Chapter 21: Who Could Bring Justice
Nicole heard the scream coming from the room where she had been. She couldn't help but close her eyes upon hearing it. The hellish sound echoed in the hallway and in her head. It was a scream of a man who didn't want to die but had no choice.
I must get away from here.
She kept on running until she reached another junction. She chose the hallway to her right again and ran. There was nothing on her mind but to get away from the room she had been locked in as fast as possible. So she ran with her bare feet, her skirt rustling with every step she made.
When she was near the elevator and started to be relieved about it, something tugged at the hem of her skirt. She fell forward.
When she checked on it, she saw the ghoulish girl looking back at her. Her eyes widened and color disappeared from her face.
She screamed while kicking at the small girl. Despite being hit, the girl remained unmoved.
"Get away from me! Get away!"
"Food…"
The girl launched herself onto her. With adrenaline burst, she pushed the girl away, stood up, and ran for her life. At the far end, there was the elevator. She ran for it with all her strength.
However, the little girl caught up. She felt pain on her calf. The girl had bitten her.
"Get away! Get away!" She hit the small cannibal. "Get away from me!"
She struggled, pushing away the small girl's face. Miraculously, she won. She got up and went to the elevator, pushing the open button repeatedly.
"Come on, come on! Shit! Shit!"
She could see the small girl standing up, walking like a zombie towards her. She got the urge to run, but she knew that if she did that the girl would catch her.
"Why the fuck are you not coming down, you fucking metal box! Hurry up and save me here!" She began to sob. Her knees gave in and she slumped on the floor. "Hurry up! Rock, you asshole! Where are you?" Tears were now gushing out from her eyes.
Ding! The elevator opened and four men in suit got out. The man in front was startled to see her.
"What the fuck? Why is the hostage here?" he said. Then, the little girl caught his attention. "Huh? It's…"
"It's a 'kid!' Shoot! Shoot!" another said. This one raised his gun, which he had been carrying by his side all this time, and shot at the little girl.
All of them got out to the hallway, positioning themselves in front of the little girl. Then they started shooting.
Despite being hit on the shoulders and arms, the little girl pushed forward towards them. The four men began to panic. There focus dwindled.
The girl caught one of them in the neck. She pressed with her jaw using the remaining strength she had. She growled like an angry dog as she dug deeper with her teeth into the man's neck, the sound being muffled by blood oozing out from the wound.
Out of panic, the three remaining thugs shot at both their comrade and the girl, neglecting everything but the successful slaying of the little cannibal. They emptied their guns of ammunition. Until they heard nothing but clicks of the guns' hammer, they never stopped. And when they did, there was fear in there eyes.
"What the fuck just happened?"
"Shit! Charlie?" this guy knelt beside their dead comrade and felt for a pulse on his neck. "He's dead."
"What is that girl? She was like a mad dog. She didn't even care how much she was hit."
"It's one of the 'kids' boss has been working on. They're genetically modified humans. Shit, if this one is here, the others must be out somewhere. We better be careful."
"What did you say?"
"They have been modified to kill. They will not hesitate to kill anyone they see."
"Shit!"
"What are we gonna do with her?" This guy gestured towards the unconscious Nicole beside the elevator.
"She lost consciousness. It looks like she somehow managed to escape. From the look of things, we can't do anything but to bring her with us. The intruder is still at large. We can't afford to lose her or the boss will surely kill us."
"Hey, Brad, you carry her," he said to the guy who had just been listening to the conversation.
"Leave it to me."
…
Rock reached the sixth floor and was grateful that he didn't meet any enemy. He got to the seventh floor without any obstacles.
As he walked along the hallway, Rock noticed the two dead bodies lying by the elevator. He got worried. He went to inspect the bodies.
A body of a young, naked girl lay above the body of a tall man in suit.
What is this? Why are there dead people in here? Who killed them? He suddenly noticed something about the child. He looked closer. This body's built is somewhat strange. He reached to touch the back of the child. There is no fat…no, no, this is actually… this body was kind of dehydrated to the point where human could barely live. The muscles are so condensed that they are hard as rock. Who could have done this to them? And why is she…Something unexpected occurred to him—his childhood. This child has been experimented on. His jaws stiffened with rage.He stood up.
There are traces of blood left. If I followed this, maybe…
With a grim face, he started to move. As he was about to reach the junction, a figure came out from the corner. It was a male child, as skinny as the dead girl, with cold, deadly eyes.
Rock froze as he looked into those eyes. Some memory that had been buried deep in his consciousness was revived. He saw his young self in the child, the ferocious beast that he had been before.
This can't be…Who did this to you?
"Food…"
Rock stared at the child.
The child attacked.
The time seemed to slow. He couldn't move for a while. But, when the child was only an inch from him, his countenance changed.
"Enough!" he barked.
