City of the Dead
The waste disposal room was about the size of a large coliseum. A grand display of mildly bizarre architecture located at least a hundred feet below the surface of the facility. It was in this chamber that Blair watched all their problems and failures vanish into a pool of yellow-6, an acid that ultimately, made things disappear. It was also where Blair kept an eye on all of Gaines as well as their own facilities, within the chamber was the whole security system for the laboratory, walls of surveillance monitors could access just about any area of Gaines. Sitting at the desk was once a gifted scientist who had been slowly losing his sanity ever since he started working for Blair.
"Damn little bastard...and Markenson too, where the hell are they?" Piers growled, feeling a small trickle of blood flowing down his chin.
The muscles in his right arm twitched frantically. The very feeling enraged him further. Markenson had somehow gotten into the augmentation device, and now it seemed as if-
-As if his body was one of the few with the design to handle the Augmentation process.
Piers grinded his teeth together, feeling the enamel scrape away from the force. The side effects of the augmentation were clearly showing, meaning he only had a certain amount of time left, and he wanted to destroy them all before this time ran out. He searched the security monitors for any sign of Markenson, Judgment, or Nathan. As he speedily typed at the keyboard, different areas of the factory flashed by. The main laboratory...nothing, The offices...nothing, the boilers...nothing, processing room...nothing, until...
"WHAT!!" Piers screamed, he couldn't believe his eyes.
The monitor displayed one of the hallways near the Office B area, and within the hall, stood the others, mocking him with their own stubborn survival. They had somehow made it out of the testing grounds, meaning that they had destroyed the Nemesis and his other creations. Piers felt his blood boil, every single attempt he had made at destroying them was only in vain, they had always come out alive and virtually intact.
"I'll take care of them myself" Piers whispered, loading a fresh clip into his handgun.
He jumped up from his chair when he thought of something. Glancing down at the gun in his hand, he was suddenly reminded of his augmentation. He had un-imaginable powers and he was still carrying a weak pistol.
Useless scrap metal, I'll take care of them myself.
Piers smiled and tossed his handgun over the railing and into the acid disposal pool. As he watched it sizzle and dissolve, he became slightly aggravated by the facility's layout. For some reason, the geniuses who built it, thought that placing the security post in the waste disposal area was a good idea. Piers hated the smell of Yellow-6, that strong scent of alcohol and paint always gave him a headache.
He quickly erased the pointless thoughts from his mind and made his way over the metal catwalks that hugged the walls, just above him was what the other employees called "The Dump". Aptly named because it is the dump where all waste of the factory is stored before entering the yellow-6 treatment.
"The dump."
Piers thought of it as hell, where everything discarded and soiled was sent to be disposed of, everything from simple waste to broken machines, failed experiments, or people that had managed to cross Blair in the past. It was definitely no place a person should be.
Piers laughed silently to himself, the thought of dumping the bodies of Nathan, the others, and Markenson was sadistically amusing.
You'll get your chance soon enough
He felt another twitch in his right arm, then it slowly slid up and down his side. He smiled once again, feeling the power surge through him. The augmentation was powerful indeed, and Piers couldn't wait to test his newfound strength.
He stepped out of the acid disposal room and into the darker hallways, hell bent on destroying everyone, even if he had to destroy himself while doing so.
David led the way into the core of the factory, John and Ryan following close behind. Jarred looked all around him, the area was unlike anything he had ever seen. A bizarre pattern of steel pipes and metal grating catwalks hung over huge machines that were full of boiling chemicals. So many bridges intersecting and went to and from at least a hundred doorways in the vicinity.
"What the hell is this place?" Ryan asked.
"I told you, this is the processing rooms, this is where all of Blair's ingredients for it's products are condensed, basically this place will lead you to any point in the factory." David said, remembering when the room used to be full of cleaner troops, workers, and scientists, all in constant motion, each resembling worker bees, all busy at work for the greater evil that is Blair.
The clanging of their footsteps were almost smothered by the sizzling chemicals coming from below. Vanessa stared towards the bottom, they had to be at least sixty feet above the floor.
"What you don't know is, this factory extends deep underground, the top floors are mainly offices and a few assembly lines, right now we're at least a hundred feet under the earth's soil, the main laboratory is down even further" David said. "Think of it as an Ice berg, the size of the top may seem large, but it is only the tip, the real mass lies just beneath, beyond visibility, unseen."
"Well I guess you gotta hand it to them, they sure did fool a lot of people" Dwayne said, his eyes scanning the gigantic processing plant that spanned as far as the eyes could see.
