George R. R. Martin, "Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels"

Two men descended from people who escaped earth before a surface-killing nuclear war run into a blind cave creature who descended from people who survived the aforementioned nuclear war.

(from Wastelands)

Okay so we’ve got Greel, who’s got a telepathic partnership with a rat, and we’ve got Cliff and Von, humans on a salvage expedition. It’s really not likely that these four will come to an understanding, but I really wished they had. Not that I was surprised when one or more of them ended up dead. And frankly, the serpentine language was starting to grate on me, and I was glad when the story ended.
What Happened: Nuclear war and fallout, plus the corresponding genetic mutation.
Destruct-O-Meter: 8? Earth is pretty effed, since you can’t live on the surface and there are worm creatures that eat people. I’d call that an apocalypse.

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