“What's this train for?” asked Brigitte.
“We use it to take stuff to the second floor. Don't worry, it's quick.” said one of the guards. After a short interlude, they had arrived at the Second Level, the windows having gone dark.
The doors opened, revealing the second floor to all. Dark and cavernous, no starlight ever reached down here. The ceiling was enormously above them, nearly as high to this Level's floor as the dome was to the First Level's. Said floor and walls were the same riveted metal sheets as usual, but rusty and dirty. Water dripped from the many, many wall and ceiling pipes, leaving puddles all around.
None of the First Level's basic commodities to be found, the whole place reeked of grunge and melancholy; with filthy floors and humid, grimy air. It relied on multiple wall lamps and posts, which sometimes (or often) flickered and at other times didn't even work, to be kept illuminated.
“What's this place!? The sewers!?” asked a bothered Brigitte.
“The Second Level, the other half of the station, built for water drainage, waste and trash disposal. Here live the penniless, the beggars.” explained Officer York.
“So... the jail cells are down here, right?” asked Rob, who was answered with “Yes... but we need to discuss the issue...”.
“Again with this 'issue'...” said a wincing Maroon.
Officer Larkwood, noticing Maroon's attitude, but choosing to ignore it, replied: “The issue is... we've received reports of strange happenings here, on this very station. Focusing on the second floor and below. This is not some minor issue, but something much more bizarre.”
“Well, what's our role here? Why do you need our help?” asked Brigitte.
“We were informed you are experienced dealing with 'difficult' cases.” answered Officer Larkwood.
But, suddenly, Officer York asked:
“I just remembered, did the guard check your Officer IDs?”
“Well, no?” replied a confused Ben.
“No? How can that...?” reacted Officer York, surprised.
“It seems they still haven't installed that.” said Officer Larkwood.
Officer York then said: “In that case, could you show us your Officer IDs?
“Here you go.” said Brigitte as she and the others did as asked.
“It checks out.” said York to Larkwood, moving on.
As they went, they passed through a catwalk, several meters over the moist floor. From here they the slums, which consisted of 'houses' made from either rusted metal sheets or miscellaneous pieces of scrap. Scattered and numbering at least in the dozens, they were not well made or maintained.
“So, are thos-” asked Rob.
“The 'homes' of the beggars, yes.” Officer York interrupted.
“Ugh... beggars...” Maroon said with disgust.
The lower class of the population lived here. Forge and our four nikeans beheld the beggars, all dressed in unkempt clothes with equally poor hygiene. These clothes once would have been fancy, but by know were only fancy rags. Brigitte looked at them in disgust, trying to avoid breathing in their air; Maroon was feeling nauseous from the smell of the area; while Rob and Ben looked like they wanted to leave as soon as possible.
The Man in the Jacket himself could only stare at the beggars with an unsure look.
Suddenly, an old beggar passed right in front of them, carrying a large bag filled with what seemed to be cans. With his unkempt beard and used, weathered clothes, the officers just looked at him with fear and disgust.
“Stay away from him, he could infect us with something!” whispered Brigitte to Maroon.
“This place is so gross, I want to leave.” exclaimed Rob, softly.
Ben looked a little sympathetic to the beggar, but still avoided getting close.
Maroon then asked Rob: “Weren't you excited for this?”
“I was excited for the First Level...” Rob admitted.
Forge looked at the officers and whispered to himself: “Ar' thes' people... serius? This is jus' som' poor guy...”
“Ugh, this place... I better watch my dress.” whined Brigitte, as she watched the hem of said dress, making sure it didn't touch anything. She turned to the local officers: “Regarding this 'issue' you mentioned... I hope you don't expect us to deal with these... revolting beggars.”
Officer York clarified: “Unfortunately... they... aren't the issue...”
“Can you please... tell us already?” asked Ben, mildly irritated.
“Well it's-” Officer Larkwood began, before noticing they had arrived at the jail cells and saying “Alright, here it is, get the foreigner out.”.
Rob and Ben took the Man in the Jacket off the cart, as an unamused Forge snarked:
“N-Nice place ya got here. I preferr' the ship's, hones'ly.”
Our Man in the Jacket was, yet again, locked in. This jail cell was similar enough to the one back at Reglom, but filthier, rustier and even more unkempt; illuminated by a single dim light. Once the transparent plastic-like gates closed, he whispered to himself: “When will I go back hom' now? Maybe I shoul'...? No...”
He was distracted when he noticed some small vermin in his jail cell, scattering out to the shadows. At this, he could only groan in frustration.
As he settled in on his new 'room', the Nikean officers discussed the issue at hand.
“So now can you tell us what this 'issue' is?” asked a peeved Brigitte.
“You see... for some time now, something has taken residence down here.” explained Officer Larkwood.
Maroon raised an eyebrow, asking: “What'cha mean 'something'?”
“Some creature. A dangerous one.” clarified Larkwood.
“We aren't completely sure where it is, but various sightings have been reported, almost all from the Second Level, by beggars.” said Officer York.
