The Underbelly

[Aerial-Rave]

Continuing on, Kim traveled deep into the cavern railway. She passed by a work station with several supplies that included another pink vat. She quickly polished off the rest of the old batch and quickly filled her container with a fresh full one to save for later. The officer also found a few more rounds for her guns.

After exiting the small rest point, she started to see the hollowed cave for what it really was. Many skeletons and corpses littered the walkway near the walls, some detached from their spine while others had their heads crushed. Kim also witnessed a few carts toppled over and even more blocking her path ahead. “Just great…” She said out loud. A part of her was hoping the voice in her head would hear but its presence wasn’t felt. Nonetheless, Kim marched on, crawling up the side of a cart sitting on its side.

Curious, she bashed open the door and was met with a rush of putrid, rotting flesh, causing her to turn to gag and cough. Once the smell aired out a bit, Kim descended into the trail cart. Again, she witnessed rotten bodies populate the train segment and covered her mouth and nose. She searched and searched, soon coming across a diary.

‘July 16th, 1942. War has gone global just as we are at the peak of our discovery. It appears This...Griema person was half right. It would appear the Old Gods of folklore existed...at one time. We managed to travel through the rift into its dimension unharmed and relatively sane, but that’s only because what was waiting for us on the other side were...bones. It would appear Elder Gods had a longevity, who knew? In any case, Griema would have certainly been left there, if not for their quick thinking. Long story short; We are now transporting the bones-’

The rest of the text was illegible.

‘Well, I can only guess what happened next...’ Kim concluded and opened the escape latch to resume her journey. She ransacked all the other carts, finding little to nothing until… “CRAP! CRAP CRAP!” A faceless man-beast had overheard her loud rummaging and was now trying to chomp at her face. Kim was under the muscle bound humanoid, one hand on its throat to keep it elevated and from taking a bite. She was searching her person for her pistol and eventually lodged it in its neck and fired, killing it.

But the officer had no time to celebrate as heavy breathing and distance roars signaled more had caught on to her presence and she tossed the dead monster aside and scurried out. She left the train car, only to find the male and female ghouls being to appear. Switching to her shotgun, she fired at the crowd ahead of her. The scattered shot managed to take a few down and she plowed through the few that remained and ran on.

‘Crap, how can I be so stupid!?’ She cursed to herself. Before long, Kim felt her steps become heavier. A bolt of fear clogged her throat. Was it the pink stuff bubbling in her stomach? Had she finally eaten too much to remain mobile? No, instead she found herself thigh deep in water as it appeared the cave was starting to become flooded. The beasts were still chasing her from behind, only now both were running with difficulty thanks to the new terrain.

The chubby cop forged one, pumping her arms in hopes of more mobility but it seemed with each yard her speed and stamina dropped. Finally, she turned and just started to unload on her pursuers. The creatures howled as they were mowed down, driven by their desire to consume instead of simply being scared off.

One managed to sneak up on Kim. It has been shot before, but despite its injuries, swam until it chomped at Officer Ghutt’s ankle, causing her to fall into the water. More of the faceless beasts swarmed the apparent spot just as Kim was able to knock the injured monster off her ankle, bashing it with the end of her shotgun, finishing it off. As other creatures dove in after their prey, the chubby cop started to swim off with her guns intact.

But out of the blue, a black blob fell from the ceiling hard, causing ripple waves that knocked the monsters and Kim about. The cop bumped the jagged edges of the cavern wall, quickly healing herself as the sudden new face revealed itself.

The ebony ooze grew and bubbled until it became a solid dome. Several of the faceless beasts approached in a curious manner, only to be grabbed by a large mitten like hand and dragged into the dark mass. Some of the faceless humanoids fought back but in vain as they did nothing to penetrate the gooey shell and were pulled in soon after.

Watching the horror unfold, Kim picked herself up and started to try and run past the thing. But a few more of the male humanoids blocked her escape. She then felt her ankle being coiled as she was then dragged toward the pulsating black pile of slime. The humanoids were caught as well but the officer quickly shot at the tendril near the root of the beast. It gurgled in pain, releasing the female cop but ended up consuming its other prey.

Finally, the monster appeared full as an excretion similar to a burp erupted from it’s body, causing the cave to tremor. Kim watched as the blob began to morph and change. First, several human head spouted in a collective manner, essentially becoming a bouquet of faces with female breast and a thick torso. Its base was composed of several human eyes and giant teeth mocking the appearance of feet. Lastly, a large, gargantuan arm sprouted from its left side, dragging on the ground while a thin, sharp claw hand manifested from the right side.

