Chapter 11: Fatal mission
Everything happened in a blur. Razor tried to make sense of how it all happened, but knew that this wasn't the time to do so. Strings of bullets pelted against the ceiling as the android laughed hysterically firing seemingly without end. The clattering of the empty shells spilling onto the platform that supported the laser gun. Just as the stalactites above the cave started cracking as a sure sign of giving way, he ran into the tunnel, gunning the roof of the tunnel down behind him.
"Cave in! Everyone get the hell out of here!" T-bone barked to anyone who could hear him as he waved his hands to clear the dust around him to find the way out.
As T-bone and Razor bolted for the tunnel they had entered in, they saw shadows heading for it too, although they were not sure if it was one or two. Large spikes drove into the ground right in front of T-bone, causing him to swerve and lose balance. He felt a sharp pain shoot up from his right leg and grimaced with pain knowing he'll probably be buried alive if he couldn't get up. All of a sudden, Razor's hand snaked out from under a cover of smoke, gripped T-bone's failing arms and jerked him up again almost pulling his arm out of his socket. After T-bone regained his balance, Razor led his limping partner towards the tunnel.
Upon reaching the safety of the tunnel, T-bone collapsed on a huge boulder nursing the deep cut in his leg. Razor found an exhausted Felina gasping for breath on the floor a couple of meters in. Caked blood shimmered on her black hair as she turned and tossed her head from the pain. Alarmed to find only Felina, Razor glanced back and realised that there was no sign of Hacker.
"Hacker!" Razor yelled worriedly as he turned surveying the result of the cave-in. Dust had already begun to settle, but the stacks of new rock were making it hard to locate a single kat. It's like looking for a pin in a haystack! Razor realised with defeat. It would be useless even if he ran in blindly for she could be anywhere. A split-second later, a thought struck him. Turning to Felina he demanded where she had last seen Hacker. Since Hacker rescued Felina, it was only rational that she was the last to see Hacker.
With a dazed look, Felina supplied Razor with incoherent answers, gasping for breath between each sentence. After what seemed like hours as precious minutes flew by, Razor began to piece together the puzzle. Picking up what jagged information he had heard, he realised that Hacker would have insisted on disabling the laser gun, which he had just discovered was set on a timer, even if it meant risking her life to save Megakat City.
Just as Razor was about to leave the tunnel for the laser gun, when all of a sudden a sound of a machine charging up was abruptly silenced by an explosion. For a while Razor was eased by the fact that the control panel had exploded and that the city was safe; however, that feeling did not last long as he remembered that Hacker was somewhere in that blazing hell. Startled, he watched as flames quickly burst to life, consuming everything that was combustible. Beads of sweat trickled down the sides of Razor's face as heat radiated all around the cave. Fumes and smoke quickly covered the gun and everything around it as yet another explosion went off.
"We gotta get out..." grunted T-bone, limping towards the Thunder Truck.
Razor glanced into the blazing fire, flames licking the air. It was now or never, when the fire was still growing. He glanced back hesitantly at T-bone and then at Felina. They were going to be fine even without his help, they could make it back to the surface. Turning his back to them, he jogged back into the cave.
"NO!" T-bone's voice echoed the sides of the cave. "Razor!"
Razor hoped his partner would understand what he had to do. Razor had not understood the pain T-bone had felt when Felina was lost, but now he felt it. The pain struck straight to the centre of his heart, but as long as he was here, he would not lose hope of finding her. He didn't want to know what it felt like when all hope slipped through his fingers; he never wanted to know.
Keeping his mind solely on looking for Hacker, he made his way back to where he had last seen the laser gun. Pushing past fiery debris, ignoring the pain and his scorching fur, he heard a faint moan. At first he thought it was the cackling of the fire, so he called for her. Straining his ears, he heard a muffling cry for help under a pile of metal plates. With relief, he lifted the metal plates and in his excitement, he had forgotten that by now all metal would be burning hot. Seconds later, his brain registered the pain as he yelped and released the scorching metal, tossing it away from where he had heard the buried feline. Quickly slipping on his gloves he began uncovering the heap of discarded equipment. And then, in the midst of wires, he spotted a blackened auburn hand. Razor choked on tears and smoke as he stripped the layers of melting plastics and circuitry.
