by Sydnie MacElroy
[In the tunnels, 8:30AM]
>It was hungry, that's all it knew. The last time it fed >was a long long time ago. As it watched the three >creatures pass below him, it's mouth watered at the >thought of being able to feed once again. It's red eyes >glowed as it crouched, its hind legs ready to spring >the creature upon the last of the passersby. As the last >creature passed beneath it, the creature leapt.....
*****
"Did you hear.." Zenya started to say, but by then it was obvious that both Leo and Jim had heard whatever it was. Their pace through the tunnel had slowed as they listened to the sound - a faint rustling that seemed to be coming from over-head. Leo and Jim had taken a defensive stance on either side of her, and Zenya wasn't about to argue the point. An attacking predator will usually go for the weakest of the available prey, and even with the shotgun, there was no question who among this group that would be.
Jim waved this weapon in the direction of a metal grate in the ceiling several yards in front of them. The sound above them had stopped how, and there was nothing but silence as all three of them aimed their guns in the general direction of the grate. Jim began to move forward slowly, staying close to the tunnel wall. Zenya and Leo followed close behind. They moved closer to the grate .. directly under it .. finally past it, all the while expecting something to happen.
Nothing happened.
Leo pulled a flashlight from the pack he was carrying and turned the beam toward the darkness above the grate. He shook his head - couldn't see anything up there. Seeing what Leo was about to do, Zenya took aim at the grate to cover him while Jim kept watch on the rest of the tunnel. Leo raised his rifle, nudging the grate with its barrel. It gave way easily and he slowly pushed it aside.
When a shriek sounded in the tunnels, Zenya was ready to fire at the first sign of movement, but the only movement was the grate falling back into place with a loud clatter as Leo pulled back his rifle, leveled it and spun around, all in one fluid movement. Then they were all moving toward the source of the sound.
*****
Strange the thoughts that can creep into the human mind at the most inappropriate of moments. Standing there, in a daze, not ten feet from where she'd been a moment ago, all he could think was, 'You wanted spontaneous, now this is spontaneous.'
"Shut up, Rex," he said, sounding perfectly calm and rational, to the dog who was barking and straining at the end of his leash. One more moment passed before panic took over completely.
*****
The shriek had been followed by the constant barking of a dog. That sound was joined a few seconds later by a series of staccato noises that sounded like someone was attempting to scream while they were hyperventilating. If nothing else, this made it much easier to track down the location of the original scream.
The three agents turned into a side tunnel and had taken only a few steps into it when they saw something moving rapidly past the opening of a cross-tunnel. They rushed forward, reached the opening and were about to go into the tunnel to give chase when a deep rumbling and the appearance of a light warned that this particular tunnel was in use, and in use now!
As soon as the train had passed, Leo took a step forward, intending to go after it, but Zenya caught him by the back of his shirt. "Oh, no you don't," she said flatly.
"It went that way."
"Yes, and we're going back that way." She nodded toward the side tunnel they had passed from which the barking and odd screaming was coming. "None of us is going to wander around alone down here, and there's a survivor back there."