The Alpha Rat was the size of a castle, with ruby red eyes and black fur divided into bright grid lines of fire. In place of a front right foot was a human arm flexing with anger. Jane hid behind the dead rodent, slowly lifting the shield off her back. The giant tail whipped around before she could plan her next move, sending her flying out into the open. Jane rolled out of the path of the Demon Rat before it slashed down against the shield. Holding against the weight, she could feel claws connect with vengeance, but only managed to graze the surface. With a clear line of sight, the girl threw Chain-Maker into the side of the beast, where it remained.

  Angered, the Rat went for another strike.

  The wind-up gave Jane enough time to flee from danger and head toward the far edge of the turntable. She slid underneath, just as the Demon Rat breathed out a jet of pure lava. She could feel the intense heat from above, even underneath a ton of metal. Jane stayed down, waiting for the right time to exit. She felt safe for a moment, but something felt off; the slim light that caught her foot would blacken as if some shadow was interrupting it. The entire floor was shifting, writhing and seething with motion. Jane moved into a shaft of light and realised to her horror that every cursed inch of the underside was teeming with an endless river of Rats.

  Nope. Nope. Not today.

  Cold with panic, she quickly found a ladder and emerged from underneath. Jane spotted a carriage lying on its side. Glancing around, she saw the Demon Rats turned away, giving her a slender chance to hide behind the train.

  Where to go? Where to go? She thought. Then she saw it, the green door at the far end. It seemed to be her only option..

  Peeking around, she saw the Demon Rat still looking in the other direction. It was now or never. Jane fled to the dirty green rectangle lit in half-shade. The noise and chaos must have alerted the creature, because she could feel the tremors getting closer. The door opened easily to her relief, and she hurled herself into the room. Once inside, while the door was outlined in flames and to her surprise, it held pretty well. Jane kept her back against the wall and gently slid the metal bolt across. Looking around, she found herself in a laboratory, with a desk and bookcase to her immediate right.

  On the floor, a thick trail of dry blood led from the entrance to the dark end of the room. Jane hesitated, reluctant to venture further, but she felt trapped, and her lack of options gave her no choice. She took a flint shard from a pouch and sparked up a nearby torch. Adjusting to the bloom of orange light, she gasped upon seeing a trough filled to the brim with human bones. Shocked, the girl backed into a cage, which shook from inside. Sweeping a torch around, she caught sight of a smaller rat with red eyes.

  Its posture was one of fear, almost straining from the light. Jane saw the same in the other cages, occupied with rats and cowering at the back. She noted how each Rat was lying on a woman’s tattered dress. What kind of laboratory was this? One which involved kidnapping and mutation? Why? Why was this under the Castle? Was Isaac involved? The torchlight found a small hallway ending with another room. It appeared to be an office, with bars across the window and the skeleton of someone still in their suit, grabbing at thick vines which blocked the exit.

  What is this place?

  To her right was a Bronze ladder leading up to a wooden hatch, locked tight. This seemed like her only way out.

  I need a key.

  Jane searched all over the laboratory, through the desk drawers and shelves. Even scattering books in the hopes, something would fall out. None of the documents gave any clues since they were written in an unknown language, which made her dizzy. No luck. Zero. To her left, she noticed a black book inscribed with the title: ‘Padden’s Journal.. She thumbed through the worn, yellow pages and was surprised to see the text was in English, as if it had been written for her alone:

  ‘Three brothers for daughters true. All grew weary, when shadows grew.’

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Were these the daughters? Was this some punishment? Shrugging, she stowed the journal in the knapsack. The room shook and loosened up a shower of dust. Then, Jane realised she had lost sight of why she was here. She sat down and covered her face with both hands. Why is there a lock but no key? It didn’t make sense. A normal person would always have a key on them.

  If only they were still here. If only they…never…left.

  A slow realisation trickled in. She returned to the small hallway and looked at the skeleton.

  You’ve got to be kidding.