Officer Larkwood, nodding, said: “Indeed, it's an anomaly, no doubt; but we don't know what it is, let alone where it came from.”
“Why? You haven't seen it yet?” wondered Brigitte, to which Officer York replied with: “It's very discreet. At most, some have gotten a brief glimpse of it.”
“You said it was seen by beggars right? What exactly happened?” asked the Nikean-in-pink.
Larkwood continued: “Well, one beggar gave his account... when going around collecting cans, he heard something following him, a strange slimy sound coupled with 'throaty breathing', but it ceased before he could make out what it was.
Another beggar said that one night, as he went to his 'house', he saw a figure staring back at him in the shadows, just before it scampered off. He couldn't tell what it was, other than it wasn't a nikean, it appeared to have four eyes.”
Larkwood then got to the real problem: “But all these were just a prelude, what's really begun to worry us is... some beggars have gone missing. One beggar woman described how she and her husband heard an odd sound coming just outside their 'house'.
Her husband went out alone to see what was going on and, from inside, she heard a short yelp followed by a scuffle. She herself then went outside to check, but he was nowhere to be found, only a small puddle of blood. Never did she hear from him again.
At another point, a bloodied green cloak was found lying in the middle of a walkway. Beggars claimed this cloak was owned by one they called 'Green Ron', who always wore a green cap and matching cloak. The beggar himself, however, was never found.”
Hearing the stories, the Lochen City Officers looked confused and somewhat uneasy, except for Brigitte, who had the same tired expression on her face.
“Right now, this creature seems to be intentionally targeting vulnerable nikeans, not trying to leave the second floor. This is important, some time ago there had been reports of a strange 'subject' raiding garbage dumps and stealing from food markets on the First Level.
When these reports were given, they got our immediate attention. At first we thought it was simply a strange, possibly crazed, thief; or even a hungry beggar that had breached into the first floor. But these reports described not a nikean, but a stranger, grotesque individiual. After the recent events down here, we think it was this very creature.
What's alarming is that these reports described glimpses of a much smaller creature that never attacked nikeans. It appears this thing was initially just feeding, stealing from markets, raiding garbage and consuming any residue of the first floor, growing bigger. Now it wants something fresher and has started hunting nikeans. We believe this thing intentionally remains down here, due to less attention and more hiding spots.” Larkwood finally finished.
Officer York concluded with: “It's feared that this creature, if it continues, could eventually start attacking the first floor. We need you to find this... issue and 'resolve' it as soon as possible.”
“How could that... where did it come from?” Rob wondered.
“Why us?” asked a confused Ben.
“As previously indicated, Lochen City's Department described you as perfectly qualified for dealing with this issue.” answered Officer York.
Brigitte simply sighed at this, while Maroon asked her own question:
“Well, how do you plan on us finding it? Even you people living here aren't sure where it is.”
York gave his answer “About that... reports indicate this creature has probably taken residence in Underlevel C, a much smaller area adjacent to here, possibly going there to rest after feeding. We suggest that you go down there and check.”, with Larkwood supporting with “Of course, we have to remind you this creature is dangerous.”.
“Ugh, we have to go even deeper than here!?” Brigitte whispered in frustration.
“We have to go and enter... it's nest???” asked Maroon, scared at the thought.
“Not wanting to overstep here, but why haven't you gone down there and checked?” asked a suspicious Rob.
Officer York though for a moment and said: “We simply didn't consider it a priority at first, we had already put warnings at the entrances and warned the beggars to avoid going there. It was figured the creature would, perhaps, eventually go inactive.”
“Of course, most lights down there don't work, so get ready beforehand, or won't see your own hands in the dark.” Officer Larkwood advised.
“Why aren't the lights down there working?” asked Rob.
“Underlevel C's lights haven't worked for over a decade. That's just the way it's always been.” shrugged Larkwood.
“Very well... as long as we aren't dealing with any beggars...” said Maroon.
“Couldn't this creature be rooted out with... something like... raw meat?” proposed Ben.
“We've tried that already. It seeks living things and only living things. You'll have to search on your own.” replied Larkwood, who then said “Well, get going then.”, with York jokingly adding ”Before the creature runs out of beggars to eat!!!”.
“In that case, maybe we should take longer...” whispered Brigitte to herself.
The four got ready for the mission, then went the way to Underlevel C, at the closest entrance, far away at the corner, but not that far from the beggars' slums. It had multiple warning signs saying “STAY AWAY”, “DANGER UP AHEAD” and “CLOSED FOR CLEANING”. The rusty door was half-opened, showing only the darkness inside.
Brigitte took a good look at the Underlevel's entrance (from a distance) and said “This place is most filthy and it's not like these lower levels will be any better...”, with a disgusted tone, adding “These leaks will definitely ruin my makeup...”.
“Do all of you have torches?” asked Brigitte to the team.
“Yes.” said Rob, Ben and Maroon in unison.
The Nikean-in-pink nodded and said “Good, let's go in...”
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