On the Brink

by Digital Ghost

Chapter 3: Traps

Chapter 3
Traps

Ghost had lead the group down a wide and straight tunnel lit only by light sacs clinging to the walls. Judging from the amount of light it gave off, it was placed not too long ago. Siren must have been here, or so the changelings hoped.

"Gah, still can't get in touch with her." Ghost's exhaustion showed through the brave face he was putting on. He would try to get a link through to Siren every five minutes, but all he got was just a whole lot of quiet.

He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't help but think that the mareling had some sort of accident. If that was true, and with the discovery of booby traps, all the commander could do was hope that it wasn't anything fatal.

Their pace was agonizingly slow, but they couldn't risk setting off a trap. But fate had other plans.

CLICK!

"What was that?" Jellybean got jumpy. He already survived one trap, and that was enough for him.

Everyling was standing still, waiting for whatever it was they sprung.

"Do you hear that?" Ghost whipped back. The passageway started to rumble.

"That's not a good sign." Rook declared. "Something's moving."

The changelings looked back the way they came and a wall with a face full of spikes was heading strait towards them.

"Fly! FLY!" Ghost commanded, and the changelings took off for a race for their lives. "Runner! Go on ahead, find a place where we can dodge this thing!"

Runner immediately sped off ahead to find a side route, or at least a niche they could huddle in to avoid the wall of death steadily gaining on the others. No pressure, right? Not like everyling's life hung on the line.

The rush of adrenalin in his veins made his stomach go queasy, but this mostly went unnoticed due to the urgency of the situation. He couldn't afford to miss an escape route and be crushed along with the scrambled remains of what used to be the swarm. No, that's not how he was going to die. He'll make sure of it.

In front of him, he could see the trail of light sacs end, and a faint crack of light was visible to the left. He stopped to see what it was. Another pathway lit up by the sacs. He quickly gestured for the others to make the turn there before diving in himself to give room.

His heart rang in his eardrums as he watched the entrance for any signs of his group. He inched closer as the beating of their wings became louder. Ghost was shouting something to the other changelings, though Runner couldn't make anything out.

But he didn't need to worry about that. Soon enough the rest of the group scampered into view, barely getting scraped by the wall of spikes. Runner breathed a sigh of relief as the group dusted themselves off.

Ghost proceeded to pat him on the back and went straight down the tunnel. Well, it was something at least.

The group felt the exhaustion kick in when the adrenaline wore off. Needless to say, they were all dragging their flanks by the time they reached the end of the hall.

"Why don't you take a rest here. I'll check ahead." Ghost said, taking his leave.

Breathless and overcome with fatigue, the changelings dropped to the ground for a well-earned rest. No words were exchanged as the terror of almost finding their end was still fresh in their minds.

=====

"Excellent. I never thought that they could find that secret passageway that easily, let alone sidestep the traps, and surviving the ones they triggered."

"Dumb luck. Should we send the experiments after them?"

"No, not yet. Those things will have their time."

"That female doesn't seem to exhibit the same characteristics as the first one."

"That's because she's not a drone. She's just another soldier."

"Ahh, I see. Just another useless subject for the- HURK! Ckk... gha... S-stop!"

"Watch you're tongue, Doctor, or you'll end up without one. You! Send out the experiments. And make sure those changelings are left alive, or you'll have to fill in for them. This had been a nice chat, Doc, but I have other things to attend to. Ta-ta."

"Gah! Tch... One of these days..."

=====

"Whew, I really needed that break." Zulu said, her face beaming with enthusiasm. The same couldn't be said for the others though as they got up to rejoin their leader. "I thought we were going to be crushed by that thing." Still she was met with silence. It made her feel a bit awkward, not only that, it made her feel like she wasn't even there. "That's just rude..." She mumbled as she followed behind the others.

Little did the changelings know that just beyond earshot, claws were scratching on the walls, destroying the light source that lead them there. Creatures of darkness quietly stalk their prey with bared fangs dripping with saliva, savoring the moment when their claws tear and break the changelings' chitinous exoskeletons.

An uneasy silence loomed over the party. Even Zulu had succumbed to the silence. Only hoof falls could be heard ringing in the tunnel.

The group started feeling chills running down their spines, but didn't dare talk about it. Everyling was still trembling, and none of them wanted to spark the panic.

=====

Ghost's nagging feeling only grew the longer he stayed in the confines of this wretched tunnel. There weren't any exits, no vents, not even holes made by rodents. In fact, not a single rodent or bug was seen ever since they entered the secret passage. What's going on here? He knew exactly what was going on. Everything was playing out too smoothly. Not once have they faced a dead end. It was like they were being intentionally led somewhere. This has got to be a trap. Someone's pulling the strings here...

The changeling's body abruptly froze, and with it his mind. "Oh, Chrysalis..." He took a shaky step forward, feeling as if he would burst out screaming at any moment. His mind was trying to figure out what the scene ahead of him meant, but in it's rattled pace, it just simply froze.

"No... Don't tell me we were too late..."

