Backstab

Chapter 2: The Last Dance

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My eyelids fluttered open. I was standing on the outskirts of a large city, where tall skyscrapers were silhouetted against a blood red sky. Many of the towers were crumbling or on fire, their smoke rising in giant gray spirals to the sky. To the west, a large crimson sun hung limply in the sky, its light choked by an ash-filled sky. It hung low above the ground, casting long shadows along the bare shrubbery where I now stood.

Off my right shoulder, SweetPea stood beside me on the rise, her expression unreadable. Unlike in the courtyard, her face was perfectly composed, not the slightest trace of fear or hesitation to be seen. Her skin-tight, slutty work clothes had also been traded in for her signature black cape, the hood pulled loosely over her wild blonde hair. In her hands, she wielded to identical hand pistols, both loaded as if she expected the enemy to appear at any second. I imagined I looked similar, in my simple black sailor outfit and black hairband. While I'm sure there were plenty of more practical outfits to wear in combat, when you were in control of the dream, you could wear whatever the hell you wanted.

Distracted by this thought, I barely noticed when SweetPea took a step forward, her eyes focusing on something in the distant city. Following her gaze, it wasn't more than a moment before I recognized the source of a fascination, a tall building in the exact center of the city. Said building was the only one untouched by the devastation, and it seemed to loom menacingly over the rest of the city. Its faces composed entirely of windows; it was quite a sight to behold, especially in the light of the setting sun. However, the most magnificent trait of the building was a giant metal spike the jutted out from the top of the building, reaching so high that its tip plunged into the dust clouds above.

"What is it?" she mumbled thoughtfully, echoing my own thoughts.

"That, is your next destination," a familiar voice suddenly spoke, and we turned to see the wise man standing on the rise behind us. As usual, he was dressed in a simple, gray-green military coat, decorated with medals and other such badges. His smile was welcoming, though it failed to reach his eyes. "I'm glad to see you two have made it this far. I know it hasn't been a difficult journey." Here he looked at SweetPea, sympathy evident in his gaze. She didn't meet his eyes.

He nodded slightly, choosing not to press. "Now, it's time for the last leg of your escape. In 20 minutes our enemies will be holding a meeting inside that tower to discuss the current state of the war. In that same meeting a very influential and radical general is going to propose a plan, one that will inevitably lead to the downfall of us all. It is imperative that you infiltrate the structure and take him out before he can share his plan with the other members. The tower is heavily armed and has a tight security system, so you must be careful to take him out before he realizes what we are planning." he paused, dropping the commanding tone and looking at each of us earnestly. "I should warn you, once you take out the general, there's no going back. You two will be on your own. You can trust no one but each other, and you must be careful, for things are not always what they seem." He paused and looked at each of us. "Are you ready?"

I glanced towards SweetPea, and we exchanged a quick nod. "We're ready."

"Alright then," he stepped aside, revealing two top-of-the-line Suzuki motorcycles. "You'll need these to reach the general."

Smirking to one another, we each claimed a vehicle, shoving in the keys and revving our engines.

The man nodded slightly, seemingly resisting the urge to grin as well. "Remember; always trust your instincts, for they are your most valuable tool. And when your instincts fail you, you will always have each other."

On this last note, we took off, streaming across open landscape and towards the city. How I learned to ride a motorcycle I have no idea, but soon we were flying, leaving huge clouds of dust in our wake. For a few minutes it was just us on the open landscape, the sound of the engines roaring in our ears. As we neared the city limits, we noticed a tall, electric fence bordering it, snapping slightly as bolts of electricity zipped through the metal rods. Without hesitation we plowed through it, our tires screeching as they connected with paved roads.

We easily doubled the speed limit, swerving through lanes of heavily packed traffic on route to the tower. Nearing max speed, the city passed by in a blur, blaring horns and police sirens trailing us wherever we went. In fact, our reckless driving even caused a few collisions, which did nothing to help our newfound notoriety with the city. Yet we still pressed on, understanding that we couldn't play it safe without jeopardizing the mission at hand.

Gradually approaching the heart of the metropolis, traffic thinned out, as if simply driving past the fortress was a crime. However, as the tower came into full view, we could see why people chose to avoid it. The whole thing was surrounded by several armed sentinels, who manned every likely entrance into the building. They scanned the streets like hawks, careful to always keep a hand on the trigger.

SweetPea and I slowed as we reached the sidewalk, idling to a stop in front of the building's main entry. Cautiously sliding off our cycles, we strolled to the front doors, receiving hostile looks from the guards. Similar to the first people we fought; the guards were clockwork-zombies, the carcasses of fallen warriors made to run on a series of gears and springs. Still, they walked and talked like they were alive, and did not appreciate us so casually approaching the tower.

"Verloren gehen!" one yelled with a deep, throaty voice, waving his gun threateningly.