"Yeah, but not anymore" David replied with a softer tone.
He looked at Alex who was walking slowly behind him, she wasn't a person of many words but he had a definite connection with her. She had cared for him, despite his obvious involvement with the company.
"You okay back there?" He called out to Alex.
She looked at him, seemingly surprised that he said something to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine, what about you?" She asked.
"I'll be a lot better once we're out of here" He replied with sincerity.
"Yeah, me too" She whispered.
David gave her a little smile and turned back around, walking forward on the catwalks, when the sound of someone else's voice rang out over the monstrous chamber.
"Why if it isn't the little children."
Everyone looked over the railing to see someone standing on another catwalk below them. They all knew instantly who it was.
"Piers!!!" Dwayne yelled.
David held his pistol over the hand-railing and fired multiple times, each shot narrowly missing the psychotic scientist.
"You fools know nothing, I'm not going to let you leave" Piers yelled back, his high shrilly voice hinting towards his growing mental instability.
"FUCK YOU!!!" Dwayne screamed, firing his 9mm. Several shots hit the bridge, the liquids below, and a few even hit Piers, but with no effect. "What the hell?" Dwayne thought to himself.
"Like I said, you know nothing, you are nothing, imbeciles who don't even deserve to look upon the power that I have acquired" Piers' words sending a chill over everyone standing on the bridge. "And like I said, I'm not letting you leave" Piers yelled.
With a quick flash, everyone watched him zip towards a large beam with inhuman speed. David was suddenly rushed with adrenaline and fear when he realized what Piers was going to do.
"RUN!!!" David yelled, sprinting down the catwalk towards the other side. Piers was going to knock down the very bridge they were on, sending them all to a horrific painful death in the chemicals below.
Everyone ran as fast as they could when the catwalk suddenly shook violently, sending Alex down onto the hard metal grating, David scooped her up and dragged her along as she regained her balance. Then with another violent rumble, the cables attaching the catwalks to the ceiling suddenly snapped, leaving only a few supports, one more hit and they would be dead.
"Move your asses" Jared yelled.
The other side was in sight, and not too far. Dwayne was the first to make it off the bridge, then Vanessa and Jarred.
CRASH!!!!
The catwalk supports snapped like twigs and in turn, the metal walkway began to fall. Ryan leapt towards the balcony as the ground from under him fell out. Dwayne grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him up.
"NOOOOOO" Vanessa yelled as she watched Winsor, Alex, David, and John fall along with the bridge. The metal bridge plummeted towards the chemicals below. David quickly spotted the other catwalk beneath him.
"JUMP" He yelled to everyone.
With a push off of the falling bridge, David clung to the safety railing of the standing scaffold, dangling ten feet above the surface. The large piece of metal that had once served as a bridge splashed into the liquids just under him, he felt a couple of drops hit his leg, burning a small hole in his pants. He was in some serious pain, the impact of his chest on the rail had ignited the old fiery pain of his bullet wounds. He looked over to see Winsor, John, and Alex, all hanging on the edge of the catwalk as well.
"GUYS, LOOK OUT!!!" screamed Vanessa from atop the railing.
John looked to his immediate right to see a demented Piers slowly walking towards them all.
Oh Fuck.
John brought his leg up trying to climb atop the catwalk. As Piers got closer, John could make out the horrifying sadistic grin that was upon his face. There was something else about him, something even more terrifying. His muscles were twitching.
As the madman walked even closer, a sudden shockwave fell over the whole facility, followed by a shrieking grind that must have been coming from the liquids under them. Piers struggled to keep his balance. David climbed over the guard rail and went to help Alex up, as he pulled her to safety, he noticed that Winsor and John had climbed over it as well, both of them face to face with the demented Piers. Suddenly, a huge explosion erupted from beneath them, engulfing the area with fire and dangerous chemicals. David led everyone away off the catwalk and out of the processing plant, into one of the factory's identical hallways. screeching alarms and crackling fire screamed behind them. As the plant shook, a huge air filter fell from the ceiling, knocking down the bridge with it, Piers was now separated from them, lucky, very lucky.
"Go, go on" David said to Winsor, Alex, and John.
"But David.." Alex began to say.
John latched onto her arm and pulled her along with him.
"Not now sister, god, why do I feel like the one that always breaks up these tender moments?" John said.
David watched them disappear around the corner and returned his eyes to the burning plant, standing among a shattered bridge was Piers.
"You can't run forever Sunderland, if I don't get you, then Judgment sure as hell will" Piers screamed.
