Perfect Dark: Chasing Darkness
Chapter 1
One of the men incessantly glanced up at the flickering light above while the other shuffled a deck of cards against a cheap, metal side-table. Amidst a bridging of the cards, the man centered his gaze upon his fellow across from him, watching with a mundane curiousness. He finished messing with the cards and dealt another hand for the two of them then folded his hands together, waiting for his friend to return attention to their game. When the man across from him, a thick-jawed, rounded-faced fellow with barely a black stubble for hair, failed to naturally return to reality, the card dealer raised his hand, giving a quick snap of his fingers. The result was almost immediate. The fellow noticeably shook in his own chair and quickly looked down at his cards. After this, the game commenced between them. They played a traditional game of poker.
"You shouldn't be so nervous." The man said, tipping the edge of his cards up for a peek. "I can see through you so easily that if I'd go all-in, you'd probably follow through just to get the game said and done."
The other man looked away, ashamed. "Sorry. I'm just jittery with the change of scenery and all."
"Lighten up. You'll work those shoes of yours in, don't you worry." The man replied, rubbing a long strand of blond hair in between his fingers. Picking up a few of the white dollar chips, he looked out the window at the sea before tossing the chips into the pile loosely towards the middle.
Awaiting his partner's play, he pursed his lips slightly. "Nothing happens out here anyways. This is the easiest job a man could ask for - just watching a few gauges bob up and down."
The other man shook his head slightly. "Our employer thought the job was important." He said, hesitantly matching the blond man's bet.
The blond man responded with a shrug. "Any employer would think work that makes them money as important. They're not in it for the kicks you know. It's business."
The other man scratched his rounded, smooth jaw before flipping his cards over. He then looked away as the blond man raked up the chips over to his side of the table.
"Hey, it's after hours. Everyone's asleep. Nobody's around to give us hell about this or that. Why should we worry?" The blond man continued as he sloppily counted the earnings.
The larger fellow looked over at the console as his friend was saying this and felt his breath hitch. A red light was glowing and then dying off. The man thanked the Lord that there wasn't any noise or he was sure he would've died of a heart attack right then. His nerves were scattered and he quickly met the eyes of his partner.
"I worry about lights like that one." He said, a strange hint of boldness in his voice - triumph, perhaps.
The blond man tensed his eyebrows in a questioning manner before dismissing it. "So the electricity around here still works? Big surprise." He replied.
The other man sighed before turning his form towards the console. "We're here to watch for these things." He said under his breath. "That's what we're paid to do here." Contempt was vivid on his lips, almost as if he was offended by the quick rejection of his observation.
The blond man shook his head loosely in annoyance. "Sure, sure. Whatever." He said, before looking outside the front window. The rising violence of the wind outside was noticeable by the waves breaking their rhythmic patterns. He returned his sight to his friend, gesturing to the outside. "There's your explanation."
The other man frowned. "You're kidding." He said under his breath. "I'd be surprised if you even knew what the light is supposed to signal."
The blond man, raising a finger quickly. "It's there to alert us of changes in atmospheric mumbo-jumbo. Y'know, pressure, temperature, wind-speed. Those sorts of things."
The other man inspected the console again, tracing the different lights with his finger before stopping at the small, flashing, red beacon. Again, he felt his nerves freezing up. He looked at his friend and shook his head.
"That isn't the light?" The blond man asked.
"No." The other man said. "This light goes off when something off the coast goes past the perimeter."
The blond man waved his hand off at his partner, before wiping small beads of sweat off of his forehead. "Hell, it's a sauna in here." He sat still for a moment before rising from his chair and stretching. "Listen, I'm gonna go out and get some fresh air. I'll try to quell any fears that you have while I'm out there." He said, reaching for the pack of cigarettes before heading out of a thin, metal door out onto the deck.
The air sprayed cool, dew-like crystals onto his face. The crisp fall weather was in full force and, even though storms sometimes got out of hand, the night was the most refreshing this time of year. Taking leisurely, drawn-out steps towards the guard rail before the vastness of the Atlantic, the blond man slipped a cigarette out of the fragile pack. The man set it between his lips and pulled out a lighter from his pocket, striking down the flint a few times before the tiniest flame came to life. As he rose the flame up to the level of the cigarette, partially obscuring his vision, he noticed a much more blinding light off in the distance.
The blond man slipped the lighter back into his pocket and, while taking a draw from the cigarette, tried to focus onto the bulb of piercing light. He pulled the cigarette out from his lips between two fingers before rubbing his forehead. He forced himself to look away.
"Now the bastard has me worried." He muttered under his breath. "It's probably just a damn ship coming' in late."
He glanced briefly at it, noticing it was almost directly ahead but dismissed it and returned to drawing at his cigarette.
As he brought the cigarette to his lips once again, he dropped it as the loud sounds of an alarm went off and the flashing, strobe-like red lights that dotted the outside of the building began to let loose. The blond man called out some obscenities to himself before stomping his foot firmly onto the cigarette. He dashed to the door to head inside.