Ghost planted an angry hoof at the ground before turning away in disgust. "Waste of time..." he grumbled under his breath. "Everyling turn back. We're done he-"

"G-ghost..."

The commander stopped and whipped his head back, to be greeted with the gruesome scene he laid his eyes upon earlier. Blood stained walls adorned with deep scratches on the surface, scorch marks from a changeling's magic blasts. Evidence of a fight, and by the presence of what looked to be a set of changeling wings on the ground and a piece of a broken blue shell, it was a loosing fight for the drone. But there was one thing he overlooked. The body of the drone he though laid lifeless on a pool of her own blood, was miraculously breathing, albeit slowly. Her time was running out.

"Gh... ost..." She managed to squeak out a second time which made the commander rush to her side.

"What happened to you? Who did this?"

"It... is... a trap."

"GHOST!"

A volley of hoof falls could be heard ringing in the distance. Ghost spotted movement down the tunnel, a closer look revealed the other changelings running in panic. A horde of... something was chasing them.

Dammit! It's a dead end here. Suddenly the wall to his left opened up to another unlit passage. "Not this again." Between suffering a horrible death from unknown creatures and living for a few more minutes, he took the second option. "Over here!"

Ghost picked up the wounded drone and lead the other changelings into the new passage, not knowing what it held for them, nor did he care. It was clear that whoever was behind this was only playing with them. What significant difference did it make?

Right on cue, when the changelings were all huddled together, that part of the wall was shut, snuffing out the light that came from the outside and leaving darkness to reign.

"Everyone alright? Rook?"

"Here."

"Zulu."

"Here."

"Coal?"

There was no answer.

"Coal?"

Still nothing.

"He's gone." Ghost identified the voice of Brutus.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Those things got him," said Runner. "One of them drove a scythe through his back. He was swallowed up by that mob before we could do anything."

"I see... anyling else?"

"Just him."

Ghost illuminated the room with his horn. He saw the sorrow-stricken faces of his comrades. It hurt him that he didn't show that kind of empathy. Through his years as a commander, he saw his own soldiers dying in front of him. Often those soldiers had grown on him. Seeing them die caused him die inside as well. In a way, it made him better at his job.

The moment of silence was interrupted by the sudden sound of erupting flames. The changelings were blinded by the sudden influx of light. So this is it? We die by burning in our own chitin? Fine, at least this nightmare will be over. Ghost waited for his time to end, but found that there was a lack of extreme heat and agonizing pain. His eyes soon adjusted to light and was greeted by a room surrounded by lit torches, and another hall leading straight ahead.

But at that moment of being bathed in the immaculate glow of fire, he saw a horrific scene. The walls were covered in dried blood. Bones were piled on the corners, and only now did the smell of death and decay enter his nostrils. "What kind of sick place is this?"

There was only silence until a voice seeped out from the walls with a sense of vileness that rivaled even the queen's. "Hello, changelings." The voice said. The party scrambled to find where the voice was coming from. "Welcome to my little maze. Shall we play a game?"

Zulu pointed to small, blackened vents protruding from the walls, a possible es-

"Don't even bother turning into bugs. The vents will burn you to a crisp, let me show you." A sudden jet of flames roared from the vents which turned the room into a boiling microwave. It sucked up all the oxygen in the room before being snuffed out, but by then the changelings were already gasping for precious air.

"Ha ha ha ha! Now lets have a little fun. Find your way out of the maze, and we'll get to the parts worth dying for."

The deep sound of double doors busting open in the distance brought with it fresh air which the changelings greedily gasped up to save their dear lives.

"This is not good!" Rook stood over Siren with an expression of utter horror. "She's not gonna last long like this." Siren had almost bled out from the wounds she suffered, and the heat just made things worse by increasing her bleeding.

"Outta the way!" Jellybean cut through the others and immediately cast a spell that made the mareling's wounds glow. Siren winced weakly. "Don't worry, you'll be fine, Siren." But Jellybean's face said otherwise. He could see that her wounds were deeper than expected and went through some vital areas. It was surprising that she was still breathing. The wounds fully closed thanks to Jellybean's magic, but the damage had already been done. It was only a matter of time for her.

Zulu suddenly cut through the silence as her hooves clacked against the floor. "We wont get out of this by just sitting around. We have to find a way out."

"IF there is a way out."

"Rook, I know things are looking bad-"

"Looking bad? We've been separated from the swarm for two weeks with no contact or even an idea if there is even a swarm to return to." Rook took a step forward which made Zulu stumble two steps back. "Cole's dead, Siren's dying, and soon we'll all be joining them in Tartarus! For who? A puppeteer who's been pulling the strings ever since we-"

"Enough!" Ghost extended one of his forelegs into a blade, getting in between the two. "We get it. But sitting here on our haunches will only make us starve ourselves to death." He turned the blade back into a hoof and trotted off down the hall and past the double doors they had heard earlier.

