The first day was spent reaching the mesa and scaling up a portion of it.

  The second day nearly brought them to the top.

  The third day saw them safely to the sewer spouts that spewed water into the open air. The city had a complex sewer system, reaching deep into the mesa for its sources, while dumping the rest into the open air like this one did. The reservoir that the city tapped into was a complex system that constantly refreshed itself from the rivers flowing through the empire. The waters dumped into the air from the top were filtered thoroughly so that nothing but water would follow its flow. Nothing would pose a danger to anything below. When the founders of the city planned its construction, they believed it offered the waters back into the atmosphere, and helped to stimulate the environment in safe ways.

  No matter the reasoning, they certainly never planned for the three of them to use it as an entrance to sneak into the city. They stood at the windy opening, watching as hawks soared in the open air, and as ships roared overhead. Behind them, into the dimly lit sewers, they could smell the gross mixtures of waste and death. The diseased ones and the ghouls lived in its depths, and posed such a threat that soldiers were required to accompany maintenance workers when they descended. The three of them pulled their rifles out and opened them up, making sure their only defense was available if they needed it. Ayela only ever heard rumors, but they were enough to horrify her imagination. She envisioned wild and terrifying creatures. Images of artists’ sketches and blurry pictures on the internet certainly didn’t help.

  “We know the drill from here. Our eyes will adjust the further in we go. I have the directions we need to take memorized, and it should take us far enough into the city that we’ll be close to the broadcasting station. It’ll be evening when we emerge, so we need to be mindful of night patrols from the police… Never has our mantra been truer than in this moment,” Asher said. The girls snickered.

  “Let’s get moving,” Ayela urged.

  And so they began their trek. Their rifles were trained and ready, and as the sounds of the rushing waters quieted the further in they journeyed, their senses began to heighten. There was no conversation, no sounds they themselves uttered save for their careful, quieted footsteps. In the dim lighting overhead, they could barely see anything, but their eyes quickly adjusted to the dark. Every sound that they didn’t make startled them, and in the shadows their eyes played tricks, lending to the idea that they couldn’t be trusted.

  But they pressed on, despite their fears, despite their anxieties of the dark. Hours went by as they trekked. Or had it been the day already? The girls weren’t sure, and Asher kept his directions to himself – understandably, of course. No one wanted to ask questions and draw attention to themselves from the horrors that dwelt there. With them being so far from the entrance, every sound was amplified. Every drop of water, every soft patter of their footsteps, every heavy breath one of them would take. They worried that one sound loud enough would attract one of the foul creatures of the Capital’s sewers.

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  Then Ayela paused.

  For a moment, she was sure she heard a fourth walking among them. The others stopped and waited for her while she carefully surveyed their surroundings, but she found nothing. She nodded at the others and they continued. They didn’t make it too far before she stopped once more, this time certain she’d heard the footsteps of another.

  She turned around, and in the shadows behind them, she saw the outline of a tall figure with abnormally long limbs. Instinctively, she and the others raised their rifles, and they watched in horror as a creature with translucent skin stepped into the dome of dim light offered by the dull lamp above. Talons decorated its slender hands, and its rotted mouth bore sharp teeth that clenched angrily at them. What was worse were the hollowed eye sockets, full of emptiness and unnatural, unsettling oddity that paralyzed the mind and body. Asher could only muster one word against such terrorizing imagery, muttered between forced breaths;

  “R-Run!”

  The ghoul shrieked in a strange, bone-chilling cry, and they turned and ran as fast as their feet could take them. Suddenly, the sewers were full of noise, and both ghouls and the diseased chased them with voracious hunger and longing. The shrieks filled their ears, and she wondered how anyone above didn’t hear them.

  “We’re almost there!” Asher yelled.

  She saw the ladder ahead, but she saw the creatures beyond it as well. “There’s too many!” Ayela panicked. Then, like a heroine from legend, Kamille unleashed her rifle on the creatures with hellish fury. The sounds of their pained cries replaced their growls and screams, and with the same zeal Kamille displayed, the rest of them opened fire on the monsters.

  “We need to start climbing!” Asher shouted. He quickly ushered the girls to the ladder while keeping the creatures at bay. They climbed as quickly as they could with Asher right beneath them. The creatures seemed to vanish when their own were being picked off by gunfire, but they didn’t trust their momentary peace.

  Kamille was quick to open the sewer, not checking to see if they were in a street or alley. Ayela was the next to pull herself up and out. As Asher neared the top, though, one final creature tall enough to strike at him came charging from deep within the tunnels. Its monstrous shrieking filled the evening air with nightmare fuel, urging him to hasten himself as he climbed. He skipped ladder rungs as he rushed, and just as it seemed like it was going to be too late, the girls grabbed his arms and pulled him out just in time. The creatures talons swiped across the ceiling above it, knocking the ladder off its hinges as it screamed. They were quick to replace the manhole cover, sealing it in its dark and decrepit home.

  The sighed in relief and rested for a moment, surprised that not a single sound could be heard from beneath them save for an occasional thud, presumably where the creature hit the ceiling. “I see that’s how they fixed their soundproofing issue,” Asher said in between breaths. The girls laughed.

  “It’s a relief to know they didn’t hear any gunfire,” Ayela added.

  “That’s certain enough.”

  “Ladies,” Asher said, slowly rising to his feet. “Welcome to the Capital of the empire… Welcome to Bavylune.” Ayela stood to her feet and looked around. The alley was in between two black-bricked buildings, sleek and clean in their design. The streets looked clean, though the alley was filled with debris and bags of trash piled around a big dumpster. Above them were clear, starry skies filled with passing hovercars. Her heart pounded in her throat and a grin crept across her face. All their effort culminated into that single moment, and a blissful realization came to mind…

  …They finally made it to Bavylune.