"Game plan?" Connor asked.

"Drop the excess, we'll come back for it." Kaveman said, slipping off his backpack, and laying it on the floor. "If this plays out like the game, there's going to be two enemies on each side. You ok with that shotgun?"

Connor had put the rocket launcher and her backpack next to Kaveman's gear. "Yeah, It's my usual weapon of choice."

"Ok," Kaveman said. "I'll clear out the left side, and you take 'em on the right, then you get back over here. I'll go ahead and clear out the enemies just beyond the left side door, then I'll meet you here and we can gear up."

"Wait!" Connor said, incredulous, "What do you mean? The blue door is on the right. Don't you want to get out of here?" Kaveman opened his mouth to say something, but Connor realized, and said it for him.

"The key..." she said, a pained expression crossing her face. "Regular play... We have to get the blue key to get to the exit."

Kaveman stood at the door. "You ready?"

Connor nodded her head, resignedly; shotgun leveled at her hip.

The door went up and Kaveman cut left. There was a huge deep moat of the toxic sludge in the middle of the room, flanked by a walkway with a concrete railing on three sides. Kaveman opened up the chaingun on two alien imps across the deep ooze pit on his side, dropping them in their tracks. Connor darted off to the nearest railing pillar to the right, jamming her back against it and steadying the shotgun against her shoulder. She knew there was going to be a zombie just to the left of her position.

Taking a deep breath, she whipped around to her left and stepped away from the pillar. The zombie was there, but he had no time to react before Connor squeezed off a round, catching him in the chest. The shotgun had a smooth even action with a mild kick, easy to handle.

As he dropped, Connor pumped the gun and raised it, strafing right to catch an imp coming around an alcove just in front of the blue door. He didn't drop on the first hit, and flung a fireball, which Connor dodged before pumping another round into him. As the imp crumpled, Connor cut back and trotted to the entrance room, hearing the metallic chug of the chaingun as Kaveman was now beyond the left side door.

Kaveman had expected enemies, but even he had to admit that the reality was just a little

bit daunting...

As soon as the door slid upward, he started firing the chaingun at anything that moved. As it was, there were a LOT of things that were moving.

Two zombies just beyond the door immediately opened up as soon as they spotted him. Kaveman heard bullets whiz past him as he ducked, hoping that he wouldn't get hit. They had shotguns but his chaingun was faster, and the zombies dropped just as a devilish-looking imp coming in from the right, launched a fireball his direction.

Kaveman turned his aim on the imp, dodging the fiery missile, which impacted on the door which had automatically shut behind him. The imp dropped and Kaveman, ignoring a large open window directly in front of him, quickly crossed the broad hallway and let fire into another window, taking out two more zombies and another imp, down on a lower nook.

There was a shallow staircase directly to his right and Kaveman trotted up it, stepping over the body of the first imp he'd fragged. Not stopping to think, he let fire, dropping a couple more zombies in the corridor just past the stairs. He stepped off to the left, down another short staircase that lead to the window room. At the bottom, an elevator to his immediate right descended, revealing a snarling zombie. Kaveman plugged him, then, as silence settled over all, he stopped to catch his breath a moment, wiping sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Hefting his chaingun over his shoulder, he headed back up the short steps and jogged back through the hallway, knowing Connor would be waiting for him on the other side of the door where he'd entered this battle.

Connor threw on her gear and rocket launcher and grabbing Kaveman's pack, she ran over to the door just as it slid upward and Kaveman stepped out. Connor reloaded her weapon and handed him rounds of ammo as he kneeled down to reload the chaingun.

"You hurt anywhere?" she asked him.

He shook his head, nearly finished.

"I got 'em cleared out to the next door." He pulled on his pack and stood up, the chaingun in his hands.

"Ok?" he asked.

Connor nodded, and pounding on the door, they ran through it as it slid noisily upward.

Kaveman grabbed Connor's arm as they stepped over fallen enemies and, heading up the nearby steps, he pulled her down the short side-staircase to the left. They used the elevator to the right, which accessed an ammo room. Picking up handfuls of shells and bullet clips that lay on the floor of the room, they crammed all they could into their packs. Connor scooped up another shotgun that had been lying near the back wall. She looked at Kaveman.

"You want this?" she asked.

Kaveman thought about it for a moment. "Let's leave it here... Maybe we can use it later, ...who knows?" Finished with their task, they jumped down from the lift and went back up the side-stairs.

