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Chapter 10: Perfect Insanity
"Come on, let's go." Danny said.
"Are you crazy?" Sarah asked. "We can't move Connor, not in his condition."
"No, Danny's right." Connor replied.
Abby and Sarah turned to him a mixture of horror and concern spread across their face.
"You're gonna have to leave me here."
Danny took a step toward Connor. "No, that's not what I meant Connor."
"No, I understand. You guys need to save Jenny. If you take me with you, the creatures will catch scent of my blood and immediately rip me apart. No one else needs to die today. Go." Connor explained.
"Connor, we're not leaving you." Abby said sternly.
"Yes, you are." Connor replied solemnly. "Now could you all do me a favor and set me up against the wall and hand me some ammo?"
Tears began to roll down Sarah's eyes, as she and Abby help prop Connor against the nearby wall. "We can't leave you, Connor. It's what Helen wants us to do."
"Yeah? Well, if it is, I'm not gonna go down without a fight." Connor replied leaning against the wall with his eyes shut.
Abby saw hers and Connor's rucksacks nearby and dragged them over to the group.
She pulled out a pair of handguns and placed one in Connor's right hand. Connor and Abby stared into each other's eyes.
"I'll make it out of here alive. I promise." Connor whispered.
"I really, really don't want to leave you Connor." Abby said again.
"There's" Connor gasped for some air, "a headless walkie in my rucksack, could you" he gasped again, "please put it on my ear please, Abby?"
Abby nodded and did as she was told.
"Take your walkie with you; I'll be able to keep in touch." Connor smiled.
Sarah squeezed Connor's good arm, "we'll be back, Connor." She smiled as she stood up and backed up toward Danny.
"Come on, Abby." Danny ordered solemnly.
"No, I'm not leaving him." Abby replied quietly.
"Yes, you are, Abby. Go." Connor ordered.
"I'm staying here!" Abby shouted quietly.
"I said go!" Connor shouted at her, causing tears to begin spilling from Abby's eyes.
Abby looked at Connor for a moment and then crushed her lips against his. Connor returned the kiss.
"I love you," she muttered.
"I know." Connor mumbled trying to hide his discomfort.
"I'm coming back for you, Connor." Abby whispered to him as she stood up cocking her spare gun from her rucksack.
"I'll be here." He smiled.
"Here, you might need this," Danny spoke as he handed Sarah a handgun.
"Connor, don't die on us yet, we'll be back before you know it." Danny called to Connor.
Connor nodded as Danny, Sarah, and Abby walked down the large corridor towards Helen.
Connor put the gun down and reached over into the rucksack. He pulled out several glow sticks and smacked them off the ground. He threw them in all directions, as far as he could, biting his lip to stifle the pain so no one would hear him.
It was almost as if the lighting in the place worked again; but it still wasn't quite bright enough, though he could see in all directions well enough.
He picked up the hand gun again and tried to force himself to stay awake.
Danny, Sarah, and Abby came out at the other end of the corridor to a horrible scene.
Jenny was there alright, at the center of dozens of future predators and camouflage beasts.
"What are we going to do?" Sarah asked.
"They've got neural clamps, just like before." Abby stated.
"Before?" Danny asked.
"Long story; but the last time I saw these creatures with neural clamps, Helen was also involved." Abby explained.
"If those creatures go camo, we're finished." Danny reminded them.
"No kidding," Abby replied.
"I need to get Jenny out of there, now." Danny stated impatiently.
He took a step forward, "Jenny!" He called.
Jenny looked at Danny. The term overjoyed to see him was an understatement.
"Danny." She breathed.
Suddenly, trouble came calling.
"Claudia Brown." The voice called.
Jenny's heart sank as she turned in the direction of the voice.
"Nonono, Jenn, don't look, just look at me and follow my voice." Danny pleaded, but it was too late.
"Nick." Jenny gasped.
"That's not him Jenny." Danny explained.
