Everything happened quicker than Moyra expected. She heard the shots only minutes after she stepped out of the elevator on the fourth floor. A few men in business suits paused in the hallways, looked up and made eye-contact with eachother, then turned and scurried in different directions. Moyra zig-zagged past them, heading to Dr. Habegger's office.
It was a strange relief when the feelings and memories slipped from her mind, as though a ravenous parasite had been tugged away. She could only guess that Paxton had found what he was looking for. She'd heard his screams just before she turned and left for the elevators. Though she felt curiously eager to see what would happen next, she silently hoped that whatever had hijacked her mind would simply kill Paxton and her nightmare would be over. However, her fears were verified at the echo of the door creaking open, and she knew that this was only the beginning of a horrifying new chapter.
Dr. Habegger's office was on the far side of the building, and she quickened her pace as voices rang down the hallways. A few ATC guards sprinted past her, wrenching pistols out of their belts and calling orders into the walkie-talkies on their shoulders. She turned left down a hallway and then the sirens sounded. Clear cup-sized cylinders dropped down from the ceiling, flashing yellow light in all directions.
Attention all personnel. Please head to the nearest emergency exit. Containment breach in progress.
Doors flew open as people curiously peeked out of their offices. Some threw worried glances in her direction. Then a steady stream of people hurried the opposite direction down the hallway, and Moyra paused quickly to plaster her back to the wall. Her heart hammered in her chest. This was happening. It was really happening.
A familiar brunette appeared out of the crowd. "Moyra, what the hell is going on?" There was no time to answer before Sabrina was pushed down the corridor.
Moyra took a deep breath then slid along the wall against the rush of people. She needed to hurry. He could still be in his office.
She elbowed several people aside, and then she heard the ominous rattle of gunfire in the distance. The hallway erupted in screams. The rush turned into a flood as people escaped through the open doors in all directions. Moyra felt terror spread through her body. How could Paxton have moved so quickly? She didn't ponder the question. She turned and ran full speed, knocking people over and stumbling.
The hallway was nearly empty as she neared Dr. Habegger's office. She clutched the door handle and threw her shoulder against it as she entered.
"─ expect me to do. You know I've been telling you to shut this project down for years, and now that we finally have a breach, you're leaving it up to me to clean the mess?" Dr. Habegger was hunched over his desk with the phone jammed to his ear, warning symbols flashing all over the monitor and the television. Moyra paused in the middle of his office, relief flowing through her. He looked up from the phone and made sharp gestures. "Close the door!" he half-shouted under his breath, then raised the phone back to his mouth. "Do I need to put things into perspective for you? There are about a hundred armed guards here at Perseus and over a thousand Replica soldiers. Do you really think we can get this situation under control?" Moyra closed the door, muffling the screams and distant gunfire. She jumped as Dr. Habegger pounded a fist on his desk. "He's already synced with them! People are dying here!" His expression paused as he listened. "Fine. You do that. In the meantime, you'd better hire a good lawyer because you're going to need it." He slammed the phone down on the receiver.
"Charles─" Moyra began, but Dr. Habegger snatched his coat off the hanger and moved toward her.
"We need to get to the security station," he said, cupping a hand under her arm and pulling her to the door. "Once the barricades go down, there's nothing coming through them until security's lifted." He opened the door and the gunfire returned, closer this time. He rushed down the hallway. "To the stairs. Move!"
Moyra ran after him, darting past the occasional petrified person in the hallway. The gunshots faded into the distance, but shivers of anticipation still racked her body. At every turn, she expected they would run full speed into gunfire. When they finally burst through the door to the stairs, she let out an exasperated breath.
"Second floor," said Dr. Habegger and he sprinted down the stairs two steps at a time. Their footsteps echoed around the quiet tower, and Moyra tripped a few times, plunging onto the rail for support. As they neared the exit to the second floor, a loud bang erupted from above them. Moyra looked up long enough to hear garbled radio dialogue and the tips of several rifles appeared over the rail, spiraling down the stairs. She felt a hand grab her and she was flung through the door which slammed shut.
