Austin groaned out in pain when he felt an aching pain in both his legs. He couldn't hear a thing for five minutes after the fall. When he struggled to open his eyes, he pushed the rock on his legs away and managed to stand up. He had no idea where they had fallen, but he figured it was a tunnel. Rays of light from the sun brightened the tunnel through the hole, which made it easier for him to see. "Can anyone hear me please?" He shouted, and his voice echoed through the tunnel. "If you can hear me..."

"Yes, we can." Stop screaming. " Tammy's voice sounded beside him. Tammy accepted Austin's hand in his. Austin took his hand and pulled him up. "What the fuck?" Tammy looked up at the hole from where they had fallen. "How did that happen?" He asked.

"I guess it's..." Tony answered from behind him. "Something shook the Earth up." He stood up from where he landed and saluted Austin when he saw him. "Sir!"

"At ease," Austin answered. "Where are the rest?" He questioned

"They have to be here somewhere," Tony said. "I'll search for them, sir." He offered and walked deeper into the tunnel. "Can anyone hear me?" He shouted as he walked deeper into the tunnel. The light from the sun and the walls of the tunnels were his guides as he walked farther into the tunnel. "Can you hear me?" "If you are alive, please let me know." Tony continued to walk farther into the tunnel until he hit something or maybe someone.

"That hurts!" Kemisola groaned as she got kicked by Tony's combat boot. "She was in between two rocks, and in her arms lay the little boy from Roku's village." Kemisola used her body as a shield for the boy.

"You okay there?" Tony questioned her.

"Yeah, a little help please." Kemisola pushed the boy who was in her arms towards Tony, and he helped the boy up. Kemisola was also helped up by Tony. "You okay?" She asked the little boy.

"Yes," the boy responded.

"Where is the espresso and the rest?" Kemisola questioned

"Espresso is okay, but we haven't found the rest." It's an epic fall, "Tony replied.

"I can help you find them," the little boy offered to help. "Something like this has happened in this village before."

"Really? What caused it? " Kemisola asked the boy.

"The creatures They'll be here soon, so we have to find the rest and leave this hole. " The boy pointed forward. "The remaining soldiers should all be there." The little boy said and walked farther into the tunnel. The first soldier they came in contact with was laying on the ground with her eyes wide open. A red liquid pooled out from her head where a rock had hit. "She is dead," the little boy said, and walked over to the dead soldier.

"Oh my God! She is one of the soldiers from Nigeria." Kemisola gasped and couldn't help but stare at the dead soldier.

Let's go, latte. " Tony crossed over the dead soldier and pulled Kemisola over the soldier. The next person they came into contact with was Sammie, whose left hand was under a rock. His other free hand was stuck behind him, which made it hard for him to move. "Cappucino!" Kemosola rushed towards him and beckoned for Tony to help lift the rock. Tony helped lift the rock and Sammie's hand was removed from under the rock. "This is terrible," Kemisola commented on the state of Sammie's hand. Three of his fingers were broken, and the remaining two were bleeding nonstop.

Kemisola dipped her hand inside her pocket and pulled out clothing from her pocket. She tied it around Sammie's hand and helped him up. "This should stop the bleeding and help straighten your broken fingers." "Are you alright?" He asked him

Sammie nodded without saying a word. "You okay to stand up, comrade?" Tony asked him, but instead of replying, Sammie pointed behind him.

"There is someone under the rock." "Save her." Sammie told them.

Tony and Kemisola went behind Sammie and began to remove the rocks one after the other until they reached the person under the rock. The person turns out to be Gabriella. The rock had made an impact on her head, her ribcage, and her legs. Gabriella had grown cold on the ground, and the blood seeping out of her head had stopped and formed a lump. She was lifeless as her face had turned white. "She is dead," Tony confirmed by checking her pulse.

Kemisola placed her hand on her head and let out a scream. "This shouldn't have happened. Why? " She burst into tears.

"What's going on here?" Austin ran towards them. "We saw a dead Nigerian soldier on the way here." Is there any other Nigerian dead? "

"No, but..." Tony pointed to where Gabriella was lying. "Affogato is dead, sir."

Austin heaved a deep sigh and shook his head in despair. "Find the others," he stated. "Cappuccino, how are you?" He asked Sammie, who was still sitting on the ground.

"The creatures will be here soon. We need to leave. " The little boy pointed out

"We can't leave without the rest," Kemisola said to the boy. "We need to make sure everyone is okay." She added and walked forward, looking for any sign of any soldier. "Please! If you are alive and stuck under any rock, let me know. " She shouted.

Tony trailed behind her and also shouted for the remaining soldiers. They both searched under the rock and found two Nigerian soldiers who were alive but injured on the shoulders. "Can you move?" Tony questioned them, and they both nodded. "Stay still while we look for the rest." He said to them

"Yes." They both answered.

Kemisola also found another Nigerian female soldier, who turned out to be Chelsea. She was not struck by a rock, but she was laying on the ground with her face down. "You okay?" Kemisola asked. 

"Yes," she answered. "Is everyone okay?" Chelsea asked.

"Not everyone made it," Kemisola said sadly. "Take a rest while I go look for the others." She told her to walk farther into the tunnel. "Hello!"

