"Everything in this world exists to tear you down."
Guest replies can be found within the far end of this document. ^_^
The group eventually came upon a rather large tree that was slightly distanced from all the other ones. Equinox pressed something near the base of the tree and a panel slid away to reveal a metal slide.
"Last one to slide down to a possible and uncertain death is a loser," Solstice teased, going down the slide head first.
Equinox rolled her eyes and nodded at the others. "She's kidding, mostly."
One by one, the group slid into the darkness. Musty smelling air whipped past them, striping the scent of fresh snow from their clothes. They landed in a heap at the bottom, followed by a get your elbow out of my ribcage and a get your ribcage away from my elbow. And one where the hell is my gun? Someone fumbled in the darkness, searching for the lights.
"Er, home sweet underground lair, I guess," Solstice muttered, placing her hand on a hand scanner; the room lighting up with bright fluorescent illumination. The place looked three times bigger than the cafeteria at H.I.V.E. Dust floated about the room, clogging the air; it was apparent that no one had been there in a long time. She flicked a switch and holographic computer screens flickered to life, showing everything from video feeds in the woods to more cryptic lines slowly crawling across the bottom of data tables. "You can play with whatever, but don't activate the self-destruct or start a small-scale nuclear war, okay." She nodded at Otto and Laura when she said this.
Otto gave a look of false ignorance. "What? I would never consider even thinking of it. If anything, it's Brand you should be talking to."
"Hey!" Laura replied indignantly. "I would not knowingly start a nuclear war. And even so, this place does not have nuclear weapons. Right, Solstice?"
Solstice laughed, a fake nervous sounding thing. "Aha, no. That would be far too dangerous. Why would we ever need those? It's not like I've sat here and statically brought down countless people and organizations. Ha-ha."
"Shut up, Sol," Equinox hissed, swatting her friend upside the head. "We're not supposed to talk about that."
"Oh, right," Solstice said with a stupid grin on her face. She coughed and waved a bit of dust out of her face. "I'm going to turn on the air filters."
"Perhaps I should do that," Equinox suggested. "After all, you just almost died."
"Dude," Solstice said, inclining her head. "The only danger is you having a coughing fit if someone doesn't get the air on. Boogeymen and the Monster from Under the Bed are not lurking in the darkness." And with that flippant comment, she strode away, further into a labyrinth of computers and other less easily identifiable equipment.
Equinox looked back at the group, and seeing the questions lurking on their faces, turned to one of the holographic screens showing video of the forest. "Hmm . . . lots of snow. Would you not agree?"
"What is this place?" Otto asked, a bit of amazement in his voice. "This type of technology is extremely advanced. I would what type of-"
And he was off into realms of computer science that Equinox suspected that the only other person who could understand was Laura, well, that was judging by the slightly confused faces of Wing and Shelby.
Wing walked over to one of the stations facing the opposite wall. He pulled the chair out from under the table and looked at something on the keyboard. "Equinox?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think it possible for anyone else to have been here recently?" he said, holding the keyboard out for her to inspect. The dust had been wiped clean and small chunks of snow that had not yet melted laid in between the keys.
"That's impossible," Equinox gasped, grabbing the board. "The only people who know this place exist is-" The board clattered to the ground at her feet. "Oh no."
There was a large bang from far within the structure followed by a screech that sounded cut off at the last second.
"Equin-"
Everyone took off sprinting.
Solstice weaved her way through the increasing darkness; she had forgotten how to turn on the lights for the back. She felt along the walls, seeking for a door knob she knew should be on that part of the wall. Her hand bumped into the cold metal and she twisted the door open, allowing it to shut behind her with a metallic clank.
"Now, let's see," she muttered to herself, walking carefully in the black. "Which button turns the air systems on?"
She could feel the air change a split second before she could see the attackers, springing upward and grabbing the pipes above the ceiling. A hand clamped around her ankle and she kicked to shake whoever it was free to no avail. Whoever it was, slammed her from her perch to the ground in one swift motion, an action that knocked all the air from her lungs. She felt a small prick at her neck and immediately began to feel like something was sucking her below her consciousness, dragging her to a cobweb filled corner of her mind.
"You don't get off that easily, Unit 13," a familiar voice sneered just as the lights were flicked on.
Solstice stared up at two masked individuals, trying to fight against whatever she had just been injected with. "Equin-" One of them stomped on Solstice's throat, cutting off the scream.
"I think I'll have you kill her last," the familiar one said, pulling a silver cylinder from a strap at their hip. "But you deserve to know what you're up against."
The two figures ripped off their masks.
"Casper and Amelia?" Solstice said weakly, feeling blackness encroach around her brain. She tried to make sense of what was going on, feeling it just on the edge of some unattainable memory. ". . . Elites . . . Oh God no."
The boy stepped forward. "Try again, we're Units Borealis and Aurora now, here to make your life a living hell."
And with that, Solstice was gone.
Siobhan - Thank you for your review! Here's a party/happy person.ヾ(@_@)ノ
Review-guy - Thank you for reviewing and your suggestions! (^ヮ^) Waldenesk is officially a word to me.
