"Heh-Heh-he*cough**cough cough*-geh!"

His feet slipped on the gravel. Run. Keep running. Don't stop. No matter how long the tunnel or how tough the terrain he had to run.

"Ha-he-heh!" His cream cheeks were covered in dust and grime. The sweat mixed with the muck to create a dirty brown stream down his neck.

"Ha... where?" His bed hair had never been tamed. It was streaming over his eyes like melted vanilla ice cream. The holes in his blue tee shirt were singed on the ends. His knees were bruised from all the desperate crawling.

"Hav... Have to keep moving. Have to... find."

*Shck*

Gus stood still.

*Shck**Shck*

It was getting closer.

*Shck* *Ka-Shck* *Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta*

The massive tunnel stretched on for a hundred meters. It was dimly lit by a spread of overhead lamps lining the western wall. They stretched onward to the end of this cavern.

*Ka-Shuck*

As the sound grew louder.

*Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tata*

A silhouette grew too.

Something large was approaching. A massive head on a skinny body. It shambled along as it struggled to fight its own swaying stride. Its feet turned the corner first.

It had three toes with massive claws akin to the talon on a hawk. Its legs were pencil-thin and lined with supporting coils and hydraulics. The creation's arms were bent outward like a Tyrannosaurus. It used on to keep its massive skull steady.

Fleshy yet metallic. Wires instead of veins. A beak ripped off the face of a shoebill and soldered in place with crazy glue and tar. A luminescent liquid dripped from the mouth and clashed with orange plumage that struggled to remain on its head.

This THING! It was all Gus could think of to call it. With a beating heart visible through its exposed chest right next to the pumps that must have functioned as lungs. It almost struggled to live, yet it seemed certain of its goal.

A massive blue eye rolled around like a cueball in a globe. They suddenly stopped when Gus was within view. Its massive mouth opened and closed rhythmically. That sound came up again.

*Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tata*

With each pop a molten bubble spewed from its maw. The creature seemed unfazed by the burning sludge again searing its patchwork flesh.

Gus was frozen with fear. His tiny body wasn't built for this. He wasn't the one to take a fight head-on. It was his job to support the real heavy hitters. Of course, he only had one choice.

When a foot stepped back the Thing lurched forward. "GRRAAAHHHHH!" Its arms extended out with mechanical fingers grasping ahead. Gus nearly soiled himself at the sudden advance. He turned around and started running anew.

"Where... Where is it? It has to be here!"

His eyes checked every wall. One had to be here. A way out. He only had one way out of this situation. He turned around and nearly fainted. Somehow this monster had closed the distance in just a minute. What was a hundred meters of space had shrunken down to fifty. And it was gaining still.

Gus looked at a nearby wall. There was a massive metal orb with a heavy twine cord attached. It smiled at Gus almost mocking his situation. Gus nearly cried. He stopped rushing deeper to get a hand on the rope. He used his left hand to touch the sphere as a ghostly glow transferred from the boy to his ball.

The orb immediately began to rise like a balloon on a string. Gus held onto his cord and started effortlessly spinning the ball overhead. He turned around to see the cybernetic monster now a few meters ahead. Like a cowboy with his lasso, Gus launched his impromptu projectile at the Thing's mouth.

Its beak nearly caved in as the metal collided with its face. Gus saw a bit of fire spew from an eye before the Thing was left buried under a massive metal ball. The smile that had taunted Gus before looked more like a proud companion now.

Gus relaxed a bit. He managed to survive after all. He'd be sure to brag about this to Bonnie when he saw her next. First, he needed to get out of here.

The ghostly boy wandered ahead until he came in line with a door. It was embedded into the wall and had an array of lamps lining the edge. If only he'd found this sooner. When he walked through he was standing on the narrow walkway of a subway tunnel. He looked down either side at the vast nothingness of lights and train tracks. He didn't know which way was the closest station but he'd find one no matter which way he walked.

Gus slowly trudged on while tracing his pinky along the wall. His legs were burning and his muscles ached, but the worst was over. He'd go back later and figure out what that thing was. Maybe Gray and RT could help inspect it and find a place of origin. That is if he could find it again. The catacombs were like a maze with no known map.

At least it's not going anywhere.

*Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta*

Gus's skin went pale. This time he was certain. His bladder broke.

*Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta*

As the puddle grew he turned around. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe something was coming down the track.

*Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta*

No. Something horrible was staring at him. It had the same beak. Same build. However, it's face. It was molten. The wires threatened to burst and the flesh hung on like silly string. The feathers were gone. It was boiling skin and seared wires around a black tar beak.

*Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta*

That sound continued to play until it fully opened its mouth. A bright light was visible within. It grew and grew still as something shot forward. The heat could be felt far before it was before Gus.

He jumped down onto the tracks below, careful to dodge the electrified beams. He fell onto the wood between and tripped ahead until he was against the farthest wall. That bright red sludge dripped down as the Thing walked after him.

Gus tried to stand up but something was wrong in his arm. It had been dislocated from the fall. Just trying to walk shot a bolt of horrendous pain through his core. The Thing had no concern for Gus's ailment. He stepped forward and hesitated to place a foot on the beam. Then it slammed a foot down and convulsed violently.

Had it really made such a simple mistake. This amalgamation of metal, lava, and flesh. After all that chasing was this what would end it? No. No, it only got worse. Its eyes shined as bolts of lighting jumped across its retina. A few lights above burst as the electricity was redirected and deposited back into the ground.

The few that remained flashed violently until the body stopped shivering. It gained control over this new overcharge of energy. That glistening blue glass eye rolled around until it found Gus once more. Its mouth opened wide with another surge of molten sludge ready to flow.

Gus's back was plastered against the wall. He looked around but nothing was within reach. He started hyperventilating. Just as the flames began to fly he screamed, "SPOOKY!"

From the ground below came a bright yellow balloon dog. It flew between Gus and the Thing just as a glop of molten slop arrived. It smacked away the stream and flew in circles around Gus. As another stream rushed ahead he flew around to push it away. Gus sat with his arms up hoping that Spooky would be able to hold up. The little balloon animal was his best friend and a reliable shield in conflicts but he could only do so much.

That monster's beak vibrated as it increased the force of its stream. It took a step forward and continued to bare down on them. Spooky tried its best but a bit of sludge broke through. Gus had to tear away more of his shirt to stop the burning.

He looked up once more. Its eyes were spinning like marbles. It didn't just want to finish him. It needed it. Why? Why did this thing attack him? Who and what wanted him dead?

*CHOO-CHOO*

The walls around them shook. Something massive was coming. It made the ground rumble. Though the Thing didn't seem bothered. It bore down all the same. The roar of its flaming engine was quickly drowned out by another. A more powerful force blasted clean through the avian skull and shattered its metallic remains.

It went by in a flash. The sound of creaking brakes could be heard alongside the flashing of sparks in the distance. The one-man train came back with solemn chuffs and parked itself in front of Gus. "My supernatural songbird! What was that?"

Chuck sat in his train car with a massive smile. He looked around at the mess he'd unintentionally helped to create. Scattered electronics. Tattered flesh. Pools of molten slag.

Chuck let a final puff of smoke puff out his hollow skull, "What did I hit?"

Gus brought up a shaky finger, "...bill..."

Chuck followed the finger. It showed a discarded bird's beak with what he assumed was black skin where the head should have been. Chuck's undead heart stopped at the sight of the shoebill's cracked mouth, "Steamy Staccato! Was Bill a friend?"