Jogging to the next doorway, they took position on either side of the corridor, and Kaveman pounded once on the door, activating it. A fireball flew by Connor as a surprised imp, just on the other side, bellowed out his anger but Kaveman dropped him with short bursts from his weapon.

The imp, spraying blood and gore seemed to dance in some sort of wild frenzy as the chaingun ripped him apart. Connor stepped through the doorway and caught another imp in the head, just beyond the first bend, dropping him with one round.

"This reminds me of that old movie, 'Night of the Living Dead'..." Connor said, grimacing.

"I know..." Kaveman agreed, "They're coming to get you, Barbara..." he said, imitating the voice of one of the movie characters.

Kaveman inched forward, staccato bursts from the chaingun tearing into more approaching zombies, as Connor pumped the shotgun and raised it, dropping another imp. Stepping over the dead bodies, they moved into the curved area, firing at will until all the remaining enemies were splattered on the concrete.

"Give me the rocket launcher," Kaveman said.

Connor slid it off her shoulder, holding it out to him, as she slung the shotgun over her back in its place. He gave her the chaingun in return, taking the launcher out of her hands.

She slung the chaingun in front of her, slightly surprised at how heavy it was. "I'll cover you," she said, approaching an open doorway that led to a circular bridge over a massive slime pit outside.

Kaveman followed, the launcher poised at his shoulder. "Ok, but stay clear," he reminded her.

She stopped just short of the opening, Kaveman right behind her. They paused for a moment, gaining composure, then Kaveman patted her on the shoulder and Connor strafed across the opening, letting the chaingun rip at the shadowy figures on the landing on the far side of the bridge. She jammed up against the chamber wall on the left, as Kaveman stepped out, set his eye to the sight, and shot off two rockets in quick succession.

He felt sparks as the projectiles ignited and flew straight out across the gap, hitting the exposed opening on the other side, and exploding with a loud double boom. All the surviving visible enemies dropped simultaneously.

So intent were they on the results of the launcher, both Kaveman and Connor had paused in the opening, in full view of a zombie sniper up on the right escarpment. It took them a moment to grasp what was happening as little chips of the rock walls flew off around them, accompanied by sharp sounding pings as bullets flew by.

"Look out!" Kaveman shouted, grabbing Connor by the arm and yanking her back out of sight.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, "I forgot all about him!"

Kaveman pulled her in front of him, eyes searching her for possible injury.

"I'm ok," she said, but she saw his upper right arm was bleeding.

He knew what she was staring at. "It just grazed me. It's not bad."

They stepped back a little farther away from the opening, dropping their gear on the floor. Connor grabbed a medikit, which was lying on the ground next to a nearby light-post.

Kaveman sat down on the ground, his back up against the wall, and rolled up what was left of his sleeve. They worked together and bandaged up his arm. Fortunately, it wasn't serious, more of an annoyance, and Kaveman flexed his arm a few times untill he was sure it wouldn't hinder him. Then, getting up, he took the shotgun from Connor.

She looked up at him. "What are you gonna do?" she asked, curious.

Kaveman just grinned and walked over to the bridge opening, stepping out into full view. Quickly bringing the weapon to his shoulder, he fired off a quick blast.

Connor, having snuck up to watch, peered around the wall in time to see the sniper collapse on his perch with a loud groan. Connor stifled a laugh as Kaveman handed the shotgun back to her, strolling past her into the chamber and grabbing his gear and the chaingun.

"Well, that's taken care of," he said.

Connor smiled wryly, shaking her head, picking up her own gear.

"Hey," Kaveman said, shrugging his shoulders and turning to go, "what can I say? It's personal now..." She patted him on the shoulder, and they headed out to the O-bridge outside.

They crossed the bridge cautiously; weapons ready, expecting other enemies to come out of hiding on the opposite landing. Once there, they stood back to back, just short of stepping into a connecting hallway, both expecting an assault from either end. Connor was ready to take out a zombie that should be to the right, and Kaveman was expecting to shag a group on the left.

Kaveman gave the signal.

"Go!" he said, as they stepped sideways out into the hallway.

"Huh?" they both exclaimed.

There was no one there!

"What gives?" Connor asked, turning around. Then they heard a deep rumbling sound coming from around the next bend of the corridor.

Kaveman put his arm out, blocking Connor, and started backing up.

