Chapter 588 - The Pit.

"W-what!? We just fought an army of those things! Surely there isn't any more?" he asks, dumbfounded.

Veronica scoffs, "You think this is bad? You shoulda seen the Sierra Madre, now that was an army." she chuckles.​​

"Yeah, super-zombies tend to be like that." Afton shrugs and focuses back on Juan, "Look, if you're going to work under Bulwark, you're gonna have to expect this kind of thing. We don't train you and provide the best gear ever produced just so you can shoot a couple people and say 'job done'. If this is too much for you, then maybe you should work as a barman and forget being a hero." Afton states, causing Juan to go silent.

"That's a bit harsh don't you think?" Tamia asks, "He's just started, you can't expect him to easily do stuff like this already."

...

"I guess your right." Afton admits, "I think I just expected a bit more considering his abilities... Whatever, get rested up and we'll start moving again, I suspect we'll run into more Tunnelers soon enough."

Half an hour quickly passes and the group are on the move again, as it turns out, the railway tunnel was absolutely massive. They'd walked for another hour and yet Afton felt like they were nowhere near close to the end. There were a few doors on the side that had a few 'service' rooms that were presumably to help with repairs or something.

Luckily or not, they didn't lead anywhere, instead only being stuffed with tools and other machinery. This was probably because this wasn't a public railway and more military-style due to its destination leading to Big Mt. It was helpful though since they wouldn't be forced to look elsewhere for any Tunnelers entrances.

Finally, though, Afton spotted something that Christine obviously hadn't seen last time she was here... The Tunnel just... Drops. The railway track cuts off and bends downwards as a massive hole opens up and cuts off the path.

Afton walks up to it and takes a look, which he instantly regrets due to the thousands of beady little eyes looking back at him. The hole is incredibly deep, yet he could easily identify the bulbous Tunneler eyes glaring back at him... "Enemies! Ultimo-Bots! Fire missiles down there!" he commands, quickly backing up and allowing his robots to surround the hole.

The first line climbs down the rim of the hole so they can easily target the enemy, while others climb on the walls and ceiling so they could assist with their own weapons. They had already started firing before the Ultimo-Bots could position themselves on the other side of the hole, and the screeching coming from the pit had everyone on edge.

Afton looks past the robots and can see the Tunnelers trying to climb up it to get to them, but the Ultimo-Bots just continue firing missiles. Each one obliterates a small group of them, sending limbs and other organs flying.

Once the first line runs out of ammunition, the next replaces them. This continues for a minute or so until no more Tunnelers could be seen in the pit... All that was left was just a pile of bloody, scorched flesh, and a few other tunnels which most likely led into a sprawling hive system.

Afton wasn't sure how Tunneler hives really operated, but he was sure there'd be many more of them the deeper they went... Their numbers weren't what worried him though, it was the threat of their more combat-oriented variants...

From what he could tell, they'd fought workers, scouts, and some sort of warrior or fighter variant... But how tough would the elite ones be?

He shakes his head and decides that they'd deal with it once it happened, "Everyone gather up and prepare to descend!" he shouts.

They'd have to leave the Deathclaws up here, but the Cyberdogs could be lowered down quite easily. Not to mention the fact the Ultimo-Bots could simply walk down there via the walls. As for him and his companions? Afton could jump down there fine because he was immune to fall damage, but aside from Juan, they'd need to abseil down there.

"I'll go first to make sure the area is clear, you guys make sure the Cyberdogs get down fine." Afton states and walks towards the pit.

"Ah, do you need one of us to help?" Tamia asks, wondering if he wanted them to assist.

Afton just shakes his head, "Nah, I'll be fine." he says before igniting his Ultra Chainsword and jumping.

"Waait!"

"What the fuck he just jumped!"

"IS HE CRAZY!"

They all exclaimed, rushing to the side of the hole and watching as Afton plummets to the ground below... It takes a couple of seconds, but once he hits the bottom they feel the ground literally shudder as the stone below him explodes from the impact.

Once the dust clears they see Afton cautiously walking around and acting as if he'd jumped off of the last steps of a stairway...

...

"Did that just happen?" Tamia mutters, unsure of how to process this.

...

"So, let's get started on lowering the dogs... Let's get a robot to help lower them, it'll make it faster." Veronica states, completely ignoring Afton's actions.

All the while, Juan just watches all of this happen with a conflicted expression... He hadn't really thought about it until now, but, is After like him? A Psyker with superpowers?... It's a certainty, right? If he can survive a drop like that and looks completely fine?

Back in the pit, Afton was scanning the place and checking for enemies, there were around three separate tunnel entrances from what he could see, and each of them could potentially lead to the rest of the hive. It'd need to be eliminated to prevent Big Mt from getting swarmed and constantly harassed. After that, they'd need to create some tech to check for Tunnelers... Perhaps some tremor sensors or something? Stuff that detects earthquakes but way more sensitive?