David couldn't help but feel a little frightened by his words, he knew that Piers was the type to release some deadly Bio weapon that couldn't be stopped, in fact, he was about a hundred percent sure that it was now stalking around the facility. If so, then they were now in a gigantic maze, whatever the creature is, he knew that if they stayed in the factory too long, they would eventually have to deal with it.
He watched the sparks fly from the room, almost signaling another tremor from the malfunctioned machinery below. Piers started laughing crazily, his high chuckles resembling that of an over-excited child. David turned and ran down the hallway and away from the madman.
The other four survivors looked on below from the processing room, watching Piers virtually disappear. The area had been engulfed with fire, and they could barely see for the smoke.
"Holy shit, do you think they're alright" Asked a concerned Dwayne.
"Yeah, I think they'll be fine, we'll have to meet up with them along the way, they have David with them, he'll guide them all around the factory, they'll be safe" Jarred said.
"Um, Jarred, one question" Vanessa said.
"What is it?" He replied.
"What about us?" She asked.
She was right, they had no idea where they were in the factory, or no idea where the main laboratory was from there, the only reason they made it that far was because David acted as a guide. And now they were stuck to wander around a large factory aimlessly, with two madmen on the prowl.
"Good thing I found the elevator" Nathan said to himself as he pushed the button for the second floor. This way, he could travel floor to floor safely without having to run around the facility, locating stairwells. Whoever designed the building was either a total genius or an absolute whacko.
And considering the Blair Corporation, it would make perfect sense.
Stairways were all separated from each other, and so where the elevators, all the obvious spots you'd think things would be at, were somewhere completely different. The whole place looked like a psychopathic, heretic architect from the nineteenth century built a modern-day factory for an evil company. All he knew was that once he found the power system for the emergency elevator, he could find everyone else and then get the hell out of there.
The elevator doors slid by, revealing another metallic tinted hallway, the same as he had seen going through the entire factory. The same stench of chemicals and death, but so far, the halls were friendly. He still had no idea where the Judgment was, and didn't want to know, he hoped that neither he nor the others would run into that monster.
Nathan carefully stepped down the hallway, nothing but silence and the buzzing of overhead lights. He had gotten off on the second floor, and knew that all the floors in the complex revolved around the processing area, which was practically the core of the place, everything mechanical was there, and he was guessing, that was where he would find the power supply station.
Keep in mind Nath, the processing area is dangerous, full of chemicals, and highly unstable.
He let out a sigh and continued to walk. Even though the processing room was risky, he knew that it held all the keys to their survival and escape. He picked up his pace down the hall, from where he was now, he didn't know where he'd come out in the processing room, but he knew that he had to find it...
"Well, do you know where we are?" Asked John, wiping the sweat form his forehead.
David didn't respond for a second, his thoughts so encompassing, John's words seemed muted.
"HEY!!!" John yelled.
"What? What is it?" David asked.
"Do you know where the hell we are?" Asked a more frustrated John.
David looked at their surroundings, they were all standing in a greenish hallway, signs of algae forming on the walls with rusted pipes wrapping around the un-clean walls.
"We're near the waste management and treatment area" David responded.
Alex looked all around her, the halls were winding and dark.
"Its also where the main security and surveillance post is, we can check the monitors for any sign of the others" David responded.
"Alright then, let's go" John said.
David took lead, everyone following close behind. Alex stuck close to him, the dizzying smell of alcohol causing a slight pain in the temples of her head. The ground was a hard slick concrete, wet with either water or some cleaning chemical, all in all, it reminded her of the tunnels under Warren High, minus the stagnated water. A few turns to the right and to the left, the hallways were too dark to notice what direction you were going in, all that was remotely visible was the faint lighting along the ceiling.
After a few minutes of walking, they came to a mechanical door marked "Treatment level 3"
"This is the disposal, keep your guard up, who the hell knows what could be in there" David said cocking his handgun.
He grabbed the door latch and with a short whir, it opened. John walked through and was startled at what he saw. He had stepped out onto a catwalk facing a monstrous circular pit. Looking down, he saw that it housed a yellowish chemical.
The bridge clung to the grayish walls, turning right and left and intersecting back to some kind of work area on the other side.
John gripped the hand rail and looked into the acidic liquid. He felt a wave of hot air hit him in the face as the pool below churned and boiled.
"Wow" He whispered.
"Capable of disintegrating matter and breaking it down into nothing" David said, joining him by the railing. "See that up there?" David pointed to the ceiling above the well.