Dropping to his knees, ignoring the intensive heat around him, he cradled Hacker's head close to his chest, close to his heart. Tears gleamed off his cheek and fell to Hacker's face. The semi-conscious feline twitched as drops of water fell onto her closed eyes. She felt strong arms lift her and carry her out of the wreckage. Hacker knew she was safe now as she slid into comforting darkness but she didn't know if she would be able to make it out alive. She didn't know if they would make it out alive.
She seemed to float forever in the darkness. A fog had descended around her; she could feel the chill deep down to the core of her bones. A light, like none other, seemed to pierce through the fog like normal sunlight on clear days. It beckoned her to follow. Squinting at the light, she tried to find the source of it. There was none. She stood undecided; the voice in her mind told her to go but something was pulling her back too - something that she could not put her finger on.
Razor emerged from the smoke filled tunnels with Hacker in his arms, much to T-bone's relief. Razor dropped to his knees gasping for breath but all the while he still had the strength to hold the unconscious feline.
"The paramedics are on their way, buddy," T-bone said assuredly, pulling out a med-kit from the Thunder Truck, which he had managed to drive out as he and Felina were too exhausted to climb out of the underground tunnels. T-bone was so relieved to see his partners that he did not want to know how Razor had made it out alive.
Quickly, T-bone prepared the stretcher and glanced at Razor giving him the signal to place Hacker on it. Instead he found his partner lost in a reverie.
"Razor, right now would be as good a time as any," T-bone said indicating to the stretcher and the readied medical equipment.
It took a couple of minutes, but with extra care, T-bone managed to pry Hacker lose from Razor's protective arms, without disturbing his partner's grievance. Promptly, the dusty brown kat worked fast to revive Hacker knowing that every second now was more precious to lose than all the gold in the world. Razor dropped to his knees, helplessly beside his fallen love, gripping her hand tightly with both of his. As T-bone performed CPR, all Razor could do was pray for any sign of movement - any sign of life.
She didn't know how long she had been at that spot deciding whether or not to move ahead or return - but return to where? It was frustrating - this not knowing of things, this not knowing of anything - and yet it seemed as if she knew everything. She took a step closer to the light; she had decided that since she did not know where to return to, she might as well move forward. But as soon as she placed her foot down again, she had this strange sensation rip through her, as if her heart had been stolen. She felt the pain seethe through her mind - her heart - and she shook her head hoping to get rid of it.
Suddenly, the room's temperature dropped ten folds and she shivered uncontrollably. No! A voice cried from far away, a voice filled with untold love and compassion. She stopped in her tracks and turned around toward the darkness, the voice was so strong it compelled her to follow it to its source.
"She isn't dead!" Razor cried, shoving T-bone over.
"She hasn't got a pulse, bud," T-bone said in defence.
Razor had already leapt over Hacker's limp body. He pumped her chest furiously five times then leaned over and gave her mouth-to-mouth. But Hacker remained unresponsive, no matter how hard, or how long, he tried. Sirens sounded in the distance, signalling the arrival of the paramedics.
"Quick, get Hacker back to the Turbojet!" T-bone commanded.
"Why?" asked Razor tearfully. "Shouldn't we let the paramedics...?"
"Razor, it's no use," T-bone said softly. "She's gone. And if you have any sense left in your head, you'll listen to me: put her in the Turbokat. We're gonna take her home."
Razor cradled Hacker's body close to his heart again and settled to the ground with no intention to move her anywhere.
"Look Razor, we either hand her over to the medics and let them send her to the morgue or we bring her home and give her the farewell she deserves," T-bone said comfortingly. Frustrated at having to deal with a kat, who would not listen, T-bone exploded. "Would you put yourself into her shoes, Razor?! She has no family - no one who cared for her in the beginning. You want her to be remembered as a nobody?"
That was all it took for Razor to react. "I love her T-bone. I've never felt this way before and I damn well may never feel it again. And it's because of who we are that killed her...I killed her."
"You're wrong, buddy," T-bone said kneeling to face Razor. "Don't you remember that it was because of who we are that brought her to you?"
Razor took a deep breath and wiped the tears that had all of a sudden came. "Let's take her home." Halfway to the Turbokat, Razor stopped and glanced at T-bone. "Thanks, buddy...for getting me through. But aren't you forgetting about Felina?"
"She'll understand," T-bone replied confidently. "Besides, I didn't want to stick around to meet Feral."
With that, the Swat Kats solemnly made their way home.