Dr. Habegger rammed a chair underneath the door handle. "Down the hallway to the left," he said as he wedged it tight. "Run!" Moyra lept up and sprinted.
The hallways were made of steel similar to the containment ward and there was nothing obvious to point her in the right direction. She turned left, and the security station appeared in front of her sectioned by thick glass windows and a red sign above. She blasted through the door and two guards caught her before she collapsed on the floor.
A few moments later, Dr. Habegger rushed through the door, and the two guards slammed it closed behind him. "Drop the shield!" Dr. Habegger gasped through heavy breaths.
"We can't do that yet," said one of the guards. "We still don't know what's happening on the upper levels─"
"Everyone's dead on the upper levels!" said Dr. Habegger. The guard looked at him wide-eyed. "It's another Synchronicity Event. The whole compound is breached. Close the damn doors!"
The guard backed up slowly, then slammed his hand down on a large red button on the control panel. The flashing yellow lights turned to red, and there was a huge clunk as a heavy steel door slowly descended in front of the windows.
Dr. Habegger sighed heavily, and unwittingly Moyra felt herself relax as well. She leaned against a filing cabinet and rested her head back against the cool metal.
"They're sending in F.E.A.R, and probably Delta Force," said Dr. Habegger over the sound of the machinery. "We'll wait for confirmation from them before we try to open the doors again." The guards murmured an agreement.
Moyra stared entranced as the steel door slowly blocked out the windows. "Who is it?" she said finally. "Who's attacking us?"
Dr. Habegger glared at her. "Who's attacking us?" he said. "I'll tell you who's attacking us. The entire god damn Replica battalion!" He waved his hands in the air. "Fifteen-hundred mindless clones all in one convenient location! And now the prototype is doing exactly what he's trained to do. He's gonna kill everyone in this place, and probably more once he makes it out of the compound. Fairport is gonna have one hell of a war on their hands…"
Moyra gazed at the floor. The Replica army… a thousand puppet soldiers without minds of their own. And Paxton was controlling them. It was exactly what he'd warned during the illusion. Moyra put a trembling hand to her mouth. Thousands of people were dying. She thought of Sabrina and her last fearful glance as she was pushed down the hallway towards the gunshots. Christ, what had Moyra done?
"Charles," said Moyra. "There's something I need to─"
A thundering blast shook the room, and a cloud of dust floated up from the gap between the descending shield and the floor. Moyra flung her hands out as she fell on her side, and she instinctively curled into a ball. The guards were yelling to eachother, but over their yells screeched the sound of heavy metal. The whole facility seemed to be falling apart. Moyra clenched her eyes shut as bits of equipment and stacks of files fell on top of her. Any moment she expected something would crush her fatally, and she bit back frightened gasps as she anticipated a killing blow.
The shaking stopped and the dust settled. Moyra opened her eyes and looked up.
A huge hole had opened in the center of the blast door. There was something standing in front of it. Something huge. As she struggled to see it clearly, the object raised an arm.
"Stop right there!" The guards raised their pistols. Moyra flinched as the room exploded in gunfire. The two guards flailed and fell backwards. In the haze of smoke, several figures entered the room, their radios sounding off in static. Moyra's heart raced. Replica soldiers.
She inched backward against the filing cabinet which had tipped over. They hadn't seen her yet. White beams from their flashlights panned left and right as they searched. For a heartwrenching moment, Moyra wanted to curl back into a ball and hide away the last few moments of her life. She was so exposed. One of the light beams was bound to drift towards her and light her up like a cornered animal.
