Episode 65: The Hunted
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It was the time of year that all the younger kids loved, and as they grew older it was simply because School wasn't on for that week, but it was Halloween week, the warriors remembered two Halloweens prior what a mess it had been and none of them felt comfortable knowing XANA might rear its head again, the date was October 26 and every one was awaiting the sound of the school bell to tell them they could be free and go home for the week,
"Come on" said Odd under his breath as it felt like Mrs Hertz class was dragging on forever, Jeremie and Aelita didn't mind, Ulrich had volunteered to sit next to Dallas to keep an eye on him, but he was simply writing in his book, "Michael Jacksons activator, means I'm on fire off the top" said Dallas to himself quietly with Ulrich looking at him, "been a while since he did that" said Ulrich, Dallas heard and his eye looked towards him but said nothing, "it was in fact the O-ring that failed to work in the low temperatures that…" said Mrs Hertz then the bell rang and almost everyone rushed out to no one's surprise, the warriors stood up and looked at each other, "well that's a week off for us" said Odd stretching his arm, "what's your excuse for staying at Kadic" asked Ulrich as he clicked his neck, Jeremie smiled and said "I've fallen behind on my studies", Dallas smiled and retorted "I think you and Odd have switched excuses", Aelita chuckled to Odd's annoyance, "Well me and Dallas have nowhere to go" she said as they exited the room, "For you information, My passport is expired so I can't go home to see my family" said Odd, Ulrich smiled his excuse was obvious, "I've got a pregnant girlfriend I can't leave behind" he said, Jeremie punched him in the arm, "you seem proud about that" he said jokingly.
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Yumi knocked on the door of Delmas's office, she heard him reply
"Come in", she opened the door really nervous, she hadn't done anything wrong she had no idea why he wanted to see her, "Ah Yumi please sit down" he added, he was calm so she had a feeling that she hadn't done anything, "How're you feeling" asked Mr Delmas, Yumi smiled and said "I've been fine, my friends are supporting me, although this little fella can be a small pain" she said rubbing her belly, "I'm glad to hear, I have a small favour to ask you" he said, Yumi was confused "the school is going to be a little understaffed over the holiday, in fact the only staff who're going to be here is myself, Jim, and our priest Father Mul… I can't pronounce it" said Delmas, Yumi knew what he was going to ask, "you're one of the most responsible…" he said but Yumi cut him off by jokingly said "I'm 21 weeks pregnant", Delmas chuckled and said "I know, but you're record shows that you're a responsible student, and I was wondering if you could help keep an eye on some of the younger students who're staying at Kadic over the break", Yumi knew this was probably revenge for being pregnant, but she didn't want to say no as she could do with some experience, "How many people are staying" she asked, Delmas smiled knowing she was willing to talk, "your younger brother, his roommate, those two girls from the school newspaper, those are the only young ones, the rest are just a year younger than you, except that Dunbar" said Delmas, Yumi smiled knowing it'd be an easy job, "I'll do it" she said.
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William was standing outside the office with his phone in his hand, he turned his head as Yumi walked out, he raised his eyebrows
"Everything all right" he asked as he pocketed his phone, Yumi smiled rolling her eyes, "I've more or less just volunteered for a babysitting job" she said, William chuckled at the sound of that, "good god, that sounds like hell" he said as the two exited the building, "it is you're one of the people I've got to keep an eye on" said Yumi laughing as they found the others, "What did you do" asked Ulrich as he saw her laughing, "Delmas has roped me in to helping keep an eye on everyone" she replied, the others just smiled and laughed, "why does everyone laugh at that" she asked, Aelita looked up and said "I don't know, he thinks that we need someone to keep an eye on us", Yumi looked at Ulrich and quickly thought for a moment, "Dallas" she said, everyone looked at her confused it was an unspoken rule that they never referred to him by name, they didn't trust the cyborg, "this should be good" he said under his breath, "Can I talk to you alone for a moment" she asked, Ulrich grabbed her arm, "do you know what you're doing" asked Ulrich concerned, Yumi smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "I'll be fine" she said as she led Dallas off away from them, "Any idea what she wants with him" asked Odd, the others had no clue it was weird of her to want to talk to the cyborg and even more so to do it alone.