I didn't know what he said, but the message was clear. Stay away. Before they could react, I reached behind me and pulled out an AK 47, firing rounds. SweetPea lunged for the double pistols, her fingers a blur as bullets exploded from the handguns. In mere seconds we were standing over a pile of bodies, reloading a fresh magazine into our weapons. Suddenly, alarms blazed throughout the building, security doors beginning to descend over the doors and windows.

"Hurry!" SweetPea yelled, and ran for the main entrance. With the emergency doors closing at an alarming speed, we had to dive for the door, barely pulling ourselves inside before the metal gates slammed behind us.

Gathering our wits, we hoisted each other up, quickly observing our new surroundings. We were now in a dismal, blue lobby that reminded me greatly of the halls of Lennox house, with a long, oak front counter equipped with a check-in book and a telephone. To the left of the desk was an elevator; the old, squeaky kind that was every claustrophobic's nightmare. To the right of the desk was a thick yellowish door, marked with a picture of a jagged line and a stick figure climbing up it.

Looking around the empty lobby, SweetPea motioned towards the elevator. I shook my head. "They'll hear us coming," I said, picturing them cutting the elevator support ropes, and SweetPea and I falling to our death.

As if reading my mind, SweetPea winced. "Let's take the stairs."

Pushing open the pale yellow door, we hit the staircase, taking them two at a time. Our footsteps echoed in the stairwell, and soon it became the only sound beside that of our own breathing. After a few flights I felt my legs already beginning to ache, my heartbeat quickening as I forced myself to continue moving forward. Just as I began to slow down I registered hurried shouts cried above us, followed by the clap of heavy footsteps.

"More coming!" SweetPea called breathlessly, seconds before we turned a corner to face a swarm of guards a flight above us. In a heartbeat we emptied our weapons, slowly advancing up the stairs as they came at us. They moved in a confused mass, a few breaking away from the others in an attempt to take us out themselves, though they were quickly shot and dropped to the ground.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a soldier lunged from the mass, wielding two twin daggers aimed for our hearts. We dodged, and I hurriedly evaded blows while SweetPea struggled to cover me from the others. Inspired by the one guard's brave act, they began rising up, and SweetPea was thrashing desperately to fight them off. Meanwhile, I ducked and fainted, watching with satisfaction as the soldier's daggers swiped empty air.

Then pain shot through my arm as one of his blades caught me, and I let out a gasp of agony as it buried itself in my skin. I grunted as I yanked the knife out of my forearm, throwing it out of reach and listening to it clatter down the stairs. Anger bubbled up inside me, and with a tremendous screech I grabbed the soldiers head in my hand, slamming it into the concrete wall in a death blow.

"You okay?" SweetPea asked worriedly, not taking her eyes off the advancing enemies.

"Fine," I said quickly, shoving in a new magazine.

In an instant I fell behind SweetPea again, and we continued advancing up the stairs. Their numbers were seemingly endless, and every time we reached a new flight we were faced with a new mob of soldiers, each group more gutsy and desperate than the last. But we kept fighting, covering each other's weak points so we were practically untouchable.

Eventually we mounted the last flight of stairs, and found ourselves face to face with a door. Unlike the others we had passed on the way up, this one was made out of a thick iron, and was adorned with a small black plate that read: B-43 Top Floor. A small keypad was mounted where the doorknob should have been, and asked in small electronic letters for us to "insert password here".

Frowning, I approached the door, placing my hand on its cold surface. Off my left shoulder, SweetPea eyed the keypad warily, before turning her attention back to the door.

"Could we kick it down?" SweetPea asked slowly, as if judging the amount of force it would require to break the bolts on a door this big.

I shook my head. "There's no way, and unless we know the password I seriously doubt we're going to make it in this way."

For a moment, SweetPea said nothing, scanning the door desperately as if trying to find a way to prove me wrong. Soon a look of frustration took over her face, and she slammed her fist into the iron face. "No, this isn't fair. I didn't come all this way to be stopped by a door." She breathed, baring her teeth.

"SweetPea calm down, we'll find another way in." I assured her, though I was doubtful myself. Exhaling, I thoughtfully scanned the area around the door, looking for something that would inspire an idea. And then, I found it.

"The vents," I said slowly, pointing to the inconspicuous metal duct mounted just above the door.

"What?" SweetPea blinked, caught off guard by my comment.

I pointed, watching as she slowly caught on to what I was implying. "Assuming these vents connect to every room in the building, we should be able to use them to sneak into the conference room without being seen."

Examining the vent, SweetPea looked hesitant, though a small ray of hope had begun to illuminate her gray face. "It could be risky," she began slowly; "if someone discovers us then there's little chance of us getting away. But at the same time, if we pull it off…" She faded, glancing back and forth between me and the vent. Then, she sighed. "It's worth a shot."

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A/N: Please review! Oh and thanks to all you readers out there!