Adenovirus 423 Underground Underpass

Crim

The blobfish
Description: The underground network of corridors that are secret tunnels that are all under Washington DC area. Some are sewers, tunnels and rail passages back before the war that have now been adapted to the Underground cult. They connect all the different areas from living quarters to the headquarters etc and other areas. Also leave above ground. The only areas of the underground that might be off limit to the cult, are the areas under the gang territories.
 
Derek removed the smile from his face as he moved down the underpass. He was not one to be caught smiling. As second in command, he didn't want his loyalties questioned. He had managed to keep his indecressions a secret so far. The last thing he wanted was to be caught and killed. He was not a weak man.

He believed in humanity dying out, that the cure for the disease was just false hope, like the bible was. He didn't believe in any of the old religions. And he didn't believe in any of the new ones, either. Humanity was on its way out, and if there was such a thing as God, it was his new and improved Noah's ark. If there was a God, then he probablt realised that he'd made a mistake letting Noah and some animals survive. He'd gotten bored of watching humanity fail and now he was slowly pressing his thumb down on people one miserable person at a time.

And Derek was here to make sure that happened.

Sara, well Sara was fun. Sex was fun. He could understand why people did it. It made you feel damn good. He had no plan to help populate humanity, but if Sara did happen to get pregnant, he also had no problem playing God and extinguishing the mistake. That would be effective. He didn't understand the ban, but he certainly wasn't going to protest and sentence himself to an early death. Instead, he was going to help God, if there's was such a thing, push his thumb down on the people and territories.

One person at a time.
 
Fiddling with the blade of his opened butterfly knife, Jarrod trudged slowly along the underpass. The blade shone modestly with no markings or smudges, as if it had never been used. Likely because it hadn't, yet. Bearing the engraved initials belonging to his late father, he never liked using this blade for anything that would ruin its picturesque sheen. His father probably wouldn't have cared, but it felt wrong, regardless. Humanity wasn't good or pure enough to spoil this fine blade with its impure, unholy blood. Not even he was pure enough to receive the end of the blade, not until he rid the grimy earth of its grimy inhabitants.

Glancing up briefly, he caught the image of his second in command, and he exhaled wearily in response to his presence. He was tired of seeming lesser for his beliefs, regardless of if the end goal was the same either way. There was a God, but this God does not dish out hope. Humanity does not deserve hope. This God was not a kind or forgiving God. This was a God who plans to exterminate any impurities infesting his great creation, and it just so happens this impurity grew into the human race. Though anyone else would tell Jarrod that it was not his place to give out judgment, it mattered not to him. Mankind has already received judgment from God. He merely followed His words.

He developed a vague inference that Derek had tasted flesh, and the mere thought of it sickened him. This was not a time of pleasure or hedonism, nor was it a time to create more impurities to freely roam the Earth. Knowing he was unable to voice any statement of dissent, Jarrod kept to his blade and wiped the grimace off of his face. 'We're all here for the same reason', he reminded himself, rubbing the shine of his reflection in the blade with a a shoddy rag. The blade was still sharp.
 
Derek frowned as he saw Jarrod appear. He wasn't sure what it was, but the man raised the hairs on the back of his neck up. The way he looked at him, it was like he knew what Derek was doing behind the scenes, like he knew he was breaking the rules. There was no way he could know, though, could he? Surely not. Derek had been extremely careful. Extremely.

"Hey Jarrod." He stopped when the man came to the same spot he was at. "Everything okay?"

He wondered if this man had also had indiscretions that he should know about. Wondered if he was getting up to no good. He'd have to look into him more. If he did know about Derek's own indiscretions then Derek needed to get some information on him and quiet him as soon as possible. Because there was no way in Hell that he was going to get caught or killed.

No way in Hell.
 
The sound of Derek's voice gave Jarrod a jump, in an otherwise soundless underpass. He took his eyes off of the reflection in the blade and flicked it shut with an audible 'click'. He smiled vaguely, looking back towards Derek with an otherwise warm expression.

"Oh, I apologize," he spoke finally, "I get a tad bit into upkeep with this old thing." He indicated towards the knife before sliding it back into his trouser pocket. "You must have caught me staring you down on accident."