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"if you're gonna voice your disdain about me you can do it in front of the others" said Dallas as he looked at Yumi, she was leading him into the dorm building, she opened her door and walked inside and sat down, "sit" she said as she patted next to her, "what am I some dog now" he said rolling his eyes, "believe it or not, I'm gonna trust you" she said, Dallas found this odd to hear, over the past few weeks since he'd appeared fused with an X-800 no one wanted to talk to him, let alone trusted him, "I want your help with keeping an eye on everyone" she said, Dallas was confused, "my help surely you could ask someone else" he said in a confused tone, "Jeremie and Aelita will be working on the Anti-virus, Jeremie will want William there as the muscle, Odd is just too immature" said Yumi giving her reasons, Dallas clicked his fingers as he did, "What about Ulrich" he asked, she looked down and shed a tear, "That's something else, I think this has put too much pressure on him, I want to give him some space" she said, Dallas placed his arm around her "I'll do it" he said smiling, Yumi sniffed and said "Thank you", he removed his arm knowing it was probably a bad thing to have done, "I'm also worried that our child won't have a good life with XANA around" she said as she grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes, "come on the worst thing that can happen is it ends up like me in general, best thing is it's exactly like it's father, just maybe a bit more smarter" said Dallas, Yumi chuckled at the thought.
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Jeremie had returned to his room later that night and was still typing and working hard at his computer, he was tired but wasn't going to let that stop him as he had a cup of coffee next to him, he took a massive gulp, before remembering
"Two hours cold" he said to himself with a chuckle, "Honey I'm home" said Dallas as he walked in, Jeremie stopped typing and looked back at him, "Don't call me that" he said passive aggressively, Dallas rolled his eyes and sat down on his bed removing his jacket, "that came for Dallas today" said Jeremie as he carried on typing and pointing towards a letter, Dallas leant forward as he removed his boots, he grabbed the small white envelope, "Whose it from" he asked as he looked at the front seeing it was blank, Jeremie didn't answer, Dallas opened it to see it was a letter, "Dear John…" he said reading the first line, he held it down away from his face and smacked himself in the forehead "Jesus Christ" he said as he held it up again, "Dallas's name isn't john" said Jeremie looking at him, Dallas looked at him before handing him the letter, "read this" asked Dallas as he went and sat down angrily, "Dear John, I'm sorry but this is the only way I can inform you off what has happened, firstly it's not you it's me… okay bad way to say it, so I'll just say it, I've moved to my mothers and I'm sorry but I've been unfaithful, I was attracted to you because of what you did not who you are" said Jeremie reading the letter, "is this from" he asked as he looked at Dallas, "yep, shit always seems to hit me when I least expect it" he said as he rolled onto his bed.
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Most of the week passed by without any incident, the date was now October 30th but it was soon to change to that of October 31st, it was late at night and the weather was near a full on thunderstorm, Winter looked at his cigarette as he lit it with his lighter, he looked over at his driver, she was also smoking, she was a nurse and was dressed in uniform,
"I can't believe the government wants to see this guy after…" she started but Winter was quick to cut her off, "I'm not acting on the governments behalf" he said as there was a bright flash from the lightning, "still, you put this guy away 15 years ago, deeming him a nut job, and now you want to talk to him" asked the nurse as she looked at him taking a puff of her smoke, "it wasn't my idea to lock him…" started Winter but suddenly noticed people wearing hospital attire, those worn by the inmates of the psychiatrist hospital, "shit" said Winter as they pulled past them, "we don't let them…" started the nurse, but Winter jumped out of the car and looked around "wait here" he said over the rain with his service revolver in hand, the nurse was scared, the inmates were wondering around motionless and senseless, almost zombie like, suddenly there was a thud noise, she looked back, suddenly she noticed the roof denting inwards, "WINTER" she screamed but her screams were cut off as the door of the car was torn off from the hinges, Winter heard the noise and rushed back, the nurse was pulled from the car she was still screaming as she was thrown onto the muddy grass, the figure atop of the car moved off, he was muscular, a full beard adorned his face along with a tennis ball haircut, all the hair was a dark brown made even darker by the rain, he was dressed in an inmate uniform, Winter raised his revolver and pulled the trigger, the bullet impacted the figures face, it tore through the skin and ricocheted off the jaw section smashing the rear car window, he stepped into the car as Winter emptied the revolver, the car moved off as Winter joined the nurse, "Are you okay" asked Winter as he knelt down to the nurse, she was too shaken to speak, "what the fuck was that" said Winter as he looked at the fading lights in the distance.