Everything happened in a blur. Razor tried to make sense of how it all happened, but knew that this wasn't the time to do so. Strings of bullets pelted against the ceiling as the android laughed hysterically firing seemingly without end. The clattering of the empty shells spilling onto the platform that supported the laser gun. Just as the stalactites above the cave started cracking as a sure sign of giving way, he ran into the tunnel, gunning the roof of the tunnel down behind him.
"Cave in! Everyone get the hell out of here!" T-bone barked to anyone who could hear him as he waved his hands to clear the dust around him to find the way out.
As T-bone and Razor bolted for the tunnel they had entered in, they saw shadows heading for it too, although they were not sure if it was one or two. Large spikes drove into the ground right in front of T-bone, causing him to swerve and lose balance. He felt a sharp pain shoot up from his right leg and grimaced with pain knowing he'll probably be buried alive if he couldn't get up. All of a sudden, Razor's hand snaked out from under a cover of smoke, gripped T-bone's failing arms and jerked him up again almost pulling his arm out of his socket. After T-bone regained his balance, Razor led his limping partner towards the tunnel.
Upon reaching the safety of the tunnel, T-bone collapsed on a huge boulder nursing the deep cut in his leg. Razor found an exhausted Felina gasping for breath on the floor a couple of meters in. Caked blood shimmered on her black hair as she turned and tossed her head from the pain. Alarmed to find only Felina, Razor glanced back and realised that there was no sign of Hacker.
"Hacker!" Razor yelled worriedly as he turned surveying the result of the cave-in. Dust had already begun to settle, but the stacks of new rock were making it hard to locate a single kat. It's like looking for a pin in a haystack! Razor realised with defeat. It would be useless even if he ran in blindly for she could be anywhere. A split-second later, a thought struck him. Turning to Felina he demanded where she had last seen Hacker. Since Hacker rescued Felina, it was only rational that she was the last to see Hacker.
With a dazed look, Felina supplied Razor with incoherent answers, gasping for breath between each sentence. After what seemed like hours as precious minutes flew by, Razor began to piece together the puzzle. Picking up what jagged information he had heard, he realised that Hacker would have insisted on disabling the laser gun, which he had just discovered was set on a timer, even if it meant risking her life to save Megakat City.
Just as Razor was about to leave the tunnel for the laser gun, when all of a sudden a sound of a machine charging up was abruptly silenced by an explosion. For a while Razor was eased by the fact that the control panel had exploded and that the city was safe; however, that feeling did not last long as he remembered that Hacker was somewhere in that blazing hell. Startled, he watched as flames quickly burst to life, consuming everything that was combustible. Beads of sweat trickled down the sides of Razor's face as heat radiated all around the cave. Fumes and smoke quickly covered the gun and everything around it as yet another explosion went off.
"We gotta get out..." grunted T-bone, limping towards the Thunder Truck.
Razor glanced into the blazing fire, flames licking the air. It was now or never, when the fire was still growing. He glanced back hesitantly at T-bone and then at Felina. They were going to be fine even without his help, they could make it back to the surface. Turning his back to them, he jogged back into the cave.
"NO!" T-bone's voice echoed the sides of the cave. "Razor!"
Razor hoped his partner would understand what he had to do. Razor had not understood the pain T-bone had felt when Felina was lost, but now he felt it. The pain struck straight to the centre of his heart, but as long as he was here, he would not lose hope of finding her. He didn't want to know what it felt like when all hope slipped through his fingers; he never wanted to know.
Keeping his mind solely on looking for Hacker, he made his way back to where he had last seen the laser gun. Pushing past fiery debris, ignoring the pain and his scorching fur, he heard a faint moan. At first he thought it was the cackling of the fire, so he called for her. Straining his ears, he heard a muffling cry for help under a pile of metal plates. With relief, he lifted the metal plates and in his excitement, he had forgotten that by now all metal would be burning hot. Seconds later, his brain registered the pain as he yelped and released the scorching metal, tossing it away from where he had heard the buried feline. Quickly slipping on his gloves he began uncovering the heap of discarded equipment. And then, in the midst of wires, he spotted a blackened auburn hand. Razor choked on tears and smoke as he stripped the layers of melting plastics and circuitry.