But something inside her kept her from moving. She shivered as she watched the soldiers move closer to her through the jumbled station. A powerful guilt began to creep through her, and she straightened herself. All of this was her fault. She had no idea how many other people had died, or the extent of the damage to the compound but if it was anything similar to her situation, then by all means, maybe she deserved to die. She didn't think she was so susceptible to bribery, considering she had dished out her fair share of persuasion. Perhaps she had wanted this. She wanted Paxton to destroy the facility, and kill everyone in it.
Christ. Paxton had turned her into a monster. No… that wasn't true. Moyra felt a deep fear claw at her nerves, and she felt cold sweat break onto her forehead. Paxton hadn't made her a monster. She was already a monster before the illusion. Before she felt any kind of pity for the imprisoned Psions. Before she even worked at Armacham. And she deserved to die like a monster.
A beam of light jolted towards her, and everything turned white. Moyra braced herself.
"Visual!" shouted a garbled voice.
"Get off me!" There was crashing several feet away from her. "God-damnit, let go! You sons of bitches!"
The flashlight lowered and Moyra's vision slowly returned.
Three figures were struggling, two of them gripping the third around the arms. As Moyra fought to make sense of it all, she realized Dr. Habegger had survived the blast. He thrashed with his legs as the two soldiers forced him to kneel.
Moyra looked up at the soldier in front of her. His rifle was lowered, although he held the flashlight steady. He seemed to not be breathing. Cautiously, Moyra rose to her feet. For a mad second, she contemplated running for the door, but she couldn't risk it against the soldier's reflexes which she knew were far superior than hers. She straightened her shoulders and gazed at the struggling men.
"You're all going to be exterminated!" Dr. Habegger groaned as he finally sank to his knees. "Do you hear me? You brainless fucks!" He stopped moving as he noticed Moyra. "Moyra…" Dr. Habegger clenched his fists. "Moyra, I'm sorry about all this. I'm so sorry…"
There was a scramble outside the giant steel door, and the giant figure slowly stepped aside. The silhouette of a thinner man appeared against the light.
Moyra strained to see against the haze, and her heart nearly stopped. She pressed her back against the wall.
Paxton strode slowly like a man who had no clue that he was in a warzone. His expression made Moyra shiver. His grey eyes were bright and full of power. Wet blood stains patterned his jacket, and he'd added a leather holster and a radio to his belt. As he passed through the room, the soldiers stepped aside, clearing the way like slaves. Moyra barely recognized him. He wasn't the same desperate man she'd last seen prostrate and unconscious on the floor. He was a killer.
Paxton stopped in front of Dr. Habegger, resting his hands behind his back and smiling softly. "Hello Doctor."
"Fettel…" Dr. Habegger gasped. "You won't get away with this. The government's got the whole U.S army after you. Even if you make it out of the compound, you won't get ten feet─"
Paxton kneeled suddenly and there was a flash of silver as Paxton held a large field knife to his own lips, mimicking a hushing gesture. Moyra felt her stomach plunge and she forced herself not to look away.
"I hear you know some things about Rammelmeier Industrial Compound," said Paxton quietly. "Or rather, about Project Origin."
Dr. Habegger's mouth opened and closed. His eyes were wild. "I can't─ there's nothing─ Project Origin was shut down…" He straightened his shoulders. "You'll never make it there. We moved you far away from that hellhole because your bitch of a mother turned you homicidal. You think getting there and letting your useless mom out of her fishtank is going to bring Armacham down? We planned on that years ago!" He flexed his shoulders against the soldiers holding him back. "We pulled the plug on her! She's dead! And even if you managed to synchronize with her Psionic signature, it's just you, Paxton Fettel! You against the entire country!"
Dr. Habegger breathed heavily. Moyra felt shivers of anticipation run through her body. For a moment, there was only silence.
"I didn't ask you where," said Paxton, spinning the knife in his fingers. "I'm asking who." Paxton rose slowly to a standing position. "Get up."
Dr. Habegger's hands flexed over and over again. He looked quickly at Moyra. "Moyra, whatever he says, don't listen to him. Don't tell him anything, you hear?"