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Halloween morning, the trees were naked as their leaves laid around their bases; many houses were decorated to look scary, the wind blew through the empty tree branches, whilst the cold air made many shudder, Kadic was like a ghost town no classes meant no students, the borders saw no reason to go to the open campus, and many of the day students had gone home for the duration, Jeremie and Aelita were sitting outside the chapel building, Aelita was shivering slightly jealous of Jermeie's baggy jumper,
"Jeremie" she asked with a small shudder, he turned and looked at her "what is Halloween" she asked, Jeremie felt a cold shiver down his spine from the event that had occurred two years prior, "It's just a time of year when a load of kids dress up and get free candy" said Jeremie, he never found the idea fun when he was younger, he then felt bad because Aelita never got to experience it, "It actually derives from a Gaelic festival Sa win" said the priest as he stepped out, (the word is Samhain, but is pronounced Sa win), the priest was an old man but he was known by many to be gentle, he'd lost his hearing during the Korean war, but had undergone surgery since to have it restored, he walked with a stick due to his old age, there was a rumour that he was a hundred years old but he was only in his eighties, "Oh I didn't see you there father" said Jeremie as he stood up, "its fine, I tend to be quiet, would you two like to come in for some coco" asked the father, Jeremie smiled and looked at Aelita, they followed him inside, the place was rudimentary for a holy building, it wasn't the shape of a church, it was a building that had been renovated, "Oh I forgot Aelita this is Father Mulcahy" said Jeremie, Father Mulcahy smiled as he sat down, he was old but far from redundant, "Are you a believer child" he asked as he looked at the pink haired girl, Aelita thought for a second and shook her head, "Because we believe different things does not make either of us wrong nor right" he said as he turned on his mini stove, "Forgive me father but I thought Catholics didn't like Halloween" said Jeremie as Father Mulcahy poured the milk into a cup, "most don't, but I spent three years helping people of various beliefs, and over time I grew to learn that I have to be accepting, and one night I learned that Halloween is just a day for many to let loose and relax" he said with a smile on his face.
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Adam and Evelyn sat watched the empty courtyard, Adam had a yoyo in his hand to try and pass the time, Evelyn was a bit less calm, she looked at him,
"So XANA wants us to stay put" she asked, Adam smiled and looked at her "He has concocted the latest in its master plans to try and advance the timeline" said Adam as he stood up, "and as such we've got the night off" he added as he walked away, Evelyn looked at him "what do you plan to do then" she asked, Adam smiled and said "ruin a few Halloweens for some people", Evelyn rolled her eyes, she had plans herself for Halloween which involved going out and cat fishing some people.
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William was in the gym, because barely anyone was around he didn't have to be quick so others could use the equipment, he was sticking to the routine that Dallas had set for him, Odd was standing by him with a stop watch,
"Time" said Odd as he stopped the watch, William put down the dumbbells his arms feeling like they were about to fall off, "Christ how did Dallas do this" asked William as he panted heavily, Odd smiled and said "no idea", William stood up straight taking a deep breath, "I was hoping Ulrich would be here, hoping for some sparing practice" said William, Odd laughed "You know that Ulrich uses mixed martial arts, you only use boxing, he'd easily take you out" he said with a laugh, William patted him on the back saying "Maybe you'd like to get in that ring with me", Odd was scared he was unsure if he was being sarcastic or not, "I think I'll pass on that" he said nervously, "where is Ulrich anyway" asked Odd as the two moved towards a punching bag, "I think he went for a run, said something about wanting to clear his head" said William.
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Numerous security guards and some police officers looked around at the outside of the Hospital grounds, some were taking photos whilst others were looking around, Winter had a cigarette in his mouth with a lit match in his hand,
"Smoking will kill you, you know" said one of the officers as he looked at him, "Better this than my lack of sleep" said Winter, he looked around as he was handed back his revolver, "It checks out" said the officer as he also handed him the bag with the empty shells, Winter shook his head as he walked towards the road looking at the broken glass on the floor, "I couldn't have missed" he said then he noticed a piece of skin on the floor, he pulled out a pen and picked it up bagging and pocketing it, he then found the bullet it had been flattened he picked it up, "fucking hell" he said before pocketing it, "Officer" he said as he walked towards one of them, "did you get any info on the car" he asked, the officer looked at his notes, "they found it abandoned 20 miles away, best thing we got is that the thief has made his way towards the nearest town" said the officer, Winter threw down his cigarette, he walked towards one of the hospital staff "I know it's probably a bad time but I need to speak to a patient" said Winter, the hospital worker looked at him, "what's there name" said the doctor, Winter reached into his pocket and grabbed his box of cigarettes, "Ralph Couture" said Winter, the Doctor looked away and sighed, "I'm sorry but we found him dead and naked out in the field last night" said the Doctor, Winter put away his box, "what, did you find out who escaped" he asked shocked, the doctor shook his head "nope everyone has been accounted for, the fried bastards didn't think to run away" said the doctor but he realised Winter was walking off back towards one of the police officers, "I need a car" he said as he loaded his revolver.