"Latte," a weak voice called kemisola under a pile of sand. "Latte!" The voice shouted again.

"Americano, there is someone under here." Kemisola pointed to the pile of sand where the noise was coming from.

Tony and Kemisola both dug into the sand and helped Okie out of it. Her body was covered in sand, but she wasn't injured. "You okay, doppio?" Kemisola asked, and she nodded.

"Five of us fall into this part," Okie informed them. Tony and Kemisola began to dig every pile of sand around where they had found Okie. The left side of the tunnel They found two more people, who turned out to be Kelly and Ella. They were both stuck inside a pile of sand together.

"You guys okay?" Tony asked, and they both nodded.

"I found......" Kemisola didn't get to finish her sentence as the soldiers she found inside another pile of sand had died due to suffocation. "They are dead," she declared. The soldiers were male and female from the Nigerian force.

"Three deaths confirmed for the Nigerian team," Tony told the soldiers they had saved from the sand. "Gabriella is also dead," he announced.

Okie groaned out in pain and burst into uncontrollable tears. "This is not supposed to be. It's just a fall. "

Kemisola and Tony continued to find the rest of the soldiers. They were able to find Daniel and Lenny, who were stuck under a rock beside each other. The rest of the Nigerian soldiers were also found beside two large rocks.

"This is so sad!" Tammy lamented as he looked at the body of his comrade. "Sally, Michael, and Mary were our friends and comrades." They had served their country well."Let's give them a final salute." Tammy ordered his team.

The Nigerian soldiers all came together and saluted the dead soldiers. "Goodbye, comrades!"

Austin also held a moment of silence for Gabriella, who was a victim of the fall. The soldiers all saluted Gabriella for the last time. Okie removed her camouflage jacket and used it to cover Gabriella's face. "Goodbye, comrade!" They all saluted her again.

As the soldiers paid their final homage to their comrades, a growling sounded from afar. "We need to leave now!" The little boy shouted.

"Why are you so scared of the creatures?" We can take them. Tammy said to the little boy.

"You don't know what the creatures have done to my village." All it takes is a contact from them and they will infect you. " The boy stated sadly. "If you want to live, we need to go now." He shouted.

The soldiers were surprised by how mature the boy sounded. He ordered them as an adult would. "Are you a child stuck in a child's body?"

"I am not a child. I'm thirteen. " The little boy answered. 

"But you look ten," Chelsea pointed out.

"I'm not. I have survived alone for five years. ""I've been through a lot, but I'll explain that later if we could please leave this place," he begged. "

"Everybody grab your weapons and let's get out of here. We came here to face the creature and we are not backing out. " Austin commanded with his voice filled with authority.

"But sir, let's listen to this boy." Kemisola protested.

"If you have any problem with this, then you can take the boy and go back to our country," Austin told her. "If you have a problem with what I have said, please back out, or I'll kick you out myself." He threatened.

 "Yes,sir!" They all responded, including the Nigerian Army. Austin didn't respond and came out of the hole, followed by Tammy, who also crawled out of the hole. The rest of the soldiers came out of the hole they had fallen into. The soldiers walked away from the hole and headed towards where the growlings were coming from.

"The creatures are closer than we thought, so please position yourselves." Austin ordered

"Yes,sir." The soldiers all formed a circle as they positioned themselves for the creatures coming.

The growls sounded again and the ground shook as the noise of hundreds of footsteps sounded as the creatures drew nearer. "Get ready to aim," Austin commanded. "Now for first...." He didn't get to finish his sentence as he gasped at the sight of the creatures heading towards them. They were really fast, and they moved closer to the soldiers. "Run into the hole now!" He shouted and ran towards the hole, followed by the rest of the soldiers.

"We need to cover up the hole now!" As Tammy suggested,

"There is no time for that. The creatures are closer now! " Kelly said to him.

"We need to run now!" Austin ordered

"And go where? We don't even know where we are heading to. " Kemisola pointed out.

I'll lead you out of the tunnel. "Follow me and don't make any noise. The little boy advised. 

Growlings sounded as three creatures made their way into the hole. They rushed to strike Austin on the back, but Daniel pushed him out of the way and got stuck instead.

"Go! I'll hold them off. " He said to his soldier. "It's been an honor to serve with you all," Daniel said his last word and fired at the creatures. "Go now!" He shouted.

"I'll join you." Ella came beside him and fired at the creatures that rushed into the hole.

"What are you doing?" Daniel shouted at him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Austin, it's been an honor to serve with you!" Ella smiled and came out of the hole after firing a bullet at the last creature that crawled in. "Go on! We'll hold them off. " She shouted at the soldier.

"Let's go!" Austin shouted and ran into the tunnel with the little boy leading them. Meanwhile, Daniel and Ella were firing at the creatures nonstop, but they kept increasing while their bullets ran out. When they fired their last bullet, they dropped their guns, faced themselves, and saluted each other.

"It has been an honor, comrade," Ella said to Daniel.

"Same here, comrade," Daniel responded.

             ~~~~~~~

Six soldiers died in this chapter.

A depressing conclusion.