Rosetta - A Warhammer 40,000 Story

Part VI

'Survive! I must survive!' That was the conviction that blared in Rosetta's mind as she pulled herself forward, step by painful step. Her body was battered, bruised and bloodied. Her robe was in tatters, falling off of her blood-soaked skin. Her body flooded her senses with endless pain. All she could do was survive.

She sought a fitting end at the hand of her sisters. She must survive to see that at the very least. At the very least the promise of seeing Lady Mirabel one last time drove her on. Oh, how she coveted the sight of her lady. Her wisdom, her power, her beauty, she is the exemplar of angels, of saints and more.

She shook the thought from her mind. The truth was that she was a deserter and murderer, no different than the thousands of heretics she and slaughtered throughout her years of service. To be felled by the holy fire of their guns seemed like the highest honour for one such as her. Either that or repentance.

Water flowed down from above. This place was denied any light. The rocky terrain was jagged and slippery. Progress through the near pitch black darkness was slow and unforgiving. Every slip of the foot threatened to send sharpened rock through Rosetta's flesh for a lethal blow.

Soon, the path narrowed, Rosetta found herself walking sideways as she squeezed through the gap. Eventually, she heard the blessed sound of a flowing river. She pushed on, battling both terrain and pain. Only to be halted by a wall of rock.

She grew desperate. Unwilling to turn back, she began probing it. She found cracks forming from centuries of erosion. The rock here was weak. Water had weakened it to the point it began to collapse. She backed off and held onto the two walls beside her and launched her feet at it.

She hissed and gasped as white-hot pain shot through her brain and the rock budged little. Feeling the holy sweetness of hope reignite within her heart she struck it again and again. Powering through the suffering, she battered against her obstacle. The pain built up, she shut her eyes, the pain blasted her mind like the smack of a bolt round.

Rosetta's reward came with the subtle crackle of buckling stone. With every kick, they grew ever louder. Eventually, the crackling echoed from all around her. It did not matter she was fixated on her front and her hope. Then her foot smashed its way through the wall.

From the crater it created, cracks formed. As she kicked evermore, they spread. Then they spread on their own. Then rock began to fall apart all around her. The entire chamber around her crumbled and gave way. In an avalanche she found herself falling through the earth.

She screeched as the sharp edge of a rock struck her back. Her body leaned to the right; her head hit another rock. All the way down the chasm her body was battered against many accursed stones.

Then all long drop was followed by the sudden smack of water. Rosetta ploughed into the river below and lost all sense. Darkness consumed her. Worse, it welcomed her. Away she drifted like a floating corpse in the water.

-//-

It was not long before she washed up on the shore of yet another cavern. Soaked and lost she awoke to the sight of strange crustaceans hopping about. She tried to move, but the strength she needed was not granted.

The world spun about as she laid there with a single window into the sunlit outside world illuminating her world. Her body was broken yet again. Trapped in cold stasis, she watched the creatures carry about their lives.

They were somewhat small creatures, barely over a foot long and encased in a dull green exoskeleton. Each one bore an array of four pairs of powerful legs which they used to swim, crawl or hop. Their backs were armoured in curved segments of protective chitin. They were oddities with long antenna-like eyes. A curiosity to say the least.