"Ms. Welch has already provided me more than enough information, given her talents," said Paxton. Moyra tensed up. She wasn't prepared for the look of shock that Dr. Habegger gave her.
"You… you what…" Dr. Habegger stammered. Moyra struggled to speak. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. He didn't understand. Paxton made her do it. He forced her into the illusion and blackmailed her into helping him. Sure, she wanted retribution against Armacham and a better life for the Psions trapped in the compound, but she hadn't wanted this slaughter. Had she?
She looked at Paxton. The hunger had left his eyes. For a moment, she thought she was looking at the frightened man locked away in his cell. He hadn't wanted this either. He told her he didn't. And there he was, covered in blood with a knife in hand and surrounded by mindless killers. He was beyond the point of no return. They'd both shared the consciousness that drove this madness to occur… but who was the real monster?
Moyra gazed at Dr. Habegger, a cloud forming in her mind. She softened her throat. "You should stand up."
Dr. Habegger wobbled slightly on his knees. Slowly, he rose, the guards holding tightly on his arms.
Paxton stepped closer to him, raising the knife. "Who killed my mother?" he asked quietly. "Who killed Alma Wade?"
Dr. Habegger shook his head. "She killed herself the minute she synced with you when you were a child─" He cried out as the knife nicked his cheek leaving a line of red.
"There were three people in the Vault," said Paxton, his voice growing stronger. "One was Harlan Wade, and there was a man and a woman. What are their names?"
Dr. Habegger shook with silent sobs. "I don't know… I wasn't there…" Again he yelped as the knife cut into his other cheek. "Christ! I don't know!"
"I believe you do," said Paxton, the hungry gleam returning. "Don't anticipate a pleasant ending if you refuse to tell me."
Dr. Habegger looked up at him, tears streaming down his face. "Fuck you and your whole fucked up family."
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Moyra held her breath, her mind racked with tension. Paxton's hungry gleam froze, then he plunged the knife to the hilt in Dr. Habegger's shoulder.
Moyra screamed and threw her hands up to her face. In between her fingers, she saw Dr. Habegger scramble slightly, groaning in shock. Paxton drew out the blade quickly, drips of blood landing on his face. His expression was murderous now, his eyes bright with hatred. As he prepared to stab again, he froze suddenly.
Moyra forced herself to keep watching, choking down sobs that threatened to escape her throat. Paxton hovered over Dr. Habegger, a strange look of surprise on his face. He licked the corner of his mouth, drawing in a smear of blood. Dr. Habegger's breathing was labored and heavy, and he hunched slightly as
Paxton stared incredulously at him. Slowly, Paxton raised the bloody blade to his own mouth and delicately ran his tongue along the flat edge, closing his eyes as though he were trying out a new cuisine. Dr. Habegger watched him, wide-eyed.
Paxton stood motionless, his eyes closed. Finally, he opened them and looked at Dr. Habegger. The corner of his mouth peaked in a wicked smile.
"No!" Dr. Habegger screamed, but he was drowned out as Paxton snarled and descended on him, grabbing either side of the doctor's head and ripping into his cheek with bared teeth.
Moyra flung her head around, clenching her eyes shut and feeling her heart hammering in her chest. Whatever she had been prepared for, it hadn't been that. Her stomach churned as she listened to the sounds of Dr. Habegger's muffled screams and the crunch of bone. She couldn't hold back her terrified sobs as she shook in fear. Dr. Habegger's voice faded and soon there was only a scuffle and the steady drip of blood on the floor.
She gasped with each breath, struggling to gain control of herself. She was a part of this now, whatever it was. She'd have to get used to being a monster.
There was a crunching of boots behind her, and as she regained composure, she felt a knuckle under her chin and she turned her head. Paxton's mouth was shiny and crimson, with streams of blood running down his neck. He gazed into her eyes, his nose barely an inch away from hers.
"I need you to find someone at Armacham for me," he said.