As if staring someone down would be an accident. He attempted to put his previous inferences on Derek out of his mind while addressing him, but there still remained an aura of skepticism. Perhaps it was just speculation. Maybe it wasn't, but perhaps it was. There's no point prodding Derek for information right now. If Jarrod ended up prodding too much, nobody would care much for the newly-made corpse in the underpass.

"Anyway," he tried to break the silence. "Where are the others?"
 
Derek looked at Jarrod and finally nodded. "Got to upkeep the weaponry. Never know when someone might jump out and attack." Yeah, he'd definitely have to watch this one. Something wasn't right, that was for sure. For now though, he'd accept the apology and just do investigative digging in the background, not to raise suspicions or anything.

"Don't worry about it. It happens. I guess we all have our theories and suspicions. Especially on who is and isn't rule breaking after finding out about Hannah and Mattie." He answered, mainly wanting to see Jarrod's reaction. Mattie and Hannah had been publicly executed last week when they had been accused of getting intimate with each other. Derek had been the one to arrest them and take them to the stage.

He was soon asked where everyone else was and he shrugged. "Don't know. Haven't passed anyone this morning. Maybe they've all headed up." He shrugged. "When I left my room, Sara and a few of the other women were there."
 
Jarrod kept a warm expression on his face, unflinching. Was he really being tested? He knew very well of Mattie and Hannah. In fact, Jarrod was the last person Mattie spoke to before he was executed. He was likely the reason the two of them got outed in the first place, so there must have been some sort of reason for Derek to refer to them again, as insignificant as those two were. He breathed in, taking in the grungy air that surrounded the two men. "Frankly, I don't think it was worth the show," he spoke concisely. "There's nothing worth our times much less than a pair of sinners."

He probably shouldn't have said that. He smiled calmly. "Then again, I guess we're all sinners here, aren't we?" He threw his arms out in an all-encompassing shrug. "Our Father must certainly believe so," he addressed his words to the Lord. His eyes finally broke contact with Derek's, as he could feel his eye contact was becoming more and more cold. Maybe Derek didn't care for the 'religioso talk', but Jarrod knew it to be true.
 
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Lyra fixed an expression onto her face that she had used repeatedly in the past. It was a look that Keylin, her twin, had told her made her seem older, like the teenager she was supposed to be. She knew if the right person looked just a little too closely, that the shy yet confident, easy going look on her face would be seen as the sham it was. No one had yet to call her on it; which made her feel confident enough to move into the underpass. She wished she hadn't traded the simple cross she had been told was once her mother's. The feel of it around her neck was uncomfortable but it had added a bit of innocence to her but she had been desperate.

She heard voices down a bit further and let her mind wander to thoughts of Keylin and how happy they would be when they were together again. She could almost hear his whisper in her ear telling her what to do and where to go. Her gait light and quiet as she walked. Lyra was happy here. It showed on her face. In her eyes. Even in her speech. The people here weren't liars like the others. She just knew it.

She hadn't been here long enough for the others to completely trust yet. She knew this and as she approached the men she let her feet scuff the floor softly a few times. Sneaking up on people was simply bad manners... unless you intended to kill them of course.

Lyra lowered her backpack gently to the floor before settling her shoulders against the wall and leaning back. Her pose should suggest that she's just a normal, whatever that is, young teen that is simply doing her best to survive. A bit weary.. a bit hopeful.. someone just a little out of place in the underground but somehow fitting. She hoped she wasn't too much into their personal space. She wondered who Jarrod's father was as he shrugged. She pondered this before offering up a hesitant greeting.

"My brother says that we all start out as sinners and continue that way until the day we die....." she paused thoughtfully then added "well he used to say that. Not sure what it meant but he was always so smart" Curious eyes glanced between the two men. "I would like to learn how to use a knife. can you teach me?" Her statements jumping from the first subject to the next somewhat randomly. Much like the attention of a younger child but the gleam in her eyes, if one looked closely, might foretell a certain aptitude for sharp and pointy weapons.
 
Raizo was humming softly as he moved along the underpass candle at hand as it was sometimes hard for him to see down here as he often went above ground. The candle was small now as he used it various times and he was debating on if he wanted to blow it out and save the rest for another time. While thinking on that thought he heard voices they seemed quite and most likely further away from him but this made him curious so he blew out his candle and set it down next to a rock. He would surely come back for it as he did have good memory of some of the tunnels that he has been down before.

