The Nerd and the Assistant
Phillip, Helen and Leek are dead, and apart from the ongoing threat of the Anomalies, the ARC is finally at peace. But what if all wasn't as it seemed at the end of Series 5? What if one enemy had survived? One with a soft spot for a certain black-haired nerd?
The building was going to collapse. Explosions shook the rooms, electric shocks burst from the machinery went wild and large changes of concrete came crashing down from the ceiling. Matt, Connor and Abby ran through the halls of Prospero Industries, desperate to escape the impending doom. The trio rounded a corner, only to be met with another dead end.
"Matt we need to get out!" Connor snapped.
"Aww thanks for that Connor." Matt said calmly. "You know that never occurred to me, what a good idea!"
"Stop it!" Abby shouted. "This way!"
She took off down partially destroyed corridor, jumping between the large boulders that were once part of the ceiling. Matt and Connor hesitated, shocked at how nimble the blond girl was, before taking off after her.
They left the corridor out into what they guessed was once a lobby. A reception counter directly ahead of them was on fire, and a tapestry with the words 'Prospero is the Future' hung to the wall behind it, most of the writing covered by a tangle of wires that had fallen from the ceiling. On the other side of the room where two large swinging glass doors, one of them completely shattered, and the other had a series of large cracks on it. Matt ran up and opened the door, and after a quick check on the other side, he turned to his team mates, and said '"Through here!"
Connor and Abby obeyed and ran through the door, to find themselves in a blank corridor. There were several doors leading off the corridor, one of which had the carcass of a Prospero employee wedged in it. Matt decided to skip that one, he went straight to the second door and swung it open. A plain office; a desk and chair, a map of the UK. A desk lamp and a smashed computer monitor.
They went down the hall to the third door, and saw an almost identical office; similar desk and chair. They went on. Matt opened the fourth door, and then the fifth. More offices. He opened the six door, and paused. He was in a small, bare room, with a central bench, and lockers on the wall. At the end of the room there was another two doors that read 'Storage room' and 'Production room'. He tried the Production room door, which didn't budge, so he went for the other door, which opened freely.
The trio entered a large machinery room, with a spiral staircase leading up into the upper floor. At various stations in around the room, clusters of large machinery stood, with intricate tubing flowing between them. Row after roar of rectangular stainless-steel boxes filled the room, all contained in dark red cages, many of them knocked over by the Prospero staff in an attempt to flee the building. Then, at the corner of the room, Matt spotted a fire exit.
"There!" He pointed.
The group ran through the room, avoiding the boxes and reached the door, only to see a stain-less steel padlock and chains on the door.
"Who padlocks a fire escape?! That's a serious health hazard!" Connor expressed.
"Move." Abby said, pushing the two men back. She delivered one swift kick to the lock and it fell to the floor, broken in half. Connor and Matt grabbed the door handles, and with a sudden clang, it flew open, allowing the sun light in.
"Come on!" Matt shouted, running out into the courtyard. Abby followed, and Connor was about to, when he heard something. He froze and turned around.
He wasn't sure what he heard, but it was different from the chorus of mechanical thumps and electric sparks. It sounded more, organic.
"Hello?" He asked.
An answer came in the form of a central wall collapsing in a different area of the building, causing the entire structure to shake. Other than that, there came no response. As Connor turned and began to run, he heard it again. He re-entered the room fully, and took a momentary glance around, before Abby called his name.
"Connor come on!" She shouted from outside.
"Just a second, I think somebodies in here." Connor shouted back.
"Connor we need to go!"
"Just a second!"
"For god sake." He thought.
With a huff of frustration over his tendency to be too brave for his own good, Connor took off into the room. He pushed away wires as the fell down onto him and clawed his way over fallen boxes, determined not the let another person die today. As Connor rounded a corner, a sudden explosion of a nearby box, a hiss, and the room began to fill with sulfurous gas. Connor, in a panic, attempted hitting the gas out of his face, before catching on, taking a deep breath and covered his mouth with his hand.
Then, another sound blended in with the hiss from the gas, this time a lot closer. He looked up at the rear of the room, near the spiral staircase. "Hello?" He shouted, his voice echoing a few times before dying down.
"Help me." A female voice croaked from near the stair case. Connor hurried towards the source of the noise, as he did so, another section of the building collapsed, and several windows shattered in the background. He didn't have long left. The vibration of the explosion caused another container to hit the ground, this one not full of gas, but fuel. A giant flaming fire ball burst through the stain-less metal and flew up into the ceiling. Connor jumped back from the fire ball, only to lose his balance and hit the ground, hard.
He rolled over, and as he started to get up, he saw a limb body a few feet away. He rushed over to the body and turned it over.
"April?!" Connor gasped.
Her clothes had been stained in blood. She lazy looked at him, her eyes unable to focus. Though she was looking directly at him, he had the feeling she couldn't see him. Gently he lifted her head off the ground, and felt a wet patch on the back of her skull. Her usually thin blonde hair had become soaked in blood, causing it to get matted and clumpy. It looked like she'd fallen from a great height, he guessed she was lucky to be alive.
"April?" Connor said, more gently this time.
Groggily, her eyes focused on him again. They dropped from side to side in her skull, unable to focus themselves. She clearly had some form of concussion. "Connor?" She mumbled.
"It's okay April, I'm going to get you out of here." Connor smiled to her reassuringly. April opened her mouth to (presumingly) thank him, but before she had the chance her eyelids dropped and her jaw went limp. He quickly lifted her limp body and was surprised at how light she was. He took another deep breath and began to make his way out the building.