John focused his attention towards the ceiling, it was about twenty feet high, and had a series of gears and compartments detailing its surface.
"Just above the disposal here is the dumping grounds, there are a series of chutes connecting all the way from the area's facilities, Blair dumps all the garbage there, chemicals, failed experiments...People" David said.
John glanced over to David who was staring mindlessly into the steaming chemical, below. His mind obviously somewhere else other than there. He could only imagine what thoughts were swirling in David's mind, he was the only one of the group who truly knew what Blair was capable of, what dangers this facility held within.
Winsor and Alex both walked down the scaffolding that clung to the left wall. Winsor wanted to check out that work area. Just ahead was a giant control console mounted to the wall, at least four leather seats sat at the edge. The wall in front of it appeared to be nothing but security monitors, each one flashing nothing but static. The area was full of wires and cables that hung down by the flashing screens, it all had a very dark tone to it, kind of like the cockpit of an alien mother ship in some modern day sci-fi flick. It gave off an eerie feeling, one that even Winsor could feel.
What the hell is this place?
She sat down in one of the chairs and studied the keyboard. It was stained with blood, but appeared to be in working order. She bit her lower lip and scanned the computer screen in front of her. A window popped up on the blue screen with a list of commands.
/FCLY LOC = "DISPOSAL" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "PROCESS" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "TESTING" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "LAB" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "LAB 1" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "LAB 2" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "LAB 3" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "OFFICE A" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "OFFICE B" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "OFFICE C" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "ASSM. LINE" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "C. FIELD" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "GRNDS" CMMD ="OFF"
/FCLY LOC = "EVAC" CMMD ="OFF"
Winsor thought for a second about the commands and choices. It looked like the options controlled the security monitors, whoever was there last, had obviously forgotten to close the program. Winsor highlighted the first option.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked, looking over Winsor's shoulder, her child-like features glowing in the green light emitting from the computer screen.
"I'm trying to turn the surveillance cameras back on" Winsor responded, not taking her eyes off the screen.
She finally found what she was looking for.
RESTORE /FCLY LOC = "DISPOSAL"?
Winsor clicked yes and just above her, one of the monitors displayed an image. It looked like the camera was positioned above the entrance to the room they were in, John and David could be seen still standing there. There was also an option to view other areas of the disposal plant, there were about six other cameras well within the room. Blair sure did know how to keep track on things. Winsor clicked them all and watched the monitor change, showing different angles of the disposal.
"We can find everyone else with this" Winsor said. She began restoring all the other monitors, still a bit surprised as to why she cared so much about the others. She couldn't hide the fact that she was hoping to find Nathan alive on one of those monitors.
"Hey, you've got the monitors working" Came David's voice from behind her chair, startling her. "How'd you do it?"
"Well, it isn't really doing it, if someone didn't leave the commands running, I couldn't be doing anything" She replied.
All four of the survivors stood at the foot of the massive wall of monitors, watching as each picture changed to different areas of the factory. Some places familiar, some unseen.
"Hey, wait a minute, look" John said, spotting something on one of them.
Winsor took notice of the screen and enlarged it to cover all monitors, there must have been about thirty of them, for one gigantic image.
The camera was in an "Office B" hallway. Winsor clicked the commands to change angles and she nearly shouted with joy as to what she saw, it was Nathan, casually walking up the hallway. She couldn't help but smile, he was alive. She had to get to him.
"How can we get there?" She asked excitedly.
John looked at her with an expression of surprise.
"Well, since the bridge from the processing area is out, the only way out of here would be...through the dump" David sighed.
"What's the dump?" Alex asked.
"The dumping area is connected to many garbage shoots around this whole facility, from the testing grounds to the main laboratory, once something, uh, or someone is trashed, it all goes to the dumping area where it awaits the chemical treatment, I have no idea what the hell could be up there, a lot of crazy things happened when the outbreak occurred...But I'd be prepared for anything" David explained. "The elevator is right over there" He added, nodding his head towards the right of the console board.
"Okay, but how do we get out of the treatment area from there?" John asked, folding his arms and leaning against the controls.
"There is another elevator in there that will take you up to the disposal command, and from there, you can regain access to the main factory" He said.
"So is the dump inoperable?" Winsor asked from her chair.
"Well, I do know that before the outbreak occurred, it was manually set for twice a day, but I don't know now" David responded.
"Well come on, lets get going" Winsor said impatiently.
Everyone gave each other a little non-verbal agreement and silently walked over to the elevator. The metallic rusting elevator doors appeared to be covered with some kind of slime that Winsor could only guess was a condensation from the decomposing acid behind them. She placed her hand on the lever and moved it down. A loud rusty grind signaled that the elevator was on its way down, and the group waited anxiously by the double doors.
