The Mantis Variant - Book One - 26. Chapter 26 - Underground, Part Three

Lahari, Agrell, and Ilya helped the group of freed prisoners limp down the stairs within the Messiah Tower. The other Biological Shifts who were part of the rescue party dealt with the Messiahs below, and they escorted their kin out the entrance and into the Teshon City streets.

Quite a few people were startled by the sight of them. To most of the abovelanders who were oblivious of the vast community that lived beneath their feet, the Biological Shifts appeared as monsters. Many citizens of the city knew nothing about their underground neighbors, and coming face to face with them was shocking. Some people screamed, others jeered and yelled hateful slurs, while still others simply fled in fear.

Eventually, the bloody and bruised group arrived at the mouth of the tunnel that led below, and the guards raced out to help their fellow inhabitants back into the underground.

"Everyone, get inside, quickly!" called out a man with skin that was striped like a tiger.

Agrell supported an escaped prisoner on either side. She held them close and helped them get down the stairs into the darkness. They seemed shocked that such a normal-looking girl so readily made physical contact with them, but they did not complain about the assistance.

Soon the group reached the first main chamber, and they all entered. A number of other Biological Shifts came rushing in with bandages, ointments, and potions for the injured. Broken bones were set, and a few gashes received stitches.

Several of the inhabitants were very surprised to see the two abovelanders.

The unique Biological Shift with the appearance of a plant lost consciousness again and slumped to the floor.

One of the men who was giving medical attention to the injured called out, "Someone, give me a hand getting him up onto the table."

"I can do it!" skinny little Agrell offered.

"I need someone probably a little stronger than," but the man interrupted himself. "You're a Messiah?!" he screamed, as Agrell scooped up what looked like a massive tree trunk, as if it were light as a feather.

Lahari launched herself in front of Agrell and positioned herself between her and everyone else.

"No, she's fucking not!" Lahari roared. She then enunciated very clearly for all gathered to hear, "Agrell is not a Messiah. She is one of us," she said definitively. "Even though she doesn't look like it," and Lahari turned her gaze around the room to each of her fellow Biological Shifts, "she is one of us, and she is not a fucking Messiah."

"Keep her away from me," someone said under their breath.

"She's not one of us," another argued in a whisper.

Lahari’s black spines flexed and extended.

"I'm just here to help," Agrell pleaded.

Lahari told Agrell, "You keep right on helping."

There was more quiet grumbling from some of the others, but they focused on caring for the injured until they were patched up and bandaged.

"Let's get further below," one of them urged, and everyone begin heading deeper into the underground.

Many below now viewed Agrell as a cannibal, and they shot her disgusted or fearful looks. They flashed her hateful expressions and she heard things mumbled under their breath that she knew were about her. More than once, she dropped her head in shame about the things she went through, but Agrell tried to focus on the people she was helping.

At the next massive underground chamber, one of the Biological Shifts within told everyone that there was a ceremony for the dead, and they should make their way to the well of fire. The group eventually arrived, and the ceremony was already in progress. Bodies that were wrapped in white sheets, and an old woman whose skin was covered in thick hair was speaking over the corpses. Giant curling horns grew from the sides of her head.

"We send our friends, families, and loves to the fire."

The giantess dropped one corpse and then another into the well. She lifted the next body from the floor, and enormous tears began to stream down her cheeks.

From the well’s opening, a continuous stream of smoke rose that disappeared up the chimney. Then a strange noise began to issue from above everyone's heads. The sound quickly grew into a shrill metallic scream, and they all looked up. Then something shot out of the opening in the ceiling✪