The first level was utterly empty, not a soul inhabited it. In fact, there weren’t even any rooms. Water pipes and electrical cabling ran along the walls and snaked around corners, and the interior was surprisingly well lit by recessed, fluorescent track lights in the ceiling. That said, the Floodians found a spiral stairway to the next level down and a service lift that could potentially carry them anywhere in the bunker. They disabled it and used the stairs instead. It made no sense to leave a perfectly good escape route open for the enemy. The second level was the one which first held resistance for them. Advancing carefully and quietly down the stairs, with JS in the lead, two Forsaken militiamen, joking amongst themselves, were coming up the stairs toward them. They hadn’t spotted the Floodians when JS squeezed the trigger on his M4, and killed them both outright. They slipped backwards lifelessly and tumbled down the stairs, landing in two crumpled bundles at the bottom. JS bit his lip and looked to the man behind him, Corbec. Corbec, equally worried, just shrugged, then motioned for JS to keep the line moving. JS did so, edging down one step at a time, slowly reaching the bottom and stepping over the dead bodies of his victims. To his right was a solid concrete wall and to his left was a two-way junction, with a corridor straight ahead and a turn to his right. This time, metal doorways similar to the one on the surface were clearly visible, some ajar slightly, some closed. JS used hand signals to communicate his intentions. Five people would come with him and sweep down the right, while Corbec took the remainder and cleared out the rooms directly ahead. Corbec signalled his agreement, and the Floodians went their separate ways. JS glanced around the corner, confirmed it was clear and moved on, padding along silently despite all of his heavy gear. Corbec scampered to the doorway of the closest entrance to him, which sat slightly open. With deft, sharp hand signals he told the team that they would enter and clear after him. Inside, five Forsaken terrorists were playing a jovial game of cards, and the man with his back to the doorway had an Ace Of Spades in his hand. “Hold onto your hats, guys, and get ready for this…” He smiled, eager to clean up the table and take his winnings. Then, Corbec showed up, silenced pistol at the ready. He fired once into the Forsaken with his back to him, the bullet passing through his torso and blowing a hole straight through the Ace Of Spades. Corbec changed targets, fired once and killed another before he even got out of his chair. Then, the next person in the line came through the doorway, riddled another Forsaken with her silenced MP7. By the time the third Floodian was through, Corbec had dropped another Forsaken with a shot to the head, and the last enemy had nearly drawn his pistol. The third Floodian saw to it that never happened. Girly Spartan, with JS right behind her, pulled the heavy metal lever on the first room they were going to storm. JS went in first, with Mike D Halo King hot on his heels. Inside, the lights were off, but JS could still see two rows of bunk beds, and on most of them, Forsaken troops seemed to be sleeping. Men and women of various age groups apparently going from late ‘teens to early forties. Perhaps they were the night shift, resting off their work. It made no difference. [i]Kill them.[/i] JS signed to the others, taking his silenced pistol out and slinging the M4. In the next minute, JS’ group killed every single person in the room without waking any of the enemy up. When they were done, the door was closed up again, throwing the corpses into total darkness. [i]That room over there next,[/i] JS said in hand signals. The locals on the second level didn’t last ten minutes, and before long the Floodians had begun butchering everyone on level three, as well. As they burst into room after room and mercilessly put down anyone within, the Floodians noticed things about their surroundings. Firstly, each level was identical in layout. The levels would appear to anyone watching from a birds eye perspective as a capital I, with the disabled service lift shaft at one end, and a spiral staircase at the other but a little to one side. Secondly, as they progressed, resistance became heavier and heavier. So while the Floodians still kept their rampage completely silent, things became increasingly difficult. Thirdly, and most importantly, casualties began to occur. Two Floodians were wounded, and another killed on the third floor by a Forsaken terrorist that ambushed them with a Knife. Another volunteer was put out of the action when she tripped on a corpse and sprained an ankle. A minor injury, yet in this running battle where the first move was vital, it would be suicide to continue. The wounded had to hobble back to the entrance. The fourth floor, however, was when the fight really kicked off. “Alarm! Alarm! Everyone! Floodians are here! Floodians are here!” Screamed a young man, waving his arms around excitedly and nearly falling over as he was seemingly always looking behind him. “What the hell are you on about?” Said a Forsaken veteran, walking over to him. “Back there! Third Floor! Killing everything!” The younger fighter babbled, petrified. He was pointing at the stairs he had come down, with a look of genuine fear on his face. “You said Floodians are doing this?” “Yes they-” The younger man was cut off mid-sentence as a high-velocity slug tore into the side of his head and blasted a significant proportion of it into scraps of meat. The veteran immediately traced its direction and saw the Floodians, advancing down the stairs to take up position. “HOLY -blam!-!” He exclaimed, and after a moment’s hesitation threw himself bodily through a doorway to his left. Silenced gunfire chased him a second too late to find a target. The Forsaken shouted at his confused comrades, looking at the strange man who had just arrived. “Floodians! Here! Now! Kill them!” The now even more baffled Forsaken looked to each other, then grabbed their guns. The man shouting at them was reliable, and not prone to delusions. If he warned of Floodians, then they really had breached the safest place on the island. [Edited on 09.25.2007 8:58 AM PDT]