"We are changelings. Adaptability is what we're all about. We will find a way." It sure sounded encouraging enough, but Ghost had his doubts too. Unsettling would be an understatement of how he felt as he made his way down the hall, but there was no way his pride as a hive official would allow him to turn back after what he said. Zulu was quick to follow him.

Green flames surrounded Brutus as his frame heightened and expanded. His hind legs straightened, his body went erect, muscles bulged throughout the body. shoulders articulated to the sides and the his fore hooves separated into five digits on each. Grey fur covered his body like a winter coat, his horn split into two and rested on either side of his head. When the flames died, it revealed a hulking minotaur, roughly twice as big as the average pony.

Brute wrapped his arms around the fatally wounded drone and cradled her in his arms. "I'll carry her. It's easier this way." Without waiting for the others, he followed the commander down the hall with Jellybean close by to check on the mareling's condition.

"Rook..." Runner started after the others but glanced back at his buddy, "There's no point in just standing around here, waiting to die. Come on, before those things come busting through the walls."

Not wanting to be left alone, Rook followed the rest of the party down the hall to their dooms. Doom was such an appropriate word if the blood stains on the walls said anything about it. He passed the double doors and joined the others in the maze. Through twists and turns, the party walked in pairs, understanding the importance of utilizing the buddy system, but none of them talked.

For half an hour, they walked aimlessly in the maze, in utter silence. The heavy miasma of death which filled the whole maze made it hard not to gag with every shallow breath. The deeper they got into the maze, the heavier the air became. It was a bad omen that would soon prove to be real.

Jellybean's ears twitched in different directions, "Did you hear that?" All eyes turned to question him before their ears took the liberty to scan the air for themselves.

"I don't hear anything, Jelly." said Zulu. The others nodded in affirmation of silence.

"I swear I heard something. There! Did you hear that?" The other changelings' faces were twisted with confusion. "How could you not hear it?" Hearing the noise again, Jellybean decided to let his ears lead him and whoever decided to follow. He cantered off ahead of the others.

"Hey, stick to your buddy! Jellybean!" Ghost and the others quickly trailed after the changeling, only to find three paths splitting off to different directions with no indication to where the changeling had gone. "Great. Jellybean! Where are you, which path did you take?"

When no response was given, Ghost decided to try the channel. "Jellybean, which path did you take?"

An abrupt, terrified scream from the one they were looking for gave them all the directions they needed. Without wasting another second, they ran off to the right path and followed it through to another crossroad where a second scream pointed the way. The nearness of which was enough to urge the party to increase their pace.

They stopped dead in their tracks at the foot of a changeling's fresh corpse, speared through the heart by a broken bone. It's blood drained into a pool which trailed the niches of the cobble floor.

A shivering figure, covered in fresh blood, kicked itself against the wall. "S-S-Sorry... I-I am... s-so sorry..." A closer look revealed that the figure was Jellybean, a terrified expression plastered his face. Zulu's instincts kicked in and she rushed over to the frightened changeling, and like a pony mother trying to calm down her foal, she stroked Jellybean's head to shush him down. It was an unusual display for a changeling. Changelings never cared for the grubs, even if it were their own. They had the drones take care of them, and even they weren't that motherly. Zulu spending too much time as a pony was the common thoughts of every other changeling there.

Ghost prodded the corpse with his hoof before unceremoniously flipping it over so he could inspect the other side of the body "It's Coal." He announced, indicating a scar on the corpse's chitin. "You said those things took him."

"They did." Rook answered. "We saw it with our own eyes. Something impaled him with a scythe, or a giant claw before he was overrun by those... monstrosities."

"He... He at-ta-at-attacked me." Jellybean squeaked. "Tried to bite my throat out."

Ghost checked, but there was no evidence of a mind control spell. Moving on to the physical checks on the corpse, he found what looked to be bite marks on the back of his neck but it wasn't like any bite marks any of them ever saw. It looked like three fangs making a triangular pattern, equal spacing as if it were from a precision tool.

The commander glanced back at Zulu and Jellybean. The mareling's effort paid off. Jellybean had calmed down considerably and mumbled something about him being a medic and not being built for that kind of experience and stress.

He looked at the minotaur who was isolated in one side, checking the mareling drone to avoid looking at the corpse of his squad mate. Losing a friend was hard, he cannot be blamed.

Going back to checking Coal's dead body, Ghost lifted an eyelid open. The blue hues of his eyes were completely replaced by crimson. That only meant one thing. "He was driven mad."

"Driven mad... by what?" Brutus asked. "I know he is- was a little unstable, but..."

"He was driven mad by love starvation." That somehow made the air around the room feel heavier.

"But he had enough supply for two days when we got here." Rook said in uncertainty. "It's not like he used it all up in an hour."

"I think he's been drained. And I'm sure these marks had something to do with it." Ghost would have gone on, but the sound of growling made it clear that there were other things lurking here, and he highly doubted that whatever those things were were friendly.

"Channel only. Come on, and no one strays off again."

Comments

[Qussar]

Oooh a mystery and horror story
Me likey likey

[Thresha8]

wow, i really didn't expect that

how exciting