U.S.S.A Umbra

Chapter 11 Pit of despair

I woke up laying on the cold stone ground, my stomach screaming in pain as I looked down to see my belly cut open and hemorrhaging profusely. I could barely see where I was as my vision was blurred and my mind was in shambles. I dragged myself forward with what meager motivation I had left, trying to keep my entrails from spilling out onto the ground. The air was cold and dry, like a cave, the walls were dark silver with black markings etched into them. It didn't look like any place I've ever seen. I kept crawling further and further, leaving a crimson trail in my wake. Is this how I am to die, cold and alone? As I was about to just give in, there was something large in front of me. I looked up upon it with heavily blurred vision; I couldn't make out what it was. I guess whatever it is it was here to finish me off."Shhh little one, I am here in your time of need." A deep and unnerving voice came from it. I lost the strength to support myself and collapsed to the ground, everything went black after.

My eyes opened something I didn't think would happen again. All I could feel as I woke up was a strong thirst; I put my hand around my throat to ease the pain, I looked over to see...I couldn't really tell what it was, as it was obscured by a large hooded cloak. "Hello there, I hope you had a restful sleep? I did my best to mend your wounds." The large figure said to me, at least I think it was talking to me. "Uh not really and thanks, where are we and who are you?" I said with a hoarse voice. "There is a cup of water on the table; you sound like you could use it." I picked it up and gulped it down. "Now to answer your question, we are in Umbra'Kesh's Abaddon. This is where he sends his enemies to die. Now, to answer your second question. I am Ch'zzick Nig'bothe and I have been here for a very long time."- "Chizk? What the hell kinda name is that? And how do you even pronounce that?"-"Yes well my kinds names were not meant for other beings' tongues, now we have business to discuss."-"What kind of business?" I was curious about what he meant if Chizk was a he. "We are both trapped here... Da-me-an and only with your cooperation can we possibly escape." It was strange to hear my name pronounced like that, it seemed Chizk had as much difficulty saying my name. "What reason do I even have anymore to get out of here? I've lost everything to that monster." -"You have nothing to lose now and have gained a new strength; I've been watching your escapades since you gained Umbra'Keshe's attention, you have what I lacked when I faced similar circumstances. You Da-me-an have been created by your people to be a warrior, while I am a..." He said a word I could barely understand; a doctor and an inventor he translated to me, I felt some sense of motivation by his words but what chance did we stand against Umbra'kesh? He lifted his massive spear-like limb and dropped what looked like a weapon of some kind next to me. "Take this; it is a crude, primitive, albeit effective weapon. The Decager." It looked like it was made from metal and bone, as I picked it up mechanisms in the weapon moved on their own. "How do use this?"- "Simply aim at a limb and see for yourself, not mine of course, please, and thank you. Now take this map, it will guide you to my greatest creation." I looked at the map, it felt strange, clearly not paper, plastic, or polymer. "Now for the foes, you will face here; the hordes of his previous victims from many different worlds. End their suffering and put their souls to rest." Chizk gave me the rest of my weapons and some supplies. "There is an ancient artifact from his people's long history that is passed down from one great hero to another, the Umaran's or Umbaran's as they've been known since they were corrupted millennia ago no longer need its power." "Now go forth and put an end to this nightmare! I will keep in contact if you do need my help."

After some minutes of wandering around to get my bearings, I went towards the closest marked area by a structure carved into the stone. I felt uneasy in this place, as if there were always eyes watching me, this must've been how ancient man felt before we became apex predators. I could hear whispered cackles in the shadows around me; I readied my weapon in anticipation. Something came up behind me and knocked me down, I rolled to the ground and quickly got back up, the creature looked like a splinter but alien. I fired the decager at its center mass and well...the result was unexpected, the clawed hook dug into its chest cavity and ripped its rib cage straight out from its chest. "Oh shit." There was another one that stepped from the shadows within my view, I wasn't sure how this weapon worked, but I liked it. I squeezed the trigger again and energy came from the weapon and turned the rib cage into a projectile, when it hit the creature it blasted through its body like a cannonball, scattering its innards and blood everywhere, I loved this thing. I made my way into the structure; there was something off about this place. I felt the blood rushing into my head as if I was being dangled upside down. I noticed as I explored, that various paths lead in all directions, up, down, sideways, and diagonally. It reminded me a lot of Penrose stairs, finding where I needed to go was just like how I felt...hopeless. After a few hours of wandering through the seemingly endless corridors, I heard a familiar-sounding voice come from behind a large stone door. "Hello is anyone out there? Please I need help out of this wretched prison." It couldn't be. I pressed a series of panels in a certain order as if I knew what the order was. "You're welcome" I heard Chizks voice in my head, the door opened and there captain Yhareth was.