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Ulrich returned to the campus, he pulled out his earphones; he was concerned as to why Yumi was saying she wanted to give him some space, he wasn't pressured by her being pregnant, but wondered if he was giving that vibe, he watched as the younglings rushed past him dressed in basic Halloween costumes,
"Where're you going" asked Ulrich, Johnny, Hiroki's roommate and best friend turned and looked at Ulrich "Trick or treating it's Halloween" he said as the four rushed off, Ulrich shook his head looking at the sky knowing it was just after mid-day, he then noticed Dallas walking towards the Garage building, "Where're you going" asked Ulrich towards Dallas, "to clear my head" he said as he opened the Garage and stepped onto his bike locking the 1887 into the hold, "Did we give you permission to leave" said Ulrich as he walked towards him, everyone acting like he wasn't him was getting under his skin "Do I need it" he said as he revved the Engine, he kicked the stand away and rode off, Ulrich looked as he did, he walked out of the Garage closing it behind him, he saw Yumi and ran towards her, "Yumi" he said hugging her, she returned the hug, "Ulrich enjoy your walk" she said gripping into him, "Yeah just wanted some air" he said as the two walked towards the cafeteria "How're you feeling" asked Ulrich as he opened the door, "My breasts are sore and my back is killing me" she said laughing despite the pain, suddenly William burst in holding Odd over his shoulder, "Jesus what happened" asked Yumi, William and Odd laughed, "He decided to challenge me in the ring" said William, Ulrich laughed and asked "How'd it go", Odd looked up at him holding his shoulder, "I don't know I think a few punches in I lost track" said Odd, William handed him a bag of peas from the freezer, "do you think they'll mind" he asked as Odd held it to his head "the way this shit tastes I doubt it" said Odd, Yumi rubbed her belly, "Where are the Einsteins" asked Ulrich, Yumi rolled her eyes, "Working probably" she replied, then William had a funny smile, "It's Halloween everyone deserves one good scare" he said, Ulrich sat on one of the tables, "what's your plan" he asked.
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Johnny, Hiroki, Millie and Tamiya were walking around the town, it was still early but many other kids were going by 'The early bird catches the worm', they looked around as they watched a load of even younger kids walking around with their parents,
"Hiroki do they celebrate Halloween in Japan" asked Tamiya as she handed Millie a bottle of fizz, "Hell if I know, I've never been to japan best my knowledge" he replied, he was on edge he looked around "what's wrong" asked Johnny, Hiroki shook his head, "I got a feeling we're being watched" he said, Millie moved behind him and tapped him on the shoulder "Maybe it's the boogie man" said Millie trying to scare him, Hiroki laughed at the idea, "in japan ghosts are much more elaborate and scary" said Hiroki, they stood up and were tired of walking, but unbeknownst to them someone was watching, as they walked down the street a figure in a 1977 BMW 320i pulled the handbrake and slowly began to follow them, the figure was silent and his movements were flawless almost robotic, he looked at them as he drew closer to them, and watched as if analysing them, he looked away and sped forward before turning right as he passed a store with the burglar alarm ringing loudly, he grinned as he sped forward, the chief of police was French Canadian, with his accent leaning more to the latter, "Damn kids" he said shaking his head, a receding hairline adored his head, "Chief" said a voice, he turned and looked to see Winter walking up to him, "Can I help you sir" he said, Winter looked around "My name is Winter I'm with…" he said holding up his ID just so the chief could see it, "Oh I see, how can I help you sir" said the chief, the alarm bell stopped ringing, "I require your help with something" said Winter, the chief looked at him, "can you give me a few minutes I'd like to finish this" said the Chief, Winter nodded, driving across the road on the other side of the street was Dallas he noticed the police cars and shook his head then he noticed Winter, and remembering the last time he'd seen him he'd tracked radiation on them, he quickly pulled into a parking space and kicked out the stand and walked towards the store, "Okay how can I help you, also my name is Cyphers, and I prefer to be called as such" said Cyphers, Dallas walked across the street and listened in, "A patient was murdered in a hospital about 40 miles away, and I believe the killer might be after people related to the victim, and I don't mean his family" said Winter, the chief looked around, "I'll give my full co-operation" said Cyphers, Dallas had a feeling Winter was onto something, "there's a place I need to visit" said Winter, Cyphers led him to a police car with Dallas following him, "Do you know a place called the Hermitage" said Winter, Dallas's eyes shot open and he rushed back to his bike hoping not to attract attention, "oh shit" he said as he turned the key and revved the engine and began following them slowly so as to not draw attention to himself.
