The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Noble had expected some resistance when she got the exit. The Skinwalker wasn't stupid. It would try to cut them off. 

What she hadn't anticipated was the sheer volume of vessels that the monster would send their way. 

Like a flood, bodies poured into the stairwell from above, tripping and pushing each other down in a mad dash to reach the humans.

"Retreat!" Noble turned and raced back the way they came. Helios bounded beside her and the two other Masters managed to keep pace. Only Fir seemed to fall behind, which was frustrating. 

Having not fought against the vessel of Harlow, he was in the best physical shape. Yet as an Awakened, he did not have as much power as the others. Reluctantly, Noble lifted him and placed Fir on Helios as well.

'Sorry boy,' Noble didn't like putting the extra strain on her echo, even though she was sure he could handle it. There was no choice. 

They couldn't afford to leave anyone behind and every second counted in their desperate rush. 

Ahead of them, the opening in the wall that Helios had carved suddenly widened. The Skinwalkers had broken through and began spilling into the darkened passageway. 

A string of curses entered her head through The Other's Voice. 'Those things are worse than fleas on a dingo's back.' 

Noble didn't have time to ask what kind of Nightmare Creature a dingo was. 

The Skinwalker vessels were pouring in from both sides. Bodies climbed over each other, quickly blocking the tall tunnel in a sea of flesh. Arms and legs struggled to free themselves as they pursued the humans.

There was no flying over the murderous monsters and going through them was asking to be torn apart instantly. There was only one option. 

'To the left!' Noble's command went to both Helios and Chip. 

The burly Master grabbed Coy by the arm and they all turned down the side tunnel away from the encroaching pursuers. 

The only saving grace was that the Monsters were so eager to consume them that they hindered each other's path. The Skinwalker didn't have much practice using so many of its vessels in a tight space, and it struggled to coordinate the efforts. 

Or it simply didn't care. 

Noble did not think the Skinwalker was clumsy, and it was a fast learner. Their minimal respite would not last. 

Noble summoned her Zenith as she sped along the tunnel. This one had less of the vertical shafts and so the light here was even more sparse. Noble felt for any other life ahead of them, but thankfully it was clear for now. 

"We can't get out underground!" Lonzo yelled from Helios's back. "The barrier is a sphere! Eventually, we will hit a dead end." 

"Well, that's great..." Fir mumbled.

Noble already knew this from her experience in Crestfall. She briefly considered using the device on her hip to contact Endo. She touched it, making sure it was still intact after her altercation with Harlow. 

It was still miraculously in one piece.

She could ask the tech if the pulse he did to let Jet leave would be long enough for all of them to make it through the barrier underground, but she already knew the answer. Not only would it not be down long enough for them to pass through—it was only meant to blip long enough for Saint or Master to pull on their tether–Noble also doubted the army would risk it when the group was being actively pursued. 

The only way to escape this waking nightmare was to go out of the top of the dome. They needed to get above ground.

'Can you find any large outlet?' Noble asked Chip. 

His keen senses had been able to spy the spot in the wall and the secret passage to the bunker. Another miracle would be wonderful. 

'Not yet, Ma'am,' Chip rubbed his head. 

Unlike the main tunnel, this passage continually widened and narrowed. The alcoves had once led to other parts of the underground city, but they had long been abandoned and sealed off. The most Noble could see of the historic civilization as they ran along the tunnel was the remnants of what had once been a beautiful mansion. It had long collapsed in on itself and been incorporated into the structure of the tunnel with reinforced concrete. Noble considered trying to break through the brick facade, but the effort would take more time than they had, and she didn't think it would yield positive results. 

'Breaking through the roof of the tunnel would be a better bet.' 

She could gauge by the vents that even with the uptilt of the tunnel, the boundary of the earth was still over a dozen meters above them.

'It may as well be a million if we can't find an exit.'

"They are getting closer!"

Fir's scream echoed off the stone walls.

Behind them, the wave of former humanity had collided and joined together in earnest pursuit. The longer they chased the ragtag band, the more coordinated the vessels became.

One of them pulled in front of the pack, dropping on all fours like a deranged animal.

"I got it!"

Seeing the action unfold, Fir called on a bow and arrow, turned around, and prepared to fire at the incoming horde. 

'I hope he is as good as Rain!'

The black-tipped arrow flew from the bow, growing in size as it sailed through the air. By the time it reached the target, the front Skinwalker could do nothing to avoid it.

The large bolt crashed into the possessed man's shoulder, obliterating the joint. With the remaining momentum, it pushed into the monster's lungs and flung him backward.

The other creatures paid no attention to their fallen comrade. The wounded vessel was trampled underfoot by the horde. If Noble could have looked back to see the mayhem, her stomach might have turned. 

But she was too focused on what was ahead. 

The group continued to run at top speed, but the vessels gained ground. 

'How is this blasted tunnel so long without a station?' Noble tried to stay calm.

Did she really want a station? Most likely it would bring even more Skinwalkers into the underground system. 

"What's that?" Teran leaned to look ahead, nearly falling off the back of Helios as he strained to see. Only Lonzo's quick reflexes kept his son from sliding.

The father looked forward to check out what had excited his son. His eyes widened.

"Is that sunlight?"

Noble had seen the small pinprick of light as they rounded the bend. It was a long way off but growing steadily brighter.

"That's not the sun. It's a headlight!" Coy couldn't keep the fear out of his voice.

A horn blast warned those that the track was about to be occupied by a much larger object than any of the humans.

Noble gritted her teeth. 'Just great.'

Like the heroes of old, Noble and her companions were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

'Two hard places.' Noble amended thought.

For just as the Skinwalker vessels were chasing them down from behind, a subterranean train was coming at them from the front.

The two were about to make a human sandwich.