A/N: Welcome readers and reviewers! No