The child seemed to understand that. It closed its open mouth and hit Rock's chest with its head. It fell on all fours and scuttled away. Rock looked at it with his frightful eyes. When their eyes met, it covered its head with its hands and whimpered, trembling in fear.
He approached the child. "Why do you tremble? I see. You're not like us at all. When we were still small, we never got tired chasing after death. But you, you are only chasing after survival."
All he heard as a reply was a whimper.
…
"I think it's better if we rest for a while," Dutch suggested as he closed the door of the room they had just entered. They were on the eighteenth floor now. "I didn't expect that they could pressure us this much. Their skills are on par with Visotoniki."
"We can expect that much from America," Balalaika said.
"Shit!" Revy hissed.
Balalaika clicked on her transmitter. "Benny, what's the situation?"
"Elements conquered floor number eight, twelve, thirteen, and twenty nine. I don't know their exact number but those floors have been intruded. The Visotoniki is being pressed below. They cannot move up."
"Can you provide us with a route of escape?"
"I've been working on it. It's difficult. Looks like someone is blocking the system channels. I don't know the origin of the firewall. I'm doing my best to track it down. Give me a few minutes."
"I'm counting on you." She let go of the button and clicked on it again. "Boris, your situation."
"I'm still at the building across. I can't go out. Someone is waiting for me at the rooftop."
"What can you observe?"
"The roads have been deserted, Kapitan. I saw commotion at the opposite ends a kilometer away from here. The police must be blocking vehicles from entering. Occupants of adjacent buildings seem to not notice what's been going on at the moment."
Inside one of the rooms of the next building to the east, a middle-aged man looked out from his window. He frowned when he saw that the building next to theirs had no light on.
"Honey, come here," he called out.
"Yes?" A middle aged blond woman moved to his side. "What's the matter?"
"Why do you think the lights of that building have been shut off?"
"Oh, that? I heard that it's still on renovation. Come on. Let's sleep. Leave it alone." She tugged at her husband's sleeve.
The man continued on staring at the building.
"Honey, come on," his wife said.
"It's strange. I was at that building earlier. There were guests checking in and checking out."
"What's strange about that? It might only be a simple power failure."
"No. My instinct is telling me otherwise."
"You police buff! What are you talking about? Come on. Forget about your police instinct. Turn your animal instinct on, instead, and make love with me."
He sighed and turned on her with smiling eyes. "Yeah, maybe it's better." He leaned to kiss her. As their lips was about to touch, he caught a flash of light from one of the windows. He jerked his head towards it. His eyes widened when he saw flashes coming from the opposite side, too. "It's not brown out, honey. I think something is happening down there."
"What?" The wife took a glimpse. "Don't be ridiculous. Maybe they're just working on metals."
"It's impossible. They will not turn off the lights if they're planning on welding. We must call the cops."
"Honey…"
"Come on!" He went to the phone and dialed 911.
…
The three men who caught Nicole went inside an elevator. Trevor, the one leading the group, pushed the "tenth-floor" button. As the elevator registered motion, Brad, who was carrying Nicole on his shoulder, and Trevor exchanged meaningful glances. When the elevator reached the tenth floor, Brad went out first followed by Trevor. Then, when Harry, the third guy, was about to get out, Trevor whipped out his gun and shot him in the head. Harry hit the back wall and slid down on his own blood to the floor. The elevator closed.
"It's fortunate that this floor is almost abandoned," Brad said.
"Just act normal as before. We don't want to blow our cover, yet."
…
Hidoshi received a call from the special cellular phone he had. He and Albert were now inside the room where Ben Rudolph had kept the abused children in. Susan was at a window in the main hall, acting as the sentry gun to guard against enemy reinforcements who would come from the outside.
"Hidoshi here," he said.
"It's Trevor. We got the hostage with us. We're going to the office."
"That's good news."
"Hey, I just want to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"What the fuck are you thinking making the attack now? You better have a good explanation for this or I will skin you alive, you shit head!"
There was silence for a while as Hidoshi considered what to say.
"Hey, fuck head, come on!"
"It's Cold Knife."
"…"
"I know that it's not the appointed time, yet, but it can't be helped. He's here for the hostage. If we let it like that, he would destroy irreplaceable evidence. I'm sorry to put you in trouble."
"Cold Knife? You mean the real thing?"
"Yes."
"Shit! Why didn't you tell us anything about this?"
"It was dangerous. More importantly, when you reach the office, call in reinforcements. There should be something to do it from there."
"It's the boss' office. It's where we make contact to the outside world."
"Good. We need to take these children out of here fast. They're in a very bad shape."
"I understand. One piece of advice, though. The boss and his men should be on their way by now. You got little Sue out there, right?"
"She's here."
"That big gate is the only way I know to go inside. They should be coming in by cars. Tell her that there is an anti-tank rifle in the secret compartment beside the fireplace. She could use that."
"I see. Thanks."
The line was cut. Hidoshi went to tell Susan about the anti-tank rifle.
To be continued…