"You guys, I've got a bad feeling about this" John said with a noticeable hint of fear in his trembling voice.
"Yeah, with everything that's happened, this isn't really the first place I'd want to be" David agreed.
"I don't know, something doesn't feel right about this at all" John reiterated..
"Well, uh, forgive me for being cynical, but..." Winsor started to say but was interrupted by John.
"You? Cynical? No..." John cracked.
Winsor was going to say something about how they haven't been exactly running around with chipper feelings all week, (or however long it was that they've been there) but his retorting sarcasm aggravated her to much to finish her sentence.
With a larger clamor, the elevator doors slid open, squeaking as they trembled apart from one another.
"Whatever, just fucking get on the lift" Winsor sneered.
Winsor, Alex, David, and John boarded the elevator, feeling the floor give in a bit as they stepped onto what felt like thin sheet metal.
"No, seriously, was there something you were going to say Winsor?" John sarcastically asked.
Winsor scowled at John, who found it all quite funny.
"Ouch, that hurts" John said, pushing the switch for the next floor.
The doors boisterously closed and the same grinding of gears sounded them off as the lift ascended into the dumping grounds...
The jolting of the corroded motor caused the rickety elevator to come to a stop, and the doors opened slowly. Winsor stepped out and into a small stained hallway. Her footprints splashed in puddles of something she didn't really want to know about. The filthy hallway turned to the left just a few feet ahead of her. A horrible feeling swelled deep within her stomach as the odor of decay and rotting meat clogged her sinuses. She clutched her handgun tightly, holding it directly in front of her, ready for anything that might jump out from around the corner. The cautious footsteps of the others trailed on behind her.
Winsor took a deep breath and held it in.
Here we go.
She quickly turned the corner. What laid before her was something she couldn't have prepared herself for. A warehouse sized room with steel, filthy walls that housed a garbage heap of corpses and other unspeakable sights. The buzzing of flies set the most disturbing atmosphere for the most grotesque place she's seen yet.
She didn't want to breathe, not knowing what she could contract from the fowl contaminated air.
"Jesus Christ" John exclaimed, staring at the mass of death around him.
Winsor didn't even notice the others standing closely behind her.
David quietly walked out from behind her, unscathed by the obvious collection of death that surrounded them.
"See that?" David pointed up towards the ceiling.
Everyone looked up to see a triangle of connected bridges that rose at least seventy feet above them. The shadow of a large industrial sized fan circled the whole dump.
"That'll take us back to the main lab, now lets try to get out of here quickly...The smell is terrible" David said with his usual cold tone.
Winsor stepped out onto the solid metal floor, trying her best to somehow turn off her brain, trying to kill off the thoughts that accompanied a nauseating sight like the one before her.
As they walked through and around the twisted heap of repugnance, John stared at everything as he walked by. Just to his left, laying on a blood-stained piece of metal was the remains of a hunter, half its head and arm missing. About a foot to the dead hunter's right was a mutilated man in a lab coat. His entrails lay scattered among a pool of dried blood, and his own lap. He sat propped up by the pile of dead bodies and creatures, his remaining eye still open, staring right in John's direction.
He shuddered, taking his eyes away from the dead scientist, even though the room was full of similar imagery. On the other side was a slew of dead Cleaner troops, each of them had blood stains around their heads, obvious bullet wounds.
CRASH
"What the hell?" She screamed, turning to face the noise.
Two corpses had fallen off one of the trash piles and tumbled to the ground, their mangled and broken bodies making a wet thud on the floor. Everyone stared at them for a while, just waiting for them to arise to their feet...but they never did.
"Stupid shit" Winsor closed her eyes and sighed, the whole area gave her strange vibes and she was really jumpy, she turned back around and continued walking.
Then, another similar noise.
Winsor started trembling, she turned around again, this time to see the pile of corpses and waste pulse and shift.
"What's going on?" She asked out loud, staring at the moving pile.
"What the hell is that?" John yelled, running back to her side.
Suddenly, a figure arose from the mess, pieces of broken metal and torn articles of clothing falling from it's misshapen body, Winsor saw a series of bullet wounds all over it and wondered what it -
-Oh my god, It isn't dead...
From the heap of mangled bodies and creatures, stood the Nemesis. It's body severely mutated, several pieces of scrap metal and other materials were impaled through its skin, it barely even resembled the creature they had come to familiarize themselves with.