Raizo moved quietly towards the voices that seemed to echo slightly in the semi dark tunnel and he could tell one of the voices that it was Derek. Derek was a man that Raizo was not close to but then again he really was not close to anyone down here as they all seemed a bit crazy... but then again he most likely seemed just as crazy with the way he acts. Raizo then could see three people up ahead and was surprised to actually see anyone that lived in this bat shit crazy hole grouped up unless it was in the living quarters or something important. He fixed that light brown cap the he decided to wear today before giving out a playful grin and waved at the people. "It seems the moths were drawn to the fire eh?" he said joking around mostly poking at Derek with that comment as he was in a sense the fire and the rest were the moths who came to play.
 
One minute it was just Derek and Jarrod, the next two other's had appeared. He recognised them within the Underground. It was part of his job to know of them. The Underground wasn't just theirs. They had their part, but it also hit the factions above ground and so you had to watch and makes sure that there were no strays suddenly appearing. And if they did, you either killed them... or well... killed them after you tortured them.

They were still out for the Key after all. Just like the other factions. Torture potentially got them information. Give them hope of some kind of survival before cutting it short. Make them believe if you give them the information they may see their families again. And then once that information was given, stab them in the gut and watch them bleed out. Watch the light slowly leave their eyes and then smile, pat them on the cheek and leave.

And once they found out what the Key was, they would destroy it.

Derek was brought out of his thoughts when the girl spoke. "Jarrod has a knife. He might as well teach you how to use one. When we finally attack above ground, we'll need all the fighting power that we've got up there. I want them all dead or dying by the end of that battle."

He wasn't going to send them out just yet, but it was obvious that Derek was hungry for battle.

And then Raizo spoke and his eyes narrowed. "I'm glaf you know who's boss around here while the boss is MIA again. I know it's not unusual for the leader to be MIA these days, but it's good that it's known that I'm the next in command." He added. His tone was anything but friendly and he ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Has anyone been above ground today? Any word of what's going on up there?"
 
The smile faded from Jarrod's face as the others arrived. The unwavering, cold expression returned as he turned away from Derek and faced the unwelcome visitors. Jarrod cared not much for these two, but had much to gain from them. The 13 year old would certainly serve useful as she aged, and the joker likely knew no better than to joke with where he was. It seemed funny to Jarrod that this kid could call Jarrod the "moth" when he scattered between the factions like a filthy rat. His intentions certainly were impure, Jarrod figured. If they weren't, then he has insider information, and there are plenty of ways to get information out of someone. Jarrod was not inexperienced in getting a man to repent. Not that God was listening.

He looked down towards the small 13 year old. "Your brother may very well have been right," he affirmed. "Consider what we do as mending our sins." Murder was no fun. It seems a shame to waste the energy on such a thing. Then again, it's even more shameful for others to be continuing their lives as if humanity's time had not already come years ago. "You wouldn't go against the word of God, would you?"

Jarrod rolled his eyes as Derek spoke of the absent leader. Perhaps Derek thought being second in command gave him any sort of qualifications, but Jarrod figured he was as fit to lead as the next 7 year old child lurking among the cultists was. The current leader couldn't have been gone for no reason... Where was he? He made certain Derek didn't catch any look at his face. He probably pissed him off enough as it was, and it most likely wouldn't be the last time he would.

Sighing reluctantly, he pulled out his butterfly knife, flipping it open in one swift motion in a zen rollover. Much practice had been put into his usage with this knife. "I suppose this is a skill you could utilize. You don't seem the kind to stab or cut someone, though," he said to the girl. He reached into another pocket and pulled out an older, noticeably used butterfly knife, one he found/stole while scouting the surface. He offered the closed blade to the girl, watching her closely. He wasn't going to give up his own blade. Not for anyone else.
 
Lyra looked over to Derek. As he spoke of fighting and killing. She thought he had a mean look to him but that was OK. At least he understood that this was a death thing. Humanity didn't deserve to continue. Not that it mattered much and he seemed honest... for now.