The moment he set his foot back into the monitor room, he called out for the other guy. When he didn't show, the blond man shuffled over to the consoles and started looking over everything. He shouted more obscenities, aiming to hear himself over the blaring of the alarm. He slammed his fists against the terminals before standing up straight.
"Hell, if only I paid attention." He said.
He grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, and as he slid it on, he chargeup the diamond-plated metal staircase up into the facility's courtyard. He threw his eyes around frantically before running further into the courtyard. Though the floodlights about the courtyard were active, they were too powerful for the blond man's eyes to take in. He kept his body pressed firmly against the thick walls of one of the firing ranges. He floundered in his blind state for the entrance, intent on flinging himself into the enclosure and hiding from whatever the hell was going on. He could hear shouts and screams of terror all around him. His breathing quickened and his mind continuously abandoned him. Fear was taking over his senses.
Once he had found the entrance, he hid behind one of the larger, flat, wooden targets at the end of the range. He dropped slowly to his knees and braced his back against the coarse wood. He shut his eyes and focused on controlling his breathing. He thought he was in the clear.
Something struck the night sky with fire. The level of light now not far from it being mistaken for the early dawn. Even from the safety of his concrete enclosure, he could feel the heat from some massive explosion. He was shaken with terror. Whatever it was struck the same station that he and that other guy was in.
The screams and shouts intensified. Large bursts of random gunfire could be heard scattered throughout the facility.
This was real.
The man couldn't cope with the reality of it. What the hell was here that would cause someone to turn the place into a war-zone? This was just a damned training facility for some fancy people who thought they were good enough with a gun to become a privately contracted agent. The whole plot sounded too irrational for him to conceive.
Now there were actual men with guns here. Damn if he hadn't seen any of their faces. It was always like that in the movies.
The blond man formed himself into a ball. He was a mess. Sweat was dripping down from his face and his breathing wouldn't slow down enough for him to make sense of anything.
An hour for the rest of the world felt like a whole day for that one man. At the first sign of quiet, the blond man pushed himself off the ground and made his way over to the same way he came in. He had ridden the worst of it out!
He had to find someone. He had to see if there was anyone still alive and he needed to make sense of what the hell this all was.
As he slowly stepped his way back out to the courtyard. He didn't hear any sounds of police or ambulance sirens like he had expected. Where were the damn government officials who always pledged to help those in need? Even he wouldn't have said it out loud, he was certainly one of those people now!
Terrifying enough for him, there were no bodies anywhere as he moved across the courtyard towards the walkway that would lead to the bulk of the facilities. People had to have died. He heard their tormented cries and the terrible shooting.
He kept his coat over his head, thinking that if any danger were to come to him, he wouldn't be seen while he was underneath it. It was lightly drizzling even though he couldn't see any clouds above him.
He soldiered on cautiously until he came up to the main communication hub which was just behind one of the dormitories. He could see that the bright industrial lights were still on. He hugged his body against the cold, damp stone of the building as he moved his way around towards the entrance.
The white-washed wooden door was left open. The blond man squinted his eyes before slowly pressing against the side of the door frame, rolling his head so he could bend his vision and look in. He jumped at the sound of a frail voice from inside.
"The pain..." It said before being followed with cringe-worthy sounds that came as a result of such.
The blond man immediately rushed into the room. He locked his eyes on the bulky, black-haired man. The poor man returned the gaze with a piercing look of fright before realization. The blond man stopped beside him and dropped carefully down to his knees.
"What the hell happened?" He asked quickly, holding his hands in front of him helplessly.
"You... heard the guns..." The frail voice replied. That was all he managed to get out with his breath before tears.
"You called for help, right?" The blond man said, rising up and going to one of the consoles.
"No use..." The man on the ground choked.
The blond man slammed him fists against the console before turning to the other man.
"No use? No damned use! You've lost your mind!" He said, his breathing quickening again in panic. He hurriedly pressed any button within his reach before the video screen against the wall lit up with a clarification.
"It- It was probably- probably that damned rival corporation! Things like this have been on the news before!" He said, purposely looking away from his partner.
"The Institute... they can't help..."
The blond man turned to his partner. "You... You're only saying that because-"
His voice froze. The sound of screeching wheels approaching the front of the facility shattered all other noise. The blond man went ghostly pale, his pupils dilating with deathly fear. He backed against the same wall his dying partner was against and stayed very still because he could hear the footsteps coming for him. They echoed with him being their only target.
Two men, dressed in SWAT-like attire, armed with assault rifles entered the tiny communications hub. Their faces were concealed with riot masks and the symbols were plastered on the center of their armor. They stood menacingly before him, raised their weapons, aimed, and then the end.
Confirming the deaths of both men, the two agents turned briefly as if to look at each other. Then unspoken, one smashed the end of his gun against the video screen and the other emptied an entire clip across the length of all of the terminals. The left the communications hub, returned to their vehicle, and left the scene.