Dropping to his knees, ignoring the intensive heat around him, he cradled Hacker's head close to his chest, close to his heart. Tears gleamed off his cheek and fell to Hacker's face. The semi-conscious feline twitched as drops of water fell onto her closed eyes. She felt strong arms lift her and carry her out of the wreckage. Hacker knew she was safe now as she slid into comforting darkness but she didn't know if she would be able to make it out alive. She didn't know if they would make it out alive.
She seemed to float forever in the darkness. A fog had descended around her; she could feel the chill deep down to the core of her bones. A light, like none other, seemed to pierce through the fog like normal sunlight on clear days. It beckoned her to follow. Squinting at the light, she tried to find the source of it. There was none. She stood undecided; the voice in her mind told her to go but something was pulling her back too - something that she could not put her finger on.
Razor emerged from the smoke filled tunnels with Hacker in his arms, much to T-bone's relief. Razor dropped to his knees gasping for breath but all the while he still had the strength to hold the unconscious feline.
"The paramedics are on their way, buddy," T-bone said assuredly, pulling out a med-kit from the Thunder Truck, which he had managed to drive out as he and Felina were too exhausted to climb out of the underground tunnels. T-bone was so relieved to see his partners that he did not want to know how Razor had made it out alive.
Quickly, T-bone prepared the stretcher and glanced at Razor giving him the signal to place Hacker on it. Instead he found his partner lost in a reverie.
"Razor, right now would be as good a time as any," T-bone said indicating to the stretcher and the readied medical equipment.
It took a couple of minutes, but with extra care, T-bone managed to pry Hacker lose from Razor's protective arms, without disturbing his partner's grievance. Promptly, the dusty brown kat worked fast to revive Hacker knowing that every second now was more precious to lose than all the gold in the world. Razor dropped to his knees, helplessly beside his fallen love, gripping her hand tightly with both of his. As T-bone performed CPR, all Razor could do was pray for any sign of movement - any sign of life.
She didn't know how long she had been at that spot deciding whether or not to move ahead or return - but return to where? It was frustrating - this not knowing of things, this not knowing of anything - and yet it seemed as if she knew everything. She took a step closer to the light; she had decided that since she did not know where to return to, she might as well move forward. But as soon as she placed her foot down again, she had this strange sensation rip through her, as if her heart had been stolen. She felt the pain seethe through her mind - her heart - and she shook her head hoping to get rid of it.
Suddenly, the room's temperature dropped ten folds and she shivered uncontrollably. No! A voice cried from far away, a voice filled with untold love and compassion. She stopped in her tracks and turned around toward the darkness, the voice was so strong it compelled her to follow it to its source.
"She isn't dead!" Razor cried, shoving T-bone over.
"She hasn't got a pulse, bud," T-bone said in defence.
Razor had already leapt over Hacker's limp body. He pumped her chest furiously five times then leaned over and gave her mouth-to-mouth. But Hacker remained unresponsive, no matter how hard, or how long, he tried. Sirens sounded in the distance, signalling the arrival of the paramedics.
"Quick, get Hacker back to the Turbojet!" T-bone commanded.
"Why?" asked Razor tearfully. "Shouldn't we let the paramedics...?"
"Razor, it's no use," T-bone said softly. "She's gone. And if you have any sense left in your head, you'll listen to me: put her in the Turbokat. We're gonna take her home."
Razor cradled Hacker's body close to his heart again and settled to the ground with no intention to move her anywhere.
"Look Razor, we either hand her over to the medics and let them send her to the morgue or we bring her home and give her the farewell she deserves," T-bone said comfortingly. Frustrated at having to deal with a kat, who would not listen, T-bone exploded. "Would you put yourself into her shoes, Razor?! She has no family - no one who cared for her in the beginning. You want her to be remembered as a nobody?"
That was all it took for Razor to react. "I love her T-bone. I've never felt this way before and I damn well may never feel it again. And it's because of who we are that killed her...I killed her."
"You're wrong, buddy," T-bone said kneeling to face Razor. "Don't you remember that it was because of who we are that brought her to you?"
Razor took a deep breath and wiped the tears that had all of a sudden came. "Let's take her home." Halfway to the Turbokat, Razor stopped and glanced at T-bone. "Thanks, buddy...for getting me through. But aren't you forgetting about Felina?"
"She'll understand," T-bone replied confidently. "Besides, I didn't want to stick around to meet Feral."
With that, the Swat Kats solemnly made their way home.