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Jeremie was sitting at his computer typing at his usual pace, whilst Aelita was reading a book on his bed, he would occasionally stop and look over and smile, Aelita never seemed to notice, since the school was basically abandoned it was quiet, and he enjoyed the peace,
"Did you ever go trick or treating Jeremie" asked Aelita putting down her book, Jeremie stopped and swivelled around in his chair, "once, I find it a bit stupid dressing up for free candy, I personally don't see the appeal" he replied, suddenly the light went out and Jermeie's computer switched to its backup supply that he'd gotten installed, "What the" he said as he looked outside, since it was 4 in the afternoon it was still light outside, "do you think there was a power cut" asked Aelita as she stood up, Jeremie noticed a figure standing looking up at his window in a jumpsuit wearing a funny mask one that Jeremie couldn't make out, "What the hell" said Jeremie then he looked at Aelita before looking back and the figure was gone, "Aelita" he said, Aelita moved towards him, "Check for a scan" said Jeremie, Aelita quickly sat down as he continued looking out of the window, she quickly typed but the computer was slow, "What's wrong Jeremie" she asked as she looked up, "I think I saw something out there" he said, then they heard a beeping they didn't want to hear "Jeremie we got one" she said, Jeremie got down from the table and grabbed her hand "Come on" he said, they quickly rushed out of the room "I think something is…" said Jeremie but as he exited the room, the figure was standing there, the mask resembled Chris Pine but was white, the hair was bleached and the eye holes had been widened and couldn't be seen inside Aelita screamed as the two quickly ran away from it, it moved slowly towards them, it's movements stiff, "Jeremie what is that" said Aelita as they reached a door but found it locked, they tried forcing it open but it wouldn't budge, Aelita screamed as they were trapped in a corner, suddenly the figure stopped and there was a muffled laughter as Ulrich pulled off the mask, he wouldn't stop laughing, Jeremie stood up punching him around the jaw, he hurt his hand as Ulrich grabbed his jaw, "what the fuck man, what was that for" asked Ulrich, Jeremie held his hand "shit" he said as he looked up, "I was checking if you're you, and that was also for scaring us you arse" said Jeremie, Aelita looked at Jermeie's hand as the others came around the corner, "how'd it go" asked Odd laughing Ulrich looked back, "they were scared but he's got quite a punch" said Ulrich, Jeremie looked at him, "we've got an activated tower" said Aelita, the others looked at each other, "We'd better get going, might as well stop it before it does any damage" said William but Yumi stayed where she was, "I need to stay, if the kids come back and we don't need to do a return to the past, that's gonna get me in trouble" she said, Ulrich spoke up, "I'll stay and…" he started but Yumi cut him off, "No Dallas should be back any moment now he can defend me" she said, Ulrich wasn't thrilled about it, but he kissed her on the lips, "stay safe" he said as he and the others rushed off, "I'll try" she said to herself.
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The warriors exited the Tunnel and rushed towards the factory, Jeremie rushed down the ramp as his hand was still hurting, William looked at Ulrich,
"was his punch really that good" he asked as they rushed into the elevator, "had some raw power behind it" said Ulrich, Odd laughed at it, "So Einstein can throw a punch" he asked, Jeremie joined them and pressed the button, "Ulrich I'm sorry about hitting you" said Jeremie, it was partly because his hand felt like it was swollen, the doors opened and he rushed into the computer room, "You gonna be able to manage Jeremie" asked Aelita as he placed the mike in his ear, "Yeah I should do" he replied as the door shut, Jeremie quickly typed with his hand and began to locate the tower, "it's in the mountain sector" he said as the elevator opened in the scanner room, "great any idea of what we're dealing with" asked Odd, Jeremie shook his head and remained silent, "get ready for the jump" he said he loaded their ID cards, "Scanner William, Scanner Aelita, Scanner Ulrich, Scanner Odd" he said as the scanners closed and they began to spin and rise, "Transfer William, Transfer Aelita, Transfer Ulrich, Transfer Odd" added Jeremie as their ID cards filled up, "Virtualization" he said as they felt the blast of air, their blue squared outlines appeared and gained detail as they dropped to the ground, "The tower is due north" said Jeremie as all three vehicles appeared, "and where's that" asked Odd then Dallas pulled up next to them, "that way" he said as he patted for Aelita to ride with him, she climbed on behind him as the two shot off, Ulrich stepped onto the Over-Bike, and Odd onto the Over-Board, William climbed on behind Ulrich, the three looked at each other "do you think the whole of him is like that" asked Odd, then they all shuddered at the thought before following after him, Jeremie looked at the radar not seeing anything, "strange it's almost as if XANA wants the tower deactivated" he said rubbing his hand.
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The sky had turned orange as the sun was setting, Yumi watched as the group of younglings returned to school with their pillow cases full of candy in hand, she smiled at their innocence not knowing the bigger picture of what was going on in the world, she stepped out of the cafeteria and walked over to them,
"You guys get anything good" she asked, they all smiled as Hiroki was practically dragging his bag, "Yep, we did" he said with a massive smile, "I've rigged up a projector in the Cafeteria to watch some scary movies, do you wanna watch" asked Yumi, they all looked excited but Johnny was ever the sceptic and asked "what films have you got", Yumi smiled and said "just some of the best to offer, Pyscho, Friday the 13th, a Nightmare on elm Street and Blair Witch", the kids smiled as they rushed into the cafeteria, Yumi turned and followed them but something caught her eye, she thought she saw a figure standing at the gates but there was nothing there but some kids walking past with their parents.