"Won't that goddamn thing die?" Alex screamed.
"It isn't meant to die, that's its design, its meant to seek and destroy, no matter what damage is done to itself, there isn't any stopping it" David clenched his teeth, feeling his seething hatred for Piers consume him.
The Nemesis took one step, the weight of it's torso forcing it to bend down as it walked, it's upper torso resembled an odd insect. A dozen of what looked like, beady black eyes pulsated from a huge mandible dripping with saliva.
The distorted Nemesis took another step towards them, letting out a series of low hissing growls.
"No, not this time" John yelled, pulling out his shotgun and unloading round after round into the monster.
Purple and red fluids emitted from the creature as its flesh was cut and torn from the shotgun blasts. It quickly made its way towards John. Winsor fired the handgun, round after round into the infected clump that now must have been the monster's head. Small splats of blood poured from the minor wounds, it wasn't enough. David fired the desert eagle at the monster, watching the powerful .50 rounds tear fluids from the creature's body.
The monster let out a high-pitched wail and then struck John in the stomach with it's left arm.
"JOHN!!!!" Alex yelled, taking her aim off of the creature as John went flying backwards into a garbage pile.
John was hurt badly, the nemesis packed a deadly punch.
"Ughhhh" He mumbled, clutching his left side. He knew he had at least two broken ribs and if he was lucky, only a dislocated shoulder, but he got back up to continue the fight. his hands trembling and his eyes tearing up from the trauma, he started firing again, each shot just knocking the monster back a few more feet.
The Nemesis leaned backwards and wailed towards the ceiling, signaling another attack. David felt the recoil of each blast as he fired into the beast, it quickly sprinted towards John once again.
"FUCK YOU!!!" John yelled squeezing the trigger and pumping the shotgun rapidly.
The monster swept down a tentacle and gripped John with its tight grasp, lifting him into the air. The pain was unbearable, he was on the verge of passing out when the creature threw him backwards. He landed on the metal ground, his face splashing down in a pool of a foul tasting liquid. He was too damaged to move, he bravely began to accept the inevitable. Winsor, David, and Alex's assault was doing no good against the malformed monster, each shot was as ineffective as the first. Then suddenly, a siren rang out over the room, followed by an automated female's voice
"Proceeding with Bio waste decomposition, please evacuate the garbage area"
The message repeated itself, and the alarms began to wail.
"We need to get out of here or else we're going for a little swim" David yelled.
Winsor bravely ran past the Nemesis and over to John.
"Are you okay?" Winsor asked.
"G-Get out of here" John replied, blood trickling down his chin.
"What? No, we can't leave you behind" She said, a look of concern on her face.
"Heh, heh, w-wow, that's surprising to hear...c-coming from you" He struggled to say. "Don't w-worry, its alright, just get out of here, I'll distract the thing so y-you guys can leave...I'm not going anywhere" John said.
Winsor's stomach seemed to jump up into her throat with John's words, her nerves causing her to shake.
"But...No, you've made it this far" Winsor said.
"E-ever since I met up with everyone, I just w-w-wanted to help, and now I can, y-you can get out of here, you can get out and start over, but you can't if you don't leave now" John said, tears running down his cheeks.
"No..." Winsor whispered.
Then John's sense of hopelessness faded into a smile.
"D-don't worry, a-a-at least I'll take that mother fucker with me" John raised up, grabbing his shotgun again.
"Go, get out now" John said.
"I'm sorry John, I'm sorry I treated you the way I have, I...I don't..." Winsor tried to say something.
"Don't worry about it Samantha, everything is okay, just get out of here, tell everyone I said goodbye and tell them all to lead wonderful lives...so this won't be in vain" John said, his words actually having an impact on Winsor.
"Goodbye John...Thank you, I'll never forget you" Winsor said taking one last look at her courageous friend.
"Catch ya on the flipside" John said wittily. "HEY, STUPID!!!!" He yelled towards the Nemesis. He stumbled up behind it and started firing, distracting it from David, Winsor, and Alex. Winsor ran by them and towards the elevator on the other side, hearing shotgun blasts and obscenities being yelled behind her.
"What about John?" Alex asked as they ran to the end of the dump.
Winsor didn't say a word, and neither did David, he knew what was going on, he knew that John wasn't coming back, and surprising enough to him, he was actually upset about it. John had been there from the beginning, and David always thought that he'd be there till the end.
They got to the elevator on the other side and all stepped inside, watching John bravely fight a battle that was about to be lost by both contestants. The doors slid by, cutting off their view of their friend John, it would be the last time they would ever see him again.
