Part 4 (1)

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An electrical short circuit surged and the underground bulb blinked followed by a mild vibration of the soil.
The imperial sentinels and the inmates were silenced and they all looked awestruck.
Less than a minute later, a more powerful earthquake occurred and debris from the underground's concrete walls crumbled on them as they crouched down, hands on their heads, to protect themselves from serious harm.
The light went off, plunging the place into complete darkness and a cloud of dust made the imperial guards and the prisoners cough incessantly.
Uff uff uff uff uff uff uff uff uff uff
"Suuu…zie…uff…uff." Uncle Bibi painfully expressed himself while coughing and trying to get back on his feet.
"I am…uff…uff..over…here, uncle Bibi." Suzie replied with difficulty as she stood up and inhaled the dusty air into her lungs too.
"Let's…uff…uff…get out of here!" Babida the lumberjack said to his companions of misfortune as he rose and breathed in the fumes of the polluted air.
"You are uff…uff…going nowhere." An indistinct voice of an imperial guard objected while holding his throat with his right hand and extending his left hand to bar the way to the stairs.
The servant of the imperial forces displayed an unwavering determination to maintain captive the disgraced hero and his saviors despite the chaotic situation.
"Guards, don't let…uff…uff…these three malefactors escape!" He dolorously ordered.
"Understood…uff…uff…my Capo…" A guard on behalf of the squad answered with his throat obstructed by dust.
However, he couldn't finish his sentence and was interrupted by the brouhaha of a sudden vast movement of panic that stemmed from the headquarters' hall above accompanied by horrified screams.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
"Bats, bats, bats!" Imperial sentinels in the hall shouted repeatedly while running hysterically in all directions.
"What? A bats' attack?" Babida exclaimed.
"Oh no!" Suzie reacted, jumping backward in fright.
Aaaaaaaaaaaa Aaaaaaaaaaaa Aaaaaaaaaaaa
The soldiers upstairs cried out in ache as they were mortally bitten by a swarm of angry bats.
Then a pack of five overexcited black bats collided with the damaged underground door which had been kicked off a while ago by an imperial warrior.
The wild flying mammals were stunned by the impact and fell hard on the floor. Yet, these critters were incredibly robust. In no time, they recovered and began to slowly crawl on the walls while emitting unfriendly sounds. Only their yellow wicked eyes were visible in the obscurity of the underground.
"Where are…uff…uff…these…creepy bugs…uff…uff…coming from?" A guard roughly uttered while freaking out and stepping backward.
"From…uff…uff…the forbidden mountain." Uncle Bibi mumbled with his pharynx still being hampered by dust.
”Of course, where else? They can only come from that cursed hill. The earth strike has certainly caused the dislocation of their cave and now they are on the hunt for food, even if it's human flesh." The lumberjack asserted.
"Someone give me a wooden stick! It's time to send these little parasites back to where they belong. And it's hell!" The logger requested, his tone filled with gravity.
"Take mine, Babida!" An imperial guard responded while presenting a wooden wand to him.
In the meantime, the devilish bats continued their sluggish walk on the walls while staring viciously at their prey in the darkness, their favorite environment.
Babida stretched his right arm, grabbed the wooden stick from the imperial soldier, and lifted it into the air.
He closed his eyes and commenced murmuring unintelligible incantations to the ancestors. A few seconds elapsed and he was done praying.
The logger opened his irises and declared loudly and emphatically: "Weah, god of fire, I implore you to consume this stick with your most ardent flames and I shall fulfill my promise to you."
The cane caught fire with vivid flames and the underground was abundantly illuminated.
The bats that were now gathered overhead on the ceiling went mad at the sight of the burning glow and generated terrifying howls.