“What...the HELL!?” Officer Ghutt screamed, turning tail as fast as she could. Unknown to her, the monster melted into the water, becoming one with it. It swam with the flow, easily traveling through the waves until it managed to get under the cop’s feet. From there, it quickly reformed, becoming a swirling wall of black ooze around Officer Ghutt in an attempt to swallow her whole.

To her dismay, the creature was latching to her skin and clothes while restraining her as she reached for her shotgun’s trigger. It almost clogged the barrel but was blown out since Kim successfully blasted a shot, scattering a good portion of the beast. In its weakened state, Kim rolled out of its range, swatting off the leftover black residue.

The multi-headed slime monster then reformed only for the equipped cop to open fire, tearing into it. Bullets appeared to be able to put holes in it but not slow it down. Kim quickly realized she needed a needle shot to kill it like the larger belly beast. She then held a needle in one arm while switching to her pistol and charged the monster. The liquid-like creature started to reel back from the shots and Kim lunged, stabbing it with a needle...or so she thought.

In truth, the creature somehow knew the dangers of the needle and combined once more with the water, making its body so liquid based that Kim herself passed through, crashing face first into the water. “Oh...you’re a card…” She muttered.

After picking herself up, Kim prepared another green serum needle in preparation for the monster to attack again. Unexpectedly, the black blob shot out of the cavern walls, the stream of ebony ooze smacking the officer in the face, knocking her to the ground. This happened a few more times as the creature then came from under Kim in the form of a water torrent, tossing her airborne and again from the cavern ceiling slamming her back into the water.

Suddenly, more of the female bandages ghouls came into the scene. Being the more aggressive type, they pinned the reeling Kim. One instantly chomped on the woman’s neck, puncturing the skin and drawing blood. It only lasted a second as she was then yanked by the black blob and promptly absorbed. Surprisingly, the creature started to sport a more, humanoid, bloated appearance. Kim paused to observe the sudden change in the monster’s physique. Similar to her, it appeared eating strange things from this place had its consequences…

The cop dodged rolled from another tentacle swipe but the extension latched on to one of the bandaged females, pulling it in to be consumed. Soon, more and more monsters came running from the dark, all snatched and gobbled up until the black blob’s expanse became floor bound and still grew.

The thing continued to eat the minions swarming but Kim noticed something off about them...their clothing. While the females were dressed similar to ones in the medical facility, the males, who were previously nude, now wore tattered prison uniforms with cuffs on their wrist and ankles. It gave the cop a pretty good idea of where this cave was headed but there was something she had to take care of, first…

“Hey ugly!” She shouted at the bloated creature, now immobilized due to its belly width nearly touching each cavern wall from across the sides. “Whoa...bit off more than you can chew? Eyes bigger than your stomach!?” The cop taunted, prompting the blob to crawl forward, albeit very slowly. The chubby officer was in no danger and fired off a shotgun round, tearing a chunks of flesh of with each shot until it was nothing more than a heaving, bleeding pile.

However, Kim saw it slowly regenerate and quickly stabbed it with a syringe. As expected, the creature howled as it started to melt, grabbing Kim in one last ditch effort, only to slide off her person before completely disintegrating.

Now alone, the officer continued down the trail until she came to another station, picking herself up and entering. Just as she suspected, it was the entrance to a prison. There was no doubt in her mind this is where the other creatures came from. Suddenly, a throbbing headache started to plague her, causing her to stumble around.

‘Hello again~’

“Great...you again…”

‘Hey! I’m the one who can guide you through this place and-’

“And where were you just now!?” Kim barked, causing a temporary silence. “Just what I thought…”

‘Okay, fine. I can only really contact you when those things aren’t around. If they pick up on my talking to you telepathically, I’m dead. I’ll be frank; I've been living down here ever since World War II, hiding and moving, avoiding these creatures. I’ve developed abilities and lived off the pink slime for survival...but you know how that goes...’

“Given the time you’ve been down here…” Kim paused, piecing everything together. “So, if you are so...large from the pink goo, how do you expect me to help you out?”

‘Just get to me. I am past the prison, where you will release another prisoner to de-power the barrier and you will have to pass the furnace to get to me.’

“Sounds simple enough…” Kim shrugged. Internally, she didn't trust the disembodied voice but what other choice did she have?