The mine near Prosperity had fallen on hard times. Once the biggest employer in town, it now faced bankruptcy as the yearly amount of gold extracted drop. With the mine's decline, the town's prosperity also faced ruin.
Whole sections were walled off, while others fell into disrepair. The once thriving mine has now become but a shadow of itself.
The addition of massive spider webs all along the mine's walls didn't help the situation.
"ugh what is that smell?" one of the townsfolk asks
"You talking about the stale air? Or the smell of death?" Another responds
"Shush" The sheriff gestures to the group before speaking in a low voice "we need to keep quite. We don't want to attract any of those spiders to our location. That means nobody is allow to use a firearm, in fact, the less noise we make the better."
Although not using firearms would put us at a big disadvantage, with the limited amount of ammo left it isn't a major loss.
But this 'order' also applies to me, so I put the lawgiver away and grab my newly fashioned necklace.
Focusing my attention on the centerpiece of the necklace, a red light begins to shine brightly before disappearing and with it a new outfit appeared.
Although I would consider it a nostalgic one. A red trench coat that matches my red fedora, a sleeve-less black cat suit, and black knee high boots.
"What was that? Hey! when did you change your outfit? " Mike whispered
Before I had the chance to come up with an answer a shout came from the front of the group. When I turned my head I could see the mall janitor being dragged away.
The poor man's screams became muffled as he was dragged away. Before anyone could go after him, another spider appeared behind the group, throwing everyone into a panic.
Now was the time to act. Unraveling the scarf around my neck, I transformed it into a whip and struck the spider. My attack takes one of the spider's eye forcing it back in pain. Then pulling the whip back, I change it into a Bo staff before leaping after the spider. At the height of my jump I throw the staff, which crushes the spider's head upon impact.
Once I landed, I retrieved the staff and turn to hear a shriek at the front of the group. Another spider had appeared, but was dispatched by a crossbow bolt, courtesy of the sheriff.
Retrieving the bolt from the dead spider the sheriff turned back to the group to whisper "We need to keep moving everyone, but that means remaining quiet. The longer we remain inside the mine the higher the chance of getting surrounded and overwhelmed."
Several individuals nodded but others whispered their concerns about the poor janitor. However, as callous as it might sound, now was not the time to ponder over the fate of the doomed man. By now the spiders inside the mall have found their way to the secret entrance.
Thus we continued through the mine passing old debris and massive webs. Eventually we came upon a macabre scene within a large open space, the entangled remains of missing towns folk.
Some appear as dried out corpses, while others appear to have asphyxiated.
It seemed that all hope was lost until someone noticed that a few of the cocoons twitched. Forcing them open revealed living victims.
After searching the entire area we found six living individuals, including the mayor and the secretary of the mining company.
She warned us about the presence of methane within the mine, waring that any spark or flame would ignite the methane and engulf the entire cave system in flames.
This information alone was troubling, but with the discovery of toxic waste barrels inside the mine, meant that the mine was the most dangerous place in town.
A chill ran down my spine when I heard that. The group decision to avoid using firearms in fear of making excessive noise saved our lives in more ways than we thought.
The group continued forward, hoping to reach the entrance of the cave. As we traveled I was trying to think of different ways to deal with all the remaining spiders within the town.
Sure we could wait until the authorities arrive, but who knows what they might do. They could decide that retaking the town is not worth the hassle and just bomb it into oblivion.
One might ask; Why am I even concern about what happens to this town? I have never set foot in this town before and probably never will again, but if there is one thing I learned after traveling the world in my past life is that regardless of the size, regardless of its age, all places have history. People grew up here, built their lives here, and some even died here.
The saying 'home is where the heart is' is true. Your true home is wherever your loved ones are and I can't dispute that, but I would image that this town also holds a special place in the heart of many townsfolk. If I can help them save their homes then I will do everything I can.
While I was lost in my thoughts, one of the members mentions hearing a strange sound. Nobody pays him any attention until more people hear the sound causing the group to stop.
At first it sounded like a faint whistle through the air, but as a few seconds pass the sound became as loud as a train horn. Then the sound ends abruptly.
"Is everyone alright?"
In the milliseconds it takes to blink, a man appeared before the group. Not just any man, but a bona fide hero.
The Fastest Man Alive
The Scarlet Speedster
The Flash