Chương 2: In the underground
Kowalski took a few seconds to realize what had happened and for a moment he thought he had died.
The place where he was located was pitch dark, and the stench of rot filled the entire area.
With great difficulty, he managed to stand up, remaining alert and waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Ten long minutes showed him that he definitely wouldn't be able to see anything in that darkness and that he needed to find something to light, even a modest torch, to illuminate at least a route of escape or a rope to return to the surface.
Years as an army soldier had not left his brain empty, and not even the pain he felt all over his body prevented him from thinking clearly.
From the smell around, lighting anything meant he would indeed go to the surface, but flying in pieces, because the place was infested with gas.
Fortunately, the gas was escaping through the opening he had created when he forcibly entered.
Logically, his brain was not empty, that was a fact, but there was still a long way between thinking and acting, and Kowalski realized this when he noticed that he shouldn't have stood up a few minutes ago, as a result, he had inhaled a large amount of that foul-smelling gas.
Now, he felt a strange effect throughout his body, starting with dizziness, trembling all over, and finally a nervous collapse.
Injured, tired, cold, and in a lot of pain, his body finally succumbed to the suffering and shut down like a machine.
Now unconscious, dreams and visions of his glorious past as an excellent soldier demanded impossible actions from him at that moment.
"A step forward, Soldier Kowalski, show how you would disarm a group of enemy recruits."
"Yes, sir, Lieutenant."
And ten seconds later, five young recruits were on the ground, disarmed and knocked out.
"What audacity was that, Kowalski? I told you to disarm, not kill the recruits."
"They're not dead, sir, just unconscious."
A battalion nearby couldn't hold back their laughter and began to clap timidly.
"Alright, everyone, let's hold back or we'll make Kowalski too excited for the next demonstration... And guess who will be the next volunteers to represent the untrained recruits."
Suddenly everything went silent and Kowalski was alone again in the darkness.
Still dizzy, he slowly got up, leaning against the wall while instinctively feeling for a switch or something similar.
He found a small bump that did not resemble a button at all, but as soon as he touched it, some machinery activated and many lights turned on.
"Generators still working!?" He muttered while rubbing his eyes due to the sudden brightness of so many lights turning on.
In front of him, several monitors began to display various rooms of that place, with equipment and machinery that Kowalski certainly didn't recognize.
On one of the monitors, he saw a vertical capsule with what appeared to be a human figure inside, which caused a shock and a small chill in the old soldier.
"What were they doing in this place?" He asked, even though he knew he wouldn't get an answer.
Further ahead and beside another set of monitors, a red lever caught his attention, and without thinking much about the consequences, he unlocked it and pulled it to the opposite side, towards the marking indicating that some door or similar had been opened.
Kowalski heard a noise in the distance but didn't pay much attention until he heard an old and familiar flapping of wings approaching closer.
He had no doubts, and before the fearsome creature could put its head through the opening he had passed through and reach him, he decided to run away, temporarily abandoning his discoveries.
Luck was on his side, because as soon as he ran to the opposite direction from where he was and headed for the corridor in front of him, the heavy winged creature entered with its enormous head through the damaged sewer entrance.
And since the beast had a long neck, it would have reached and devoured Kowalski if he hadn't run away.
With some of his strength recovered, Kowalski didn't bother to look back, fearing that the rest of the floor where the creature was stepping might collapse, bringing the creature completely into the underground.
Despite limping, Kowalski covered the first hundred meters of that place with ease, until he passed by a steel door that caught his attention due to some noises coming from inside.
"Get me out of here, please! Get me out of here!"
Immediately, Kowalski returned to the front of the door from where the plea for help came and began to look for some key, lever, or lock to release that solid door.
"I've been trapped here for months. So please, someone, anyone, get me out of here!"
Insisted the voice accompanied by repetitive banging.
Kowalski felt compelled to help, whoever it was in that place, and began to search for something to open the door.
Finally, he found something that would certainly unlock that door, but before he could activate it, he felt his body tremble, and it wasn't fear.
His prediction was correct: the floor where the fearsome creature had landed couldn't withstand its weight and collapsed.
The causes might have been lack of maintenance or the action of time, but none of that mattered to Kowalski, who insisted on opening that door as quickly as possible to escape the danger getting closer to him.
"Open, damn it! Open up!"
He shouted in a half-voice, trying not to draw the creature's attention that was searching for him.
And inside, someone equally impatient was hoping to see that door open and free him, finally.
"Come on, door, open up! Open up!"
The door finally unlocked, making a small noise that caught the attention of the monstrosity whose head was scraping the ceiling.
Kowalski knew he wouldn't have much time to live if he didn't get into that unknown room quickly. He also realized there could be something dangerous inside, but it wouldn't be anything he couldn't handle, unlike the creature that was coming towards him.
The door opened fairly easily, as if someone were helping from the inside, and without hesitation, Kowalski threw himself into the room—or rather tried to, as someone else was also trying to get out with the same urgency.
The collision was violent, head to head, and both fell without achieving their objective, Kowalski unable to get in and the desperate unknown person unable to get out.
Leaving a hungry intruder salivating, after all, it wasn't every day that it got two hefty meals like that. Maybe there would even be some leftovers for later, but its immediate desire was to eat until it was full.
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