It was late evening by the time Crazy Terry had reached the fence that separated the edge of the city to the industrial area. The overcast sky had not changed and it prevented the starlight from hitting the gloomy streets that were faintly lit by the flimsy streetlights. At an angle, through rows of towering buildings, he could see the golden shimmering of the Giant's palace tower above the city skyline, shining like a lighthouse in a pitch-black night. Through the rusty row of fences, he could see a the nearest of the deserted warehouses while the rest were lost in the darkness, most of which were destroyed long back by the Giant. A few feet to the right was a manhole cover that led into the sewers.
Crazy Terry shifted the satchel bag in his left hand and stared at the underground schematics on the phone. "Are you sure these are correct? And the latest ones? I really do not want to get lost in a sewer system with tunnels that could collapse any second."
"They're from 2020 and they were easy enough to get because of my new pet."
"New pet?" asked Crazy Terry. He groaned when he read Professor Terry's thoughts. "For fuck's sake? You made a digital pet?"
"Yes, meet Unix," said Professor Terry and an affectionate series of beeps and boops came from the phone.
Crazy Terry sighed but decided he would not comment.
He bent down and pulled out the blade in his arm, adjusting it at the edge of the manhole cover. He pulled and it came loose. He slung the satchel on his shoulder and dragged the cover to the side before stepping in. Professor Terry prepared for the sewer smell to hit but apart from a faint dewy smell, there wasn't much. Such a baby. As Crazy Terry stepped down and turned on the light in his phone, he pointed it behind him and saw that the source of the sewage had completely dried up ages ago.
Crazy Terry closed the manhole cover above them and lowered himself down the rusty ladder which he felt would give away any second. As his feet touched the ground, he heard a bunch of rats skittle away. Professor Terry shuddered.
Crazy Terry positioned the phone in a way that he could see the screen and the flashlight lit the way ahead. He took a deep breath and continued moving forward, alternatively looking at the screen and the way ahead.
The sewers were bone dry and as he moved forward, he kicked up dust that had collected there for years. The remains of dead fungus were all around the tunnel while some still survived getting water from rainwater that would seep through the tunnels or fall from the broken tunnel ceilings. They were also joined by trailing vine plants that had travelled down from the ground. As they walked along, they saw some of the pathways had been blocked off completely by fallen rubble. Twice, they'd had to divert their path around them but ultimately they were on track.
They knew they were close when they could sense the faint scent of sewage and soon enough, their boots were splish-splashing in dirty water. Up ahead, they could hear the soft running of water, the source of the sewage. The sewers here looked much the same as before except for certain places which Crazy Terry's keen eyes noticed. He saw new metal work in some of the grills through which the water was flowing and he saw new bricks in sections of walls which he guessed had been repaired.
"Why are you walking in the dirty water when you can clearly see the elevated ground to the side?" enquired Professor Terry.
Crazy Terry looked up from the screen. "Well, I apologise for not keeping my eyes on the ground when I'm clearly trying to find my way through this shithole."
"Your apology is duly noted but I would prefer you step out of the water."
Crazy Terry sighed and his nostrils flared. "God, you piss me off…" he said to himself. A sudden urge came within him and Professor Terry felt it.
"Oh, don't you dare…" said Professor Terry. Crazy Terry grinned slyly. "Don't you dare-"
Before Professor Terry could stop him, Crazy Terry started hopping in the shallow water, splashing the water all over the place as Professor Terry screamed for him to stop. When Crazy Terry was done, the bottom of their pants were soaked in water and patches of water could be seen on their shirt and face. Professor Terry had his closed eyes and spat out some of the drops that had made it in their mouth.
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"
Crazy Terry laughed.
"I can literally taste urine and shit in my mouth," screamed Professor Terry.
"Don't you mean feces? Or stool? Or something fancy like that?"
"Fancy? I'll give you a taste of fancy," said Professor Terry giving control back to Crazy Terry.
"Sure, I won't mi- oh my god, blech," he spat. "That tastes awful! And the smell, oh god. I shouldn't have done that. Say, professor, why don't you go the last few-"
"Oh, no. I'm good. Please, go right on ahead."
Crazy Terry sighed. "I guess I deserve that. Still… it was worth it."
And with that, Crazy Terry stepped out of the water, heaved himself onto the elevated platform and continued moving forward, the light of the flashlight dancing on the dark sewer water that continued to rise.
Crazy Terry walked on ahead until he reached a ladder, who's new red paint was sparkling compared to the rusty death traps they had seen on their way here. It led up straight to a sealed manhole. According to the maps, it led into a small alleyway right next to the building they were going for. Crazy Terry put the phone in his pocket and made his way up, looking through the dimmed light that made its way through the pocket. He put his hand up on the manhole cover.
"I hope to God there isn't a couple having sex in the alleyway," prayed Crazy Terry before pushing it open.
His prayers were answered as he looked over the open manhole into an empty, dark alley. Towards the ends of the alleyways he could see a few streetlights, brighter than the ones he had seen in the city. He climbed up and took a deep breath. He could still smell the sewer water on him but the smell was significantly diluted by the fresh air that seeped through their nostrils.
"I will never take fresh air for granted again," said Crazy Terry with his eyes closed and taking deep breaths.
"You say that every time you get out an enclosed space and yet you do take it for granted anyways. It is only normal. Psychologically, our brains tend to…"
Crazy Terry shook his head, ignored the professor's prattling and removed the satchel from over his shoulder. He unzipped it and carefully took out the three pieces of simple black and white suit that were neatly folded inside along with a pair of shoes, a tie and a diffusing spray which Professor Terry had insisted they carry with them. We are going through a sewer after all. He was glad for it now.
Crazy Terry removed his unclean clothes and threw them on a pile next to an old dumpster. He took the diffusing spray and sprayed it all over his body, head to foot, until the smell had stopped emanating from his body. He then carefully put on the three-piece, all the while complaining about how uncomfortable it was. He gave over the reigns to the professor after he was having difficulty tying the tie, all the while ignoring the tutorial he was giving him. Cross the wide end over the narrow one… After they were both done dressing up, Crazy Terry held up the phone and through the back camera, made sure his hair was set.