pursuit. Scott heard it let out a low growl, like he could almost feel it’s breath on his heels.

Ahead of them looked like a maze of twisting and turning pipes, almost barricading the path to freedom from Scott. Scott took a deep breath as he dove right into the easiest crevices for him to navigate. He was careful not to trip himself or run into any pipes that might hurt his child. He carefully swung his body around the obstacles and got to his knees to crawl underneath an abnormally large pipe. He quickly glanced behind himself to see if the creature was still there. The creature let out another defiant roar as its claws seemed to grow a couple more feet. It tore and slash at the tangled up pipes as it ravishly glared at Scott. It opened up its jaws and encased a low hanging pipe in them. Once it secured it’s teeth over it, it violently ripped the pipe away. The pipe screeched as its metal grinded against the teeth of the creature in a sickening way. A sudden hissing noise came from the area that the pipe was covering, pure steam submerging every corner of the room. It let out a shocked roar, as its bearings were overpowered by the sight of thick, grey steam. It stumbled around a bit before continuing its torment in the direction it thought Scott was in. Scott continued to crawl underneath the big pipe ahead of him, breathing harder as the air became thicker and harder to breathe. His vision started to fog up as he pawed around on the ground wearily. Shit.. I can’t see..! It’s determined to kill me..! I need to find a way to get away from it.. He got to his feet and sprinted away as the tangle of pipes ceased in the direction he was heading. His vision was still foggy but he could see where his feet were. He could still hear the clanging of pipes as the creature tore away at the remaining barricade and a defiant roar echoed throughout the chasm. He shook his head and kept sprinting in the direction he thought was correct as tears streamed down his cheeks. He could barely see..! Scott was dead set on his goal of saving his son... he’d rather die trying to save his son than let that monster take him, he thought to himself. He was too lost in his own thought to notice that another maze of pipes appeared right in front of him. He skidded to a halt as to stop himself from hurting his child. It twisted and turned seemingly into a sick and crude attempt to stop him from leaving. It seemed to grow and get bigger as Scott started to panic. He whipped his head side to side looking for an escape route. He started to outwardly breathe heavily as the sick realization washed over him, like a rat cornered by the cat. There was no other way… no other escape besides the wall of pipes in front of him. The smoke and pipes seemed to laugh at Scott, as he pitifully stuck his arms through the gaps between the pipes and pawed at the other side. He could barely see with the combination of steam and tears as he blindly tore away at the pipes in front of him. He turned around again to see the creature tearing its way through the last of the remaining pipes. It seemed to give a sick and wicked grin from its metal jaws as the last pipe was torn from its bolts. It gave a high pitched growl as it slowly approached Scott while arching its back. It crawled on the ground in a low, but fierce manner, akin to a cat approaching the rat it just cornered. Scott stood in confrontation as the creature made its way towards him, inch by inch. He inched backwards until his back was smoothly pressed against the sick twisting of the pipes. He quietly put his hands behind him and started to feel around the wall of pipes as he watched the intimidating movements of the creature intently. It let out another growl, seemingly taunting Scott for his pathetic escape attempt. Scott glared at it and let out his own growl, deep from his throat. It paused for a second to ponder what noise Scott made at it, then growled even louder. As it inched closer, Scott felt the gap between two pipes seem to widen a bit. As he felt it, he realized that it was just wide enough for him to fit through…! He gave one last look at it before saying the word “bitch” and swiftly maneuvered his body through the gap. As he jumped through it to escape, the creature let out a large roar as it lunged at Scott in a last-ditch effort to slaughter him. The talons of the machine connected with Scott’s clothes as it tore through the linen and made contact with the soft flesh of his back. He let out a scream of pain as he went flying forward. He fell to his side, in agony as his back dripped warm, sticky blood. The creature’s head seemed to catch in between two strong pipes, wriggling underneath them unable to escape. The arm it used to harm Scott was caught in a tangle of more strong pipes. It let out pitiful cries and yelps as it wriggled around but to no avail. The pipes seem to turn sides as they laughed at the creature’s attempt to escape from its prison. Scott sat up and stared at the creature, and then raised a hand to point at it. He gave a symphony of giggles and laughs as he taunted the stuck creature. It looked at him with malice as the red eyes flickered with hate and the whip-like tail moved from side to side. The dopamine coursing through his body started to subside, as a result, making him giddy. He looked around himself for a final escape and noticed a large tunnel with a bright light to the right of him. He said a final “fuck you” to the creature before running even more to freedom. He heard from behind, the creature let out a deafening cry. He kept blindly running towards the area in front of him, happiness and relief flooding over every sense.

Light broke above his head as he squinted to adjust his eyes. Once his vision came to, he looked around at his surroundings. He made out the shapes of the worn out shacks that he was used to seeing all around him. He recognized this place… he was on the outskirts of the Slum…! He could navigate to his home from here. But… would they be waiting for him to come home..? Would they be waiting with a group of guards with big guns to mow him down…? He hesitated for a moment. Where will I go…? I’m gonna be on the run my entire life now… His eyes started to well up again. He paused, and then wiped the tears away in annoyance. I have to stay strong, for Willow… He gave a glance at his chest where the baby was wrapped up. He opened it up to look at his child one last time. The baby looked up at him with frightful eyes. ..And for my son…! On that note, he closed the sheet and started quietly slinking around towards the direction he knew to be his home.

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(author's note) *tapas only lets you put 15,000 characters so I have to split it up sorry!*