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Winter and Cyphers arrived at the Hermitage as the night had begun; the two stepped out of the police car,
"So what exactly are we doing here" asked Cyphers then he noticed Winter standing by the car with a cigarette in his mouth, a chill went down his spine, "I haven't been here in nearly 15 years" he said as he stepped towards the building, Cyphers looked at him as the two walked up to the gate, Dallas hid behind the police car with the Glock 17 in hand, he looked over the car at them, "understand Mr Cyphers what I'm about to tell you is serious information that you can never spread to anyone" said Winter as they passed through the gates, "15 years ago, there was a raid led here to capture one of the last remaining members of project Carthage" said Winter as he and Cyphers walked up to the front door, Dallas moved to the wall next to the gate, "Project Carthage" asked Cyphers, Winter looked down as they entered the building with Dallas rushing across the lawn, "It was a government plan to create a weapon defence system during the cold war, it was called Project Carthage" said Winter as he looked around the abandoned building, Dallas snuck up the house and climbed onto the balcony, "the facility was located in the arctic I was located there as security, me and one of the scientists left for two days to drop off the research notes for that month" said Winter as Cyphers looked at the wrecked building "the scientist was Ralph Couture, when we arrived we found the research station destroyed, we believed everyone dead" said Winter, Cyphers looked at numerous bullet holes that laid in the walls and then the blood stains on the floor, "about 15 years after the loss of Project Carthage we discovered that one of the scientists was still alive, and that Couture was helping him" said Winter, then they heard a thud as the balcony collapsed and Dallas fell throw, "well aint that my shitty luck" said Dallas as he looked at the two "who're you" asked Cyphers then Winter looked at Dallas and grabbed him looking at his face, "it can't be" he said, Dallas was scared that Winter somehow recognized him, "no" said Winter as he let go of Dallas, "the nurse said full beard short hair" he added, then he looked at Dallas "what're you doing here" asked Cyphers, Dallas looked at him, "Exploring abandoned houses" he said quickly, "get out of here" said Winter as he shoved Dallas off, Dallas quickly moved around the house and out of view, Winter checked to see if Dallas was still near but he didn't see him, "I was a part of the raid to find the man who lived here, his name Waldo Schaeffer" said Winter as they went up the stairs looking around, Dallas climbed up the drain pipe and followed "When we arrived we encountered resistance, someone was fighting back, we had guns and about 10 men, they had one, many of those holes were from us missing him" said Winter, Dallas listened in from the window, "what happened" asked Cyphers as he picked up one of the dust covered books "one of the guys was knocked out and has had amnesia ever since, that blood stain you saw was from one that entered by shoulder, we never found Schaeffer nor the gun man, he wasn't shooting to kill, he wasn't even aiming to hit us" said Winter as he sparked another Cigarette, "so what does this have to do with Couture" asked Cyphers as he looked out the window just missing Dallas, "we found Couture but he didn't reveal anything, when he arrested him he mentioned Carthage and how it had been worked on in secret without the governments knowledge, and I wanted to question Couture over some recent events, but he was murdered last night" said Winter as he pounded his fist into the wall "my one lead into finding the bastard who killed 12 good men all of them my friends" said Winter but Cyphers grabbed him by the shoulder "I'm sure you'll get him" he said as the two walked out of the room, Dallas looked up hearing this, "Project Carthage" he asked to himself as he looked up, he dropped down and hid in the bushes as Winter and Cyphers walked out, Dallas scratched his chin noticed that he'd torn his hand open and his endo Skeleton was exposed, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a glove to cover his hand, "I need your help finding the man who killed Couture" said Winter as he threw down a cigarette butt, Cyphers looked at him, "And you think he came here of all places" asked Cyphers, Winter nodded slightly and walked towards the Police Car, "I hope you're wrong, if he killed once he could kill again" said Cyphers as the two drove off, Dallas was about to rush after them but they'd already caught him once, he couldn't risk it again.
