Wallace and Reeves trudged, guiltily, down the halls of the complex.
They could relax; the monsters didn't reach this area, yet. Soon they would
break through that door and flood the small rooms. They both had a trail of
blood behind them, however Reeves was much thicker. He had taken a lot of
injuries in the chemical storage room. Perhaps the task would be easier if
he had power armor, but it was sacrificed in order to open the door. They
were in the cooling chamber. Spider legs of pipes carrying frozen material,
coolant fluid, and cold CO2 and nitrogen, streamed out from all over. The
parallel room was the heating chamber. It contained many burning ovens,
electrical heating grids, water heating grids, and heat vents and ducts
sprawled about.
At least they would have one problem solved. They could stop the grunts from growing in the chemical vats using the cooling systems. They decided to overheat the place. Reeves manned the destruction and Wallace sat at the door's small window making sure it works. Bam. A shotgun pummeled a frozen pipe. Bam. Bam. Bam. Cold liquid dripped and sprayed all over the room. Reeves poured some cold water in the bullet wound under his right breasts. It stung bad. Another shot and some white gas spilled out of a vent and into the room. The frost and icicles in the room grew bigger. What Wallace saw was completely the opposite.
Huge pipes lining the chemical storage vats exploded with fire. The pipe from which the chemicals poured out of soon turned into a flaming waterfall. Vats started exploding with toxins like hot grease on a gigantic frying pan. The room's green glow quickly turned red. Some walls crumbled from the heat. The soldiers, grunts, undead, and freaks ran around screaming in burning pain. Their chest burst and blackened organs poured out into the vats, only to be burnt again. It was safe to move on.
Next stop, filtration plant. Tons of water and chemicals poured from pipes into huge recycling, filtering, and purifying machines. They were going to have to travel these pipes once again to make it to the heart of the trouble. Ground zero. The slipgates. The only problem was to stop the flow of water into the machines or else they'd be pulled in. The two of them climbed up the short ladder to plan this strategy from overhead, on the hanging metal grated, sub-ceiling.
"Which machine do you think we're gonna have to blow?" Wallace asked.
"Well we can't make a mistake, or we'll end up flooding the place." Reeves warned, "That machine over there has large enough pipes but I'm not sure where it could be heading. The other machine over here we definitely can't fit into but the signs say it's heading to the slipgate-testing field."
"How 'bout that one? Its looks large enough to fit us and it looks like it's going the same direction as those other pipes" Wallace suggested.
Reeves overlooked the machine. "Okay, here goes a lot" He dropped a grenade onto the machine and it ripped open in a horrible mess. Thankfully they avoided it, being suspended by the metal grating but their further inspection proved it still life threatening. The machine they happened to explode was indeed connected to the slipgates but that wasn't a good thing. The grunts must have been teleporting from the slipgates and crawling into these pipes. These pipes which lead into the chemical storage. How did they know they lead to chemical storage? Well the flaming chemicals mixed with severed organs pouring out of the opposite pipe answered that.
"At least we know where those soldiers were coming from? Heh…" Wallace said, with an unsure grin. The room was quickly filling with a supply of water, flaming acid, and dead and living soldiers. They had little time. Reeves ducked out from the grating and tossed another grenade at a random machine. Gears shot out and metal shrapnel floated in the mix. They jumped down and into the pipes quickly, making a small barrier of parts from the machine to hold off the living soldiers. They came to an abrupt stop, only about fifty feet into the pipe. The pipe they were taking was certainly heading to the slipgates but it cut though the dreaded chemical storage room first. Fiery debris and charred corpses lay in their path. They'd have to get rid of it all but chemicals dripped from the ceiling into the pipe like green fireballs. They would have to go back into the heating chamber and make sure this hell froze over.
At least they would have one problem solved. They could stop the grunts from growing in the chemical vats using the cooling systems. They decided to overheat the place. Reeves manned the destruction and Wallace sat at the door's small window making sure it works. Bam. A shotgun pummeled a frozen pipe. Bam. Bam. Bam. Cold liquid dripped and sprayed all over the room. Reeves poured some cold water in the bullet wound under his right breasts. It stung bad. Another shot and some white gas spilled out of a vent and into the room. The frost and icicles in the room grew bigger. What Wallace saw was completely the opposite.
Huge pipes lining the chemical storage vats exploded with fire. The pipe from which the chemicals poured out of soon turned into a flaming waterfall. Vats started exploding with toxins like hot grease on a gigantic frying pan. The room's green glow quickly turned red. Some walls crumbled from the heat. The soldiers, grunts, undead, and freaks ran around screaming in burning pain. Their chest burst and blackened organs poured out into the vats, only to be burnt again. It was safe to move on.
Next stop, filtration plant. Tons of water and chemicals poured from pipes into huge recycling, filtering, and purifying machines. They were going to have to travel these pipes once again to make it to the heart of the trouble. Ground zero. The slipgates. The only problem was to stop the flow of water into the machines or else they'd be pulled in. The two of them climbed up the short ladder to plan this strategy from overhead, on the hanging metal grated, sub-ceiling.
"Which machine do you think we're gonna have to blow?" Wallace asked.
"Well we can't make a mistake, or we'll end up flooding the place." Reeves warned, "That machine over there has large enough pipes but I'm not sure where it could be heading. The other machine over here we definitely can't fit into but the signs say it's heading to the slipgate-testing field."
"How 'bout that one? Its looks large enough to fit us and it looks like it's going the same direction as those other pipes" Wallace suggested.
Reeves overlooked the machine. "Okay, here goes a lot" He dropped a grenade onto the machine and it ripped open in a horrible mess. Thankfully they avoided it, being suspended by the metal grating but their further inspection proved it still life threatening. The machine they happened to explode was indeed connected to the slipgates but that wasn't a good thing. The grunts must have been teleporting from the slipgates and crawling into these pipes. These pipes which lead into the chemical storage. How did they know they lead to chemical storage? Well the flaming chemicals mixed with severed organs pouring out of the opposite pipe answered that.
"At least we know where those soldiers were coming from? Heh…" Wallace said, with an unsure grin. The room was quickly filling with a supply of water, flaming acid, and dead and living soldiers. They had little time. Reeves ducked out from the grating and tossed another grenade at a random machine. Gears shot out and metal shrapnel floated in the mix. They jumped down and into the pipes quickly, making a small barrier of parts from the machine to hold off the living soldiers. They came to an abrupt stop, only about fifty feet into the pipe. The pipe they were taking was certainly heading to the slipgates but it cut though the dreaded chemical storage room first. Fiery debris and charred corpses lay in their path. They'd have to get rid of it all but chemicals dripped from the ceiling into the pipe like green fireballs. They would have to go back into the heating chamber and make sure this hell froze over.