Lyra glanced to Raizo, yet another male she thought. It had it's perks being around men. Women seemed more trusting but men tended to lie less. This one seemed a little off in the head talking about moths and fire. Clearly he was not so bright or just crazy. She would ask kitty later.

She gave Derek a serious nod before looking to Jarrod. "Sometimes you end up too close to the wrong person and the only chance you have is something easily hidden." her eyes lost that innocent glamour and appeared almost hauntingly cold as she spoke . "The only thing I know about God is that the men who talk of him like to find me at night. You want to teach me how to....... repent?" Lyra would watch him closely. Her eyes cold and blank. Her mind waiting for the whisper in her head that would tell her if he spoke true. Her left hand holding tight to the strap of her backpack while she ignored the urge to reach for the closed knife he offered.

She was very aware of the others. A rabbit waiting to flee at the slightest sense of danger? She hoped for that look. In reality, she was far from skittish. Her muscles ready but relaxed. Had she misjudged these people? Lyra would give him this chance. He did after all agree with her brother. She would also plan for revenge if she was wrong. Part of her was tired, hungry, and lonely. She wanted to stay here, with these people.
 
When Derek narrowed his eyes at Raizo he could tell Derek still did not trust him or possibly even like him and Raizo stared back at him unmoving clearly not threatened by his glare. The priestly man known as Jarrod also seemed to share Derek's views as he was getting the same cold glare and now the added frown from Jarrod. The two never changed they were always so gloomy and were never fun to hang around with but... that is why Raizo had to make things fun and interesting himself which he did regardless. "Oh my such scary faces..." Raizo had said in a way that he presented a surprised look on his face and his tone had a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Ignoring Jarrods stare and mostly sour mood due to Raizo's mouth comment most likely he answered Derek's question. "I have not been up above yet today but I hear it is a lovely day to get a new hat," he said while grabbing his hat and pulled it off his head and brushed the hat against his leg as if trying to get the dirt off his hat before putting it back on top of his head.

He then looked over at the woman who started to talk to Jarrod and realized the more she talked that it was the girl known as Lyra who was pretty much a nut case that this point. Maybe she was more like a squirrel than a moth? Poor squirrel Raizo had thought while listening to her. He had no interest in talking to females who were not right in the head nor did he want to talk about God. God was a subject he never cared to speak about and he simply did not believe in this being. Raizo simply stood their quietly to see what would happen between Jarrod and Lyra and whistle softly at the awkward atmosphere that seemed to take place in the sudden change of emotions.
 
Derek looked at everyone and decided it was time to split. He had things to do and wasn't going to waste his time getting into a showdown with everyone. They weren't here to fight each other. Not yet. That would come once everyone else was annihilated.

"I'm going to get some things that need doing done. Then I'll head up above. See what supplies I can grab to add to things." He was deliberately vague in what he said. "Do what you must and don't get caught or killed. Kill anyone if you get the chance. And if you come across anyone of obvious important, you know the drill in bringing them back down here."

They all knew the drill. It was obvious when someone was important enough to bring back.

"Just make sure anyone you bring back that is important is, you know, alive. Don't matter what state they're in as long as they're alive. Again, you know the drill." He spoke before walking down the hallway towards the main office where Derek seemed to be when their leader was MIA.
 
As the temporary leader departed into the hallway, a sigh of relief escaped from Jarrod's lips. As long as he wasn't around, Jarrod could at least be vaguely at ease. The coldness in his gaze dwindled, but he remained wary to the remaining two individuals. The consistent flow of snarky comments from the joker grew to be the least of his concerns. This kid probably couldn't cope with where he was any other way. If he wasn't an actual rat, he was probably about as skittish as one. The poor kid probably didn't have many people to be friendly with, either, considering he wasn't loyal to his previous faction. Jarrod had no reason to give him much trouble, but also no reason to give him any attention.

Jarrod lowered himself to get upon eye level with the girl. He kept the knife in offer to her. "Please understand, these men you speak of know not of God," he spoke sincerely. "They only know of themselves." He chose his words carefully, knowing she may not be trusting of him. He flipped the knife open and held it by the blade. "You have nothing to repent. You are on the side of the justified and righteous." He believed he wasn't lying, at least. "Trust me or not, this is yours now," he said, indicating to the knife. "In fact, if you don't trust me now, then may you smite me where I stand." Though he said this, he was cautious.
 