"COME ON" John yelled as the sirens grew even louder.
The monster knocked over piles of broken machines and waste, stomping towards John, delivering a few more hits from it's powerful fists.
"Is that all you've got, pussy?" John laughed, despite the chronic pain.
He aimed towards the large jaw of the creature and fired inside, watching red blood ooze from the throat of the beast. "Biological waste decomposition process to begin in...5...4...3...2..1"
With the end of the transmission, a tremor shook the metal floor, and the two sides of the floor slowly began to drop out from under the room, the hills of bodies tilting and falling towards the center.
The monster struggled to stand, moving it's colossal insect like head around, almost seeming like it was confused as to what was happening, John liked to think that.
"YOU LOSE SHIT HEAD" John screamed towards the Nemesis as the ground dropped out, sending everything in the room, him, and the Nemesis into the depths of the decomposition pool underneath them. John laughed out loud as he fell, proud that he had a part in finally killing the Nemesis and avenging some of the deaths that it and all of Blair had been accountable for, and then, in an instant, it was all over. Everything hit the surface of the yellow-6 and a large wave of gray steam erupted into the air above the rippling pool, after the contents dissolved, the yellow-6 rippled peacefully, the sirens silenced, the gunshots and screams no longer ringing out, just that old eerie sound of machines and churning...
The scenery gradually changed from rusted steel and steam to hallways with a more sterile white tint. Jarred led the way down the unknown corridors, luckily they had found the main research facility, now all they had to do was find Nathan.
The hallways were stacked with boxes all displaying the Blair insignia, their signature purple D. N. A. strain with the words Blair written directly below it.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Dwayne asked out of curiosity.
"Where Piers might have Nathan and then when we find him, we make sure Piers and Markenson die slow horrible deaths, and then we head out of here" Jarred said.
"Sounds good with me, I owe that bastard a thing or two anyways" Dwayne said, his ribs still aching from his confrontation with Piers.
"Wait, did you just hear that?" Vanessa whispered, shutting everyone up.
"What is it?" Jarred asked.
Vanessa stood in silence, when everyone began hearing the noise too. Ahead of them, the hall intersected in a T-shape, and somewhere around one of those corners, footsteps could be heard getting closer and closer. Jarred and Dwayne both gripped their guns tightly, Ryan aimed his assault rifle towards the end of the hall as well. The noise persisted and all of a sudden, a gigantic hulk came around the corner. It turned and faced them, its features resembling a statue, and it was standing as still as one.
The creature's shape resembled a human, but it's flesh looked like stone, two muscular arms sprouted from its broad shoulders, and a blank stare sat upon its hairless head. It looked like a statue of some mythological deity. It stood perfectly still, its cold soulless gaze focusing on the four teenagers that stood before it.
"What is that?" Ryan asked.
"I don't fucking know, but I don't think its looking to make friends" Dwayne said aiming his pistol at the towering creature.
He fired off about four rounds, each one not even making a scratch on the motionless beast. Ryan, Jarred, and Vanessa both joined in, the four teens unleashed a barrage of firepower. The creature stood as still as ever, small sparks flying off it's body as each bullet seemed to bounce off of it.
Everyone stopped shooting, their adrenaline and fear began to engulf them but they kept as still as the creature before them, paralyzed by their fear. Then, it took one step forward and the ground seemed to shake.
"We've got to get out of here" Jarred said, taking a few steps back.
The godlike demon took another monstrous step.
Dwayne saw a doorway just up ahead to the left...a few feet in front of the creature.
"Get to that door before it gets any closer, come on, now" Dwayne said running for the door. As he reached the doorway, he was face to face with the monster, up close he could see how towering it really was, standing at least eight feet tall, Dwayne felt his body go limp as he jumped through the doorway and into the room. Jarred, Vanessa, and Ryan took off running towards the door as the creature stepped forward again. Jarred and Vanessa ran as fast as they could, keeping their eyes on the hulk the whole time. It slowly raised it's arm into the air as Ryan ran by, then he felt the ground launch him into the air and into the room as the statue like beast leveled half the wall and the floor. A heap of broken concrete and dust flew from the walls.
"Holy fuck, what is that thing?" Ryan said as he scrambled to his feet.