"Get ready," he said. "I think we might be in trouble."

Just then, the thing that had been making the noise showed itself from around the corner.

It was a Cacodemon!

Kaveman and Connor stood there for a moment, shell-shocked. This monster was HUGE! The large cyclopic eye glared at them as it slowly approached, the blood red body floating in mid-air. They stood motionless, like deer caught in a headlight's glare.

The spell was suddenly broken when it started to open it's jagged-toothed mouth, and Connor suddenly grabbed Kaveman's arm and hit the dirt, dragging him down with her, as the Cacodemon spit out a huge fireball that whizzed over their heads and burst against a wall behind them.

"Whoa!" Kaveman yelled, jumping up and dragging Connor to her feet, "Run!!"

They took off onto the bridge and scrambled for the opposite landing, back the way they had come. Halfway across, Kaveman still had a firm grip on Connor's arm when it was suddenly ripped out of his grasp. He skidded to a stop, turning just in time to see her go tumbling into the ooze pit in the middle of the bridge. The Cacodemon had landed a fireball just to the side of her, and the blast had blown her right off her feet and rolling.

"Connor!" Kaveman yelled. She had grabbed hold of the side of the pit as she fell, but there wasn't much to hold onto as she dangled over the noxious slime. Only her hands were visible from on top of the bridge.

"I'm losin' it!"

"Hold on, Connor!"

"To what?" she yelled. Is that ooze anything like acid? she wondered, glancing down.

The Cacodemon started to move out of the landing and launched another fireball at Kaveman. He jumped sideways to avoid it and scrambled to the edge of the middle pit. There was a small landing at the bottom where a switch to raise the entire middle was situated on the wall.

Another fireball flew over his head as he jumped down, nearly losing the chaingun and taking a tumble into the ooze, but he heaved himself backwards, hitting the switch with his pack.

Connor still dangled over the slime, trying to get any kind of footing on the sheer sides. Her fingers came loose and she fell as the bottom rose to just above the noxious stuff. Landing on her feet, she tumbled backwards, her pack catching most of the impact.

"Stay down!" Kaveman yelled, as the platform reached the top of the bridge. The Cacodemon was just in front of them and Connor rolled over on her stomach and covered her head with her arms as Kaveman cut loose with the chaingun, making the monster shy away, bellowing in pain.

He kept up a steady flurry of bullets, the Cacodemon still roaring deafeningly, until with a final groan it dropped on the bridge, a grotesque mountain of putrifying blue-stained hamburger.

Kaveman, feeling completely shaken, dropped to his knees, then sat down hard, suddenly drained. Connor sat up slowly, feeling sore all over. She glanced at the dead monster lying near her, and feeling the gorge rise up in her throat, turned away and crawled on her hands and knees over to Kaveman. They helped each other up and slowly went back to the first landing.

Tiredly, they threw off their packs and weapons and flopped down on the cool floor, catching their breath, too exhausted and psyched-out to care if there were anymore enemies in the immediate vicinity.

They decided to stay put for a while. They both had some injuries, and Connor started dabbing at various cuts and scrapes on her arms and legs, using some antiseptic from one of the Medikits. Kaveman got up wearily and came over, sitting down next to her. His pack was lying within reach, so he grabbed it, reaching inside and taking out a bottle of water.

Kaveman drank deeply, then offered the bottle to Connor. She gave him the tube of salve in exchange, then drank her fill, too. He started examining his own wounds, applying the antiseptic liberally. She watched him, quietly.

Kaveman noticed her silence.

"You ok, Connor?" he asked, wondering what she was thinking. She leaned back against the wall, rubbing her face with her hands.

"Yeah..." she said, a faraway expression on her face. "That really scared me to death..."

Kaveman stopped applying salve for a moment, looking at her.

"You mean the Cacodemon?" he asked.

"...Yeah." she said, quietly. "This place is really REAL..." She swallowed hard, her brow furrowed in thought.

Kaveman replaced the cap on the ointment and stowed it back in the Medikit. Connor reached out and wrapped her arm through his, scooting closer for reassurance. In the gloom of the approaching evening, the lamppost near them lit the surrounding area dimly.

"It'll be ok," Kaveman said, wishing he could believe his own words. "We've done good so far." Connor nodded, glancing at him. She looked kind of wistful.

"Promise me something," she said.

Kaveman looked at her, curiously. "What?" he asked.

