Predictable Problems

"And that's why you never give someone a grenade and tell them how long the fuse was." The explosion had covered up Xanthiana's escape, but just barely. She could hear the gunshots from the mercs hitting near her feet as she fled towards the mine. Elly of course was telling her how bad that idea was the whole way there. The grenade had not killed any of the mercs, it went off in the air on the way back, but it did throw their aim off allowing Xanthiana to make the mine entrance relatively unscathed. Of course shortly after making it a rocket streaked from behind her and leveled the entrance thereby trapping her, but she was still alive and still had the stuff Top-Notch wanted, as good as that was with where she was currently trapped.

"I told you this was a bad idea, and its only going to get worse, the rest of the mine is currently experiencing instability, with pockets of gulanite poised to also explode, and I haven't mapped this location, our one way out is most likely closed."

""Aside from that any other good news?"

"I believe there are still 99'ers in here with us, I have picked up several of their cybernetic signatures coming from within." Xanthiana withdrew a flashlight from her gear and fixed it to the front of the rifle, Elly could boost her ambient sight, but she preferred the flashlight, it seemed more natural.

"Fantastic, so cut off from the outside, trapped with cybernetic monsters, and we have no way of getting out, today just looks better and better." The inside of the mine had been damaged by the explosion, both of them, but it didn't appear to have been in a great state to begin, which probably lead to the instabilities Elly was noting.

"You are exceptionally chipper about this Xan, do you know something I don't?"

"Nah I'm just used to these kind of situations, in the war I was trapped underground for three days with my squad."

"How did that turn out?" The mine entrance snaked to the right it was the only direction for Xanthiana to go, and she didn't feel any reason to keep whatever monster waited in the depths waiting.

"Resorted to cannibalism in the end, Sensoth are very tasty." There wasn't any noise in the mine, but Xanthiana could hear something outside, possible explosions, she guessed the 99'ers had not taken their defeat by the mercs lightly.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah but its a hunger you really can't ever get over, I mean not in polite society."

"This is really fascinating in a xenobiology kind of way Xan."

"I'm joking Elly we didn't eat each other."

"Oh well, I'm sure you had some great stories."

"I'll make you a promise we come out of this alive, I'll tell you a story about it. Now give me a map, lets find us a way out of this burial." A map appeared in her head, and Xanthiana continued on into the dark.