The four stood inside the small lab, it looked like it was an examination room, but it wasn't big enough to give them the safety they oh so desired at the moment. The creature outside stepped into the room with them, its dark gray silhouette shone through the floating dust. Jarred frantically tried to come up with a plan when he saw a huge vial containing a green liquid, on one of the tables. He had no idea what it was, but it was the only thing he could think of. He jumped forward to the table, took hold of the vial, and with one swift move, chucked it towards the monster. The glass shattered against the creature's head and sent the green substance splattering all over it's upper body, it instantly recoiled as white smoke arose from where it was wounded.
Everyone saw their chance and ran past the monster and through the door they came in, as Dwayne ran, his arm grazed the monster, the touch was almost electrical, sending a huge shiver through him, the monster felt as hard as a rock. Dwayne dove out of the room and down the hall the monster was once guarding, Vanessa and Ryan following. Jarred still stood in the room with the creature, watching as the smoke faded away, revealing multiple burns on it's face and abdomen. His body noticeably shaking, he lunged at the doorway as the monster took another swing, this time its arm crushing one of the tables in the room. The sound of cracking wood and snapping metal made Jarred scream out several obscenities as he ran, with each step, he thought about how that table could have been him. He landed in the crater the monster just created in the hallway, his legs frantically shoving him forward as far away from the thing as he could get. Once he was running and down the hall, his heart slowed to a more normal pace and he met up with everyone else.
"What the hell was that?" Vanessa asked, breathing heavily.
"I have no idea, but whatever it is, its something we're not really well equipped to handle right now" Ryan responded.
"Right now? Fuck that, I'm getting as far away from that as possible" Dwayne said.
A series of tremors indicated that the monster was back on the prowl.
"Lets go" Dwayne said running further down one of the corridors, everyone following suite.
The four sped down the hallways, twisting and turning down the maze of storage rooms, offices, and small laboratories.
"An elevator" Vanessa pointed out up ahead.
CRAASHHHHH
A huge clamor sounded and with that came a huge set of constant quakes. The group picked up their speed and ran faster towards the elevator doors. Vanessa hit the switch and luck was truly on their side, the doors opened and they all stepped in, pushing the door close button. As the metallic doors began to slide by, they saw a huge gray blur turn the corner up ahead and charge towards them.
"JESUS CHRIST!!!!" Ryan yelled, rapidly pushing the door close switch.
The monster charged towards the elevator at a rapid speed. The doors closed but it was too late, it was already on the other side. The elevator shook violently as a massive dent formed in the doors. The lift kicked into motion, but another blow split the doors and violently shook the elevator.
"SUNUVABITCH!!!" Ryan yelled.
As the elevator started its descent down, they could tell something was wrong, a loud scraping sounded outside of the lift and the whole thing shook.
"Shit" Jarred said looking at everyone in the elevator, they all seemed to know what was fixing to happen.
SNAP
The elevator cable had snapped, sending Jarred, Vanessa, Ryan, and Dwayne hurtling towards the bottom of the shaft.
In an instant the elevator connected with the bottom of the shaft and sent the four survivors to the ground. Once the vibrations stopped, everyone was on the ground, and in serious amounts of pain.
"Good god..." Vanessa whimpered, tightly gripping her head.
Jarred didn't seem to be hurt at all, he climbed to his feet and ran over to Vanessa.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Heh, what do you think, the elevator just fucking fell..." Vanessa said as she noticed him standing, very much un-scathed by another one of their brushes with death. The thought of his...super skeleton whatever thing had crossed her mind and she forced a lighter tone.
"I don't know, I kind of messed up my head" She said softly.
"Ugh...ow...No Vanessa, your head was messed up long before that happened" Ryan said, lying on his back with his eyes closed, the tone in his voice not even a humorous one.
Jarred couldn't help but snicker, and instead of smacking him, Vanessa laughed with them, after all, they had just escaped death for the millionth time so far.
"Well, we better get out of here before that monster finds his way back down here" Jarred said, staring up at the gapping hole in the elevator ceiling.
Ryan laid face down, his nose touching the cold steel of the elevator floor, he didn't want to get up, he just wanted to lie there until all the pain went away, but Jarred was right, that thing was far more dangerous than the Nemesis, it had an uncanny and horrific strength that could easily tear them all to shreds. Ryan pushed his body up with his hands and forced himself to stand up. Dwayne crawled up from the ground and Vanessa stood back up.
"Well, how do we get out of here?" Dwayne asked staring up towards the hole in the ceiling.
"Well, we climb the walls and try to get in through one of the doors up there" Ryan pointed.
"God, I don't want to climb" Dwayne groaned.
"Shut up and give me a boost" Vanessa said, walking over towards Dwayne, he lifted her up towards the ceiling and she crawled onto the top of the demolished elevator...