Connor was starting to black out, when his heart stopped at the all-too-familiar and horrifying noise.
It was a future predator approaching slowly from the corridor.
Connor tapped the walkie in his ear. "Abby? Abby are you there?"
Abby lifted the walkie to her lips, "Yeah Connor, I'm here. What's wrong?" She asked detecting the fear in his voice.
"Nothing, I just-" he gasped, "I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna have to break that promise I made ya a few moments ago."
"Connor, please tell me what's wrong."
"I don't want you to remember that it-"he gasped again, "ended this way."
Tears were spilling from both Abby and Sarah's eyes.
"It's not gonna end Connor, just," Abby took a breath, "tell why your breaking your promise, please."
"You know, when I joined this project four years ago, and all those bad things happened?"
Abby gulped. "Yeah, Conn, I remember."
Tears began to fall from Connor's eyes, "I just wanted to let you know that I stayed for you."
Abby could hear the future predator's noise through the walkie and now knew why Connor refused to tell her what was going on.
Connor, as steadily as he could dug though the rucksack for one of the grenades.
"Connor, I'm heading back, just wait till I get there, ok?" Abby called through the walkie.
As she turned to start to run down the corridor, Stephen came through the shadows and slammed Abby into one of the pillars. She let out a cry as the walkie fell to the ground.
"Connor!" She cried.
As the future predator moved closer, Connor lifted his injured arm to help pull the pin.
"Please, dear God, let all those years of childhood softball pay off." Connor prayed."
"Abby? Abby, if you can still hear me, I love you." Connor announced over the walkie.
The future predator lurched forward mouth wide open, as Connor pulled the pin screaming in pain as he chucked the grenade toward the future predator's mouth.
Helen appeared near Cutter.
"I see you've made it to the party." Helen commented. "However, I see Connor nor Becker made it."
"You killed them didn't you?" Danny asked angrily. "Just like you killed Stephen and Cutter; but then, that doesn't quite explain why Stephen and Cutter are here now."
"Stephen's here too?" Jenny asked.
"You're not very bright, are you Danny?" Helen asked.
"I killed Nick's clone. This is Nick himself, and he's not very happy that you took over his team." Helen explained.
"Yeah? Is that the same story with Stephen? Is that why the great Nick Cutter shot Connor Temple?"
Helen began to laugh, "I told you, survival of the fittest, Connor should've shot him."
The creatures began to stir around them.
"Oh dear, you're upsetting them." Helen observed, "Good thing I've got this." Helen shook a device in her hand.
"What's that?" Danny questioned.
"Shouldn't you be more worried about you teammates? I mean, you've already lost a two of them; and now Stephen's about to kill Abby and poor Sarah's frozen with fear."
"This isn't funny anymore Helen! Stop it now!" Danny shouted.
"Oh, I never said it was." Helen smiled.
Cutter held out his hand, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner Claudia. There were so many times that I wanted to come and see you, but there was never the right moment."
"Jenn, don't listen to him. That's not you name and that's not the man you loved." Danny begged as he stepped closer to Jenny.
Cutter pulled out a handgun and aimed it at Danny.
A few of the creatures near Danny began to sniff the air.
Helen began to laugh as she noticed the bloody spot on Danny's shirt.
"I see that the medics at the ARC didn't do a very good job of fixing you up, did they Danny?"
Danny put a hand up to the spot on his shirt and looked at his hand. 'This is not good at all.' He thought to himself.
"Since apparently this is between you and myself, Helen, why don't you just let everyone go?"
Connor rolled out of the way just in time to miss the predator's attack. He quickly covered his head as the future predator smashed into the wall and exploded with the grenade in its mouth.
Connor got slapped with some of the blood and guts of the creature.
Unfortunately, Connor had landed on his bad shoulder and he screamed in pain.
"Oh, God, if I wasn't in so much pain right now, this would be really cool."
Connor pushed himself up to his feet and started to move toward the corridor the others had gone down.
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