Swordsmoke: Dead Desert

An Underworld Original

Bo, Marc, Brutas, Bryce, and Sasha regroup at Sasha’s house, now their temporary base. Sasha, Bryce, and Bo set out to locate the rumored Hunter Compound but are ambushed and captured. They wake in a dark bunker, confronted by two strangers—Finn and Alex—who reveal they attacked assuming they were Hunters. After clearing things up, Finn warns that Norman’s expecting payment, and his check-ins are brutal. Worse, their friends Hyde and Jack vanished on a supply run. Bo volunteers to return and alert Marc for backup. On the road, he’s ambushed—his car flipped and burning. Marc, hearing Bo’s distress call, finds him and helps him up. They trek through the sand, only to realize they’ve stumbled upon the compound. Meanwhile, Sasha and Bryce try convincing Finn and Alex their team can help. Suddenly, the air grows still. Norman Ryder arrives—towering, calm, deadly. He smirks, says he doesn’t care about late payments. He knows they’re plotting against him. All four are tied up. Norman walks slowly. “This is just a warning,” he says before casually shooting Alex in the head. Bryce screams—Norman beats him to death with a crowbar. Sasha breaks free and lands a punch, but Norman drops her with a kick. Leaving them bloodied and broken, he says, “Go warn the others… if you can.” But what Norman doesn’t know—Marc and Bo are at the gates of the Compound.

Story added by underworld_stories on May 1, 2025