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Jeremie looked at the radar and was shaking his head as he couldn't see anything at all, no monsters were there,
"I can't believe this shit, there's no monsters" said Jeremie, William looked up "Jeremie there has to be something" he said as the small convoy moved through a tunnel, suddenly there was a laser blast it just missed them, "WHAT THE FUCK" shouted Odd as they exited followed by a swarm of Hornets, they were opening fire, "Dallas get Aelita out of here, Odd follow them" said Ulrich as he turned with William drawing his sword, Dallas and Odd shot forward with Aelita in tow, "will they be okay" she asked looking back, Odd flew alongside them, "Hopefully those two will try and outdo each other" said Odd, Dallas looked back to see two Hornets had broken off and were flying after them, "Odd" said Aelita as she noticed, Odd turned and fired missing them but it caused them to scatter, Dallas flicked the cap and then the small lever and the Over-Rider shot forward, "Show off" said Odd as he flew after them, whilst back with the main swarm heading in a different Direction William was trying to swat any hornets that got close to them, "The Bastards are moving too fast" he said, Ulrich looked back quickly, "take my sword" he said, William reached into his sheath and grabbed the Katanna, "Jeremie how dangerous is it to use super-smoke" asked William, Ulrich looked back at him, "I don't know it could devirtulize you" said Jeremie, William stood up trying to maintain his balance, "Hold her steady" said William he jumped and shouted "SUPER-SMOKE" suddenly he disappeared in a flash of smog before appearing just as a hornet flew towards him, he swung slicing the creature in half destroying it, some of the other hornets turned and moved towards him as he said "Super-Smoke" again and he disappeared in the smog before reappearing on the back of the Over-Bike, "That should buy us a few seconds" said William, Ulrich smiled as they shot forward.
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"This is god" said a figure as he raised his shirt before slicing his upper torso revealing a load of maggots beneath his skin, Johnny winced at the sight, "oh come on you scaredy cat the body looked fake enough" said Tamiya as she laughed, Johnny looked at her as he was easily scared by it, "shut up" he said as he curled up, the others were just laughing except for Yumi as she just watched the others from behind them, she looked out the window and at her watch, she shook her head because the others should have been back by now, suddenly she noticed someone standing at the gates, suddenly there was a scream from Johnny again, "Jesus Johnny you really are easily scared" said Millie teasing him, Yumi shook her head before looking back outside to see the figure wasn't there anymore, she grabbed her phone and dialled Dallas's number, but it failed almost instantly "of course, he had it when…" she started but then Hiroki screamed throwing his popcorn in the air, "Not Johnny Depp" he said, Yumi laughed at the gruesome image of a blood geyser.
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Dallas was sitting in a bar, he had a small cup of whiskey in front of him and his book which he was writing down the details from what he'd heard Winter saying,
"Project Carthage, that's at least 15 men" he said to himself as he took a gulp of his drink, "Not out trick or treating then" said the bar tender, Dallas had shown a fake idea but still got the comments saying he looked too young, he looked at his watch barely past 6 pm, he rolled his eyes, suddenly the news came on, "this local store was broken into earlier today but bizarrely only one thing was taken, a jumpsuit, found at the scene was hospital clothing suggesting the thief is an escaped patient" said the news reporter as she stood outside, Dallas looked at the store recognising him, "this image has been released by the police and if you have any info please contact them" she added as the image appeared, Dallas looked up when he got a massive shock, the facial structure was identical, the other features not so much, both eyes were blue, the hair was a buzz cut and the beard was full, covering the face and not showing any colour difference as his moustache did, "looks like you a bit" said the bartender as he turned back to Dallas but he'd already rushed out back his bike, "please don't be another sodding X-800" said Dallas as he kicked the stand on his bike and shot off.
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The first film had ended and Yumi had put on the second, Johnny had been mercilessly scared by it and this was still more entertaining to the others than the films,
"Oh come on it's in black and white" said Millie, Hiroki looked at her laughing "what's wrong with that" he asked, Millie folded her arms "Black and white means terrible" she said, the others just laughed at her words, they watched as one of the characters flushed the toilet and started the shower, "NUDITY" said Johnny earning him some dirty looks, Yumi shook her head as she pulled her phone out and went to dial Jermeie's number, on the screen a shadowy figure moved towards the shower curtain, "Yumi" answered Jeremie as he kept an eye on the screen, "what's happening" asked Yumi, Jeremie looked at the screen as Odd was struggling to keep any pace with Dallas and Aelita, "Too slow Odd" said Aelita in a slightly mocking tone, the two Hornets were managing to keep up with them though, their speed was incredible, their wings were almost invisible and they appeared to just float, "They're managing it" said Jeremie, suddenly Dallas noticed a beeping followed by the smoke from the engine of the Over-Rider, "Confucumas" he said, Aelita looked over his shoulder and noticed "Jeremie the Over-Rider is overheating" she said, Dallas slowed down slightly, Odd moved up alongside them, "Aelita" he