Lyra never took her eyes off Jarrod, yet she knew when Derek walked away. The heavy atmosphere lightened just a bit. Derek was always seeming to snipe at people... well most anyways. She had never noticed him being as gruff with Sara. Lyra took just a second to think of Sara. She didn't know anyone very well yet but Sara seemed ok. Maybe they could be friends.

Raizo? She had no idea what to make of him. He seemed to always be talking in riddles as if he was funny. For now she she kept him in the category of possible liar. He sure seemed suspicious with the comments. But he was one of them. In her mind she labeled him Possum. Possums are very good at pretending.

Lyra brought her mind back to Jarrod quickly. She quirked her chin up, listening to some inner dialog, then she blinked once, gave a serious nod and reached for the handle of the blade. She tested the weight in her hand. Slowly examining the parts and blade before bringing her attention back to Jarrod.

Lyra had a solemn expression on her face that was for once not forced. "Thank you." she pulled her backpack up and dug around for a moment inside of it. Lyra pulled her fist out with a grin spreading across her face. She held out her crusty ball of thread she had made from very thin strips of dried tongue. "you can have this. It will be much easier to make more with this knife than my rock." she was quite proud of her string. "I've only used it to sew on a button but it worked real good. I can show you how to do it and you can teach me about knives and God"

Lyra looked at him with a mixture of anticipation and just a smidge of self doubt.
 
Raizo frowned slightly it seemed these people were never in the mood for a small joke. What a bore he thought to himself as he left them without a word. He decided to go back the way he came to pick up the candle he had with him earlier and was a bit bummed as he had hoped the interactions would have went better but... the reaction he got out of Derek seemed worth it and it made him smile slightly. Finally he had found the candle and then decided to whistle an empty tune again while trying to find an extra match but sadly it seemed he had left them somewhere and he figured it must be back in the living quarters under his pillow.
 
Extending out his hand, Jarrod received a rather unwieldy ball of unfamiliar... was it a fabric? No, it obviously wasn't. His nose wrinkled. It smelled noticeably foul, like some sort of dried, rotting flesh. Regardless, he accepted the gift, trying not to think too hard on what sort of material it was. He nodded in return. "I appreciate it," he said. He kept his own blade to his side, and he stood up straight. "Well," he looked around the underpass, "if you intend to learn how to use that blade, you'll have to practice on a live test subject." The underpass now was barren and no longer lively. "Clearly, we can't practice on anything here besides the occasional rat. But you're not going to be killing rats. I know where we can go to get some effective practice done." The deep tunnels always had some unfortunate and unwilling guinea pigs for the Underground's usage. "How about it?"
 
Lyra glowed as he took the makeshift thread. No pretense, no acting. She was just simply happy to be here and to feel as if she was a part of something needed. Lyra watched as Raizo moved away and thought about following him for just a minute to see where he went but when Jarrod stood up, her focus was brought back fast and she became almost serious. The spark of glee in her eyes might give away her excitement to practice with the knife. She tested the blade carefully against her thumb before deeming it capable of killing.

Lyra glanced up at Jarrod "There was a drunk lady sitting in the shade not far from the tunnels a couple days back. It looked like she was meaning to stay for awhile. Would you like me to show you?" Her face was a mixture of hope, respect and a touch of apprehension that he would find her silly. This apprehension was unusual for her and she dropped her eyes "My brother says gluttony is a sin but the we are all sinners in some way aren't we? So it doesn't really matter who we practice on"

Her eyes went blank for a moment, hearing some inner dialog. "It's a good day for killing" She would wait for him to lead the way her mind focused solely on the task at hand. She had no doubt she would kill or be killed today. Either way was just fine but she preferred to do the killing since she had things to learn now.
 
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Jarrod observed the girl handling the knife cautiously, with the eyes of a hawk. He did not give off any emotion, simply unwavering vigilance. He brought his eyes to his own blade and tapped the edge lightly, confirming its sharpness and, by extension, its efficiency. He would not dither in his usage of it. Regardless of whom had to receive the end of it. "Of course," he responded after a brief silence. "You must promise not to wuss out." Scratching at his jawline, he walked briskly in the direction of the tunnels.
 
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