She squeezed his arm. "If I get hit ...put me out and keep goin' ...ok?"

Kaveman shook his head, sitting up a little straighter and turning to face her. "Come on..." he said, scoldingly. She looked at him, surprised.

He looked her in the eyes, continuing. "We're gonna get through this... I'm not gonna leave you behind, as long as you don't leave me. We stick together no matter what... Got it?"

She tilted her head to the side, slightly. "Ok... but we still have to get the blue key," she said.

"Tell me about it," Kaveman said, frowning as he slumped against the wall. "I mean, I don't even want to think about what's gonna be behind that secret door when we pick up that key... I sure as hell wasn't expecting to see a Cacodemon on THIS level."

"I know," Connor said, "The game's screwed up. I think that's what really freaks me out."

Connor let loose of his arm and stood up, wincing slightly at the stiffness in her muscles. "I'm gonna go get that other shotgun in the ammo room. I dropped the one I had when I went

over the edge. I think it dissolved in the slime."

"I'm going with you," Kaveman said, starting to get to his feet.

Connor stopped him.

"No, it's ok, I'll just be a moment..."

Kaveman shook his head. "We stick together, ...remember??"

Connor let out an exasperated sigh. "It's just right around the corner, Kaveman..." she said, "It's not like I'm heading across the compound or anything, and you already took care of the enemies right around there... What could happen?" He opened his mouth to argue, but she shushed him.

"Just reload the chaingun. I'll be back in a sec." She turned around and headed off.

Kaveman started to go after her, then, uneasily, he grabbed the chaingun and his pack and proceeded to quickly reload.

Connor opened the door back onto the main compound area. She was thankful that the interior of the compound seemed to be lit round the clock. ...I'd hate to have to try to get around in the dark, she thought, This place is really starting to give me the creeps...

No one was visible, so she trotted down the hallway to the side-stairs leading to the ammo room elevator.

"So far, so good." she said to herself.

Boarding the elevator, she rose to the top of the lift and hurridly grabbed the other shotgun that had been left lying on the floor. She was starting to psyche herself out with that creepy feeling that something was watching her.

Jumping down off the lift, she started up the stairs, suddenly wanting to hurry back and join Kaveman. At the top, she turned left to get back to the sliding door leading to their resting area and came face to face with a large, pig-like Pink Demon!

"Kaveman!" Connor yelled, desperately.

The Demon roared and charged. Connor, with no chance to fire, spun around and took off down the hall with the Demon in hot pursuit. She ran to the area door, but the Demon caught up with her before she could open it.

Connor jumped away as it took a swipe at her, barely missing. She quickly climbed onto the nearby window of a lower chamber containing a blue sphere, and jumped down, surprising two imps below.

Kaveman had finished reloading the chaingun and was heading to check on Connor, starting to feel more than a little uneasy himself, when he heard the commotion on the other side of the door. "Oh Shit!" he exclaimed, running to the door and slamming on it to open. As it rose, he saw the Demon skidding around the far corner.

He ran to catch up with it, chaingun ready, when he heard shotgun blasts nearby. The Demon had stopped in front of the soul sphere window, and the blasts were coming from down below, accompanied by the sounds of a violent commotion.

Kaveman cut loose on the Pink Demon, the chaingun blasting bits of flesh off the monster's back. It whipped around and spotted him, charging, but Kaveman stood his ground, never letting off the trigger until the beast fell dead at his feet with a loud groan in a pool of its own gore.

Hearing nothing now but silence coming from the soul sphere room, Kaveman hesitantly crossed to the window and looked down, expecting the worst.

It was forbodingly dark down there, the only illumination coming from the window where he stood, and at first, he wasn't sure what he was seeing. As his eyes adjusted he saw two dead imps, their blood pooling across the floor. In the farthest corner, he thought he could make out a shape sitting against the wall.

"Connor?" Kaveman called, quietly.

He heard her clear her throat.

"You okay?" she asked, sounding tired.

"Yeah," he said. "You?"

Kaveman realized he was holding his breath, waiting for her reply.

She laughed quietly.

"For me... Game Over," she said, simply.

"I'm coming down there, hang on," Kaveman said. Not waiting for her to answer, her ran back to the stairs leading down to the ammo room elevator and, turning to the other side at the bottom, he hit a wall switch, opening the computer room door.

Hearing the door slide open nearby, Kaveman proceeded up the stairs and down around the corner cautiously, his adrenalin on high.