said as he held out his hand, The Hornets pulled up along the other side of Dallas, Aelita grabbed Odd's Hand and the instant she was on the Over-Board, Dallas slammed the Brakes, he pulled his Sawn-Off and fired the bullet pierced one of the Hornets, he looked as they blurred in the distance, he turned around hearing another roar, "WATCH OUT" Shouted William as he and Ulrich shot past on the Over-Bike, Dallas looked at the Hornets and ran towards cover, he grabbed his Crowbar, he looked over the rock as they shot past, he fired his second shot clipping but destroying another Hornet, "They should be fine" said Jeremie, Yumi smiled in relief, she watched the screen as the shadowed figure pulled back the curtain there was a loud Smash and Yumi felt herself being grabbed, the kids screamed as a figure had punched throw the window and had grabbed Yumi, "YUMI, YUMI WHATS GOING ON" shouted Jeremie but the line went dead, Yumi was trying to get away from what had her, the kids knocked over the projector and screamed, the light shone on the figure, "Oh my god" said Yumi, she took in the appearance, it looked like an angry Dallas with a full beard and short hair "DALLAS" she screamed but there was no response, she noticed a cut bit of skin and the endoskeleton beneath "Shit, shit, shit" she said, suddenly there was a gunshot followed by a pinging noise of a ricochet, followed by another, the X-800 let go of Yumi causing her to fall to the floor before turning around and looking at Dallas Holding his Glock 17, "RUN" shouted Dallas, Yumi stood up grabbing the younglings "come on" she said limping from the fall, Dallas unloaded more bullets into its chest, before firing the final two into its head, back at the factory Jeremie grabbed his mike and yelled "GUYS WE NEED TO HURRY UP", Dallas threw down the G17 and charged the X-800 it swung at Dallas but he ducked and threw a right hook into its torso section, it was knocked back but it threw another one back, the blow caught him in the right eye, the power behind it was more than he'd felt with the Delmas model and it pierced his skin knocking the eye away exposing his endo skeleton, "Son of a bitch" he said as he swung again, but the X-800 was prepared and grabbed him by the neck throwing him against the pillar and rendering him down, it marched towards the dorm building to follow Yumi and the kids, Back on Lyoko Odd and Aelita were getting closer to the tower, "It's in sight Jeremie" said Odd as Aelita looked back and watched the swarm following Ulrich and William, "Better hurry" said Ulrich as he was becoming worried, back in Kadic Yumi limped up the stairs to the second floor with the kids, "Hide in those rooms it's after me" she said, Hiroki grabbed her, "No I'm not leaving you" he said defiantly, Yumi pried herself away "Go" she said, Johnny grabbed Hiroki and dragged him into their room, Yumi rushed into Ulrich's and grabbed his wrist blade, the X-800 was marching up the stairs, Jeremie was getting more nervous second by second, "Get ready Aelita" said Odd, she looked at him as he gulped and turned she was thrown from the Overboard and towards the tower, she sung and a ramp formed allowing her to enter the tower, Odd joined William and Ulrich as they stopped with the swarm moving towards them, "This is where we make our stand boys" sad Ulrich as William handed him his Katanna with Odd looking at him before raising his Arm, The X-800 moved towards the open door and reached forward but Yumi stabbed it in the eye tearing half of its face off before it collapsed to the ground, Yumi walked over towards the door and knocked on it, "I'm okay it's… it's down" said Yumi, the door opened and Hiroki rushed out grabbing Yumi, "Yumi" he said crying, she moved away "go downstairs and get away from here as fast as you can" said Yumi, Hiroki grabbed Yumi's hand "Come on" he said almost unable to speak, "no I need to stay" she said, Millie grabbed Hiroki, "come on" she said, Hiroki gulped and ran with them, they screamed as they rushed out of the building, they passed Dallas not noticing him in the darkness, their screams caused him to awaken, he noticed they hadn't returned to the past he rushed to his bike quickly, Yumi limped along the Corridor, when suddenly with stiff movements the X-800 limped towards her, suddenly it grabbed her, its exposed eye illuminating the darkness, she screamed as it gripped her arms as she tried to wriggle free whilst in the tower Aelita placed her hand on the screen CODE LYOKO typed out following AELITA "Tower deactivated" said Aelita as Ulrich, Odd and William entered the computer room having been either devirtulized or materlized by Jeremie, "now we wait for the all clear from Yumi" said Jeremie, Yumi screamed as the machine froze for a second, but in the instant there was a gun shot, and a massive chunk was blown from the machines arm exposing it's innards, Yumi looked and fell to the floor as it let go and backed into the open room, Yumi looked as Dallas pulled the lever of the 1887 and rushed forward, the X-800 stood there it moved forward but Dallas fired another shot knocking it backwards, he fired again and pulled the lever, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another blowing the machine through the window onto the ground making a thump upon landing, Dallas panted heavily "you… you are Dallas" said Yumi crying, Dallas looked back at her and said "As a matter of fact I am", he walked towards the window looking back at her, before looking out the X-800 was gone, Dallas looked up closing his eye and breathing in, he knew this would happen.
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Authors note
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this throw back to horror movies of olde with some sci-fi elements added in, probably not my best work but I'm proud of it and I've have this one planned for about 2ish years, please review if you liked it.