  Jane approached the corpse and rubbed her arms.

  I ain’t touching that!

  She glanced at the skeleton and gave it a quick once-over. Her insides felt heavy, as if replaced by lead bars.

  I guess I have to, or I won’t be able to leave.

  Starting with the top, she fed a hand into the inside jacket pocket and touched something fat and leathery. Upon removing her hand, the fingers brushed against a bony ribcage through the shirt. Jane did a little dance of disgust.

  No-no-no-no!

  After calming down, she inspected the wallet. No money, just a drawing of a village with red X’s marked around the page. Whatever mystery this person was keeping died with them. Jane reluctantly checked the lower left pocket of the Blazer. It was empty. No luck there.

  Please don’t be in the trousers. She thought.

  Placing a hand inside the right pocket of the Blazer, she could feel something metallic and round. Her heart leapt, and she pulled out a set of keys. Jane made her way up the ladder, unlocked the hatch and found herself on a small stone walkway guarded by a thin wooden rail. From above, she could see the Demon Rat still searching for the intruder, squeaking in fury and burning the remaining train cars with its lava breath. The girl ducked out of sight and wondered if Rats could look up.

  Something caught her eye to the left. A faint glow of torchlight could be seen in a hole in the wall. Moving around, she hesitated at the wall and peered inside. A woman with a sack over her head was propped up against the wall and tending a tiny campfire. Jane found it hard to believe that someone would decide to make a home in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet.

  “Come in, if you’re coming in.” The woman said. “I for one will not bite. Heh Heh Heh.” Jane carefully moved out from her hiding place into the small area. She could see the woman’s toothy mouth form words.

  “Don’t mind your manners around me, child. It’s been a long time since I have concerned myself. The name’s Cressida. I take it you saw the others?” The girl nodded sadly. “Unlike them, this mutation has stalled, leaving me halfway in between. I don’t know what’s worse: To lose yourself to the transformation, or be fully aware of it.” The woman took another swig from the green bottle. “Anyway, I suppose you’re looking to kill that Rat. The only way I know is to flood the area. Yank the chain on the top level and open the pipes. It will fill up half the basin. I would have done it long ago, but I don’t have the strength. Here.” Cressida produced an object that was cream-coloured and curled to a point.

  “It’s a claw; figure you can do something with it. That old bastard might as well be useful.” Jane tucked the claw in her belt and nodded gratefully. She paused and turned around, as if to ask one more question.

  “Yes,” Cressida said, swallowing down. “We will all drown like Rats, as it should be. Don’t waste time on being sad, child. Just turn around and don’t look back.”

  Without any further hesitation, Jane took herself back out toward the path. Passing the hatch, she came to a rickety wooden ladder. It ended on a platform, next to a flow system with three ropes. She pulled at the first loop and but nothing happened. The middle one felt heavier and was harder to tug down. The Rat suddenly squealed at a new intruder. Jane looked over the edge, stunned to see the first Rat dragged by its tail into the corner. She covered her mouth as a muscular figure emerged from the shadows, covered in vines. The girl remembered what Isaac said about the Headless-Nameless being relentless and how it does not like to lose. Was it hunting her down? Did it know she was here? By the way, it proceeded to slam its fists against the locked door,

  Jane suspected this was the case. She crept up to the system and tried the middle one again. She heaved down the middle rope as quietly as possible, but there was some resistance. She tried again and watched in horror as the Headless-Nameless emerged from the shadows on the first-level walkway. Out of instinct, she kept slowly pulling at the ropes and heard the sound of creaking metal followed by rushing water. The Demon Rat squealed in fear and fled back through the broken wall.

  Jane waited for the water level to rise slowly. Soon, the laboratory door was submerged until the first level collapsed into splinters, and they felt a pang of sadness when the waters snuffed out the glow of the campfire. Luckily, the Headless-Nameless receded into darkness, choosing to fight another day. Satisfied, she took a line of metal hoops to the exit and left the sewer through a tall set of double doors.