Proceeding up the shallow steps to the computer center, he stopped at the top, listening for any sign of movement, but hearing nothing.

Rock 'n' Roll, he thought, stepping out into the open. There were five enemies waiting for him to the right.

Dodging the fireballs the imps whipped at him, he jammed his back up against the computer panels, and cut into the mob, spraying the imps and jarheads with bullets. They went down fairly easily, but he heard something big skid around a corner behind him.

Another Pink Demon came charging for him, but Kaveman spun around and jammed down the trigger on the chaingun, spraying ammo as he backed away from the halting monster. It forced him all the way around the corner of the computer unit before finally dropping.

Kaveman took a deep breath in relief, then jogged completely around the mainframe in the middle of the room, looking for more surprises. Luckily, there weren't any.

He ran back to the entry staircase and stepped on the second step, triggering a secret panel to the orb room, making tracks to cover the distance to the hidden door before the mechanism shut off access. The door slid open and Kaveman descended down the steep winding staircase before him, barely able to see in the gloom.

Trotting down to the bottom, he kneeled down next to Connor, who smiled at him painfully. Her left shoulder had been ripped open, the flesh peeled away in big strips down her arm, exposing white bone and tendon. She was covered in blood and her face looked ghostly, almost white from bloodloss.

"Next time," Connor said, looking up at him rather shamefaced, "don't listen to me, ok?..."

Kaveman hung his head, not knowing what to say. Connor tried to wriggle out of her backpack.

"Will you help me?" she asked. "It's hurting my back and I wanna lie down, I'm not feeling too hot."

"Yeah..." Kaveman whispered, helping her sit up enough to slide the pack straps off her good shoulder, then over what was left of the other. He helped her lie back, using the pack for a headrest. She closed her eyes wearily.

"You see?" she said, "...this was what I was afraid of... Obviously, I'm not gonna be any help to you now. You're going to have to go on without me."

Kaveman shook his head stubbornly. "Stop it... You know I'm not just gonna leave you lying here!"

Connor opened her eyes, looking at him affectionately. "I know... But there's nothing we can do." She chuckled, painfully. "One of them damn Medi-kits ain't gonna fix this..." She closed her eyes again. "What a trip… I have to admit I never thought I'd die in a video game."

Kaveman stood up and paced around the dark chamber, thoroughly upset. What am I going to do? he wondered in anguish. His hands were covered with Connor's blood. He wiped them off on his pants, furious that the enemy had gotten her.

Kicking ferociously at one of the dead imps in his path, his hand swung back and hit a switch that lowered the soul sphere column in the middle of the room. Still angry, he took a swipe at the glowing blue orb as it descended. It bounced off the pedestal and hit the floor, splitting in two. There was something shimmering inside it.

Kaveman stepped over to the broken orb, crouching down to examine the contents. It was some sort of gelatinous substance, glowing as if with an inner fire. He scooped a little bit up with his finger and felt it tingle on his skin.

It was warm, and as he watched, a small cut that he'd had on that finger closed up and disappeared right before his eyes! For a second, he couldn't believe what he'd seen; then, scooping up more, he spread it thinly on a long and deep scrape that ran the length of his forearm. "Yes!" he cried happily, as that injury disappeared too.

Grabbing the broken halves of the sphere, he scooted over to Connor and started applying the miraculous substance to what was left of her shoulder. She gasped suddenly, her eyes flying open, and sat up unexpectedly, startling Kaveman.

He pushed her back down gently, amid her protestations, and admonished her to lie still.

"Stop! That hurts!" she yelped.

"Shhhh..." he scolded, not taking his eyes off the transformation taking place. The torn flesh was knitting itself together of it's own accord! He kept applying the gel until her shoulder looked completely untouched.

He helped Connor to her feet and she swung her arm about, experimentally, an incredulous look on her face.

"Damn!" she exclaimed. "It's like nothing ever happened!"

Kaveman looked at her anxiously. He took hold of her arm, feeling some warmth returning to where it had been so recently cold to the touch. "How do you feel?" he asked her, curious. She stood still for a moment, taking mental inventory.

Then she grinned at him, although somewhat wearily. "Guess I'm good enough to go on," she said. She reached out and hugged him tight.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear. He hugged her back warmly; feeling relief hit him like a wave.

"I told you I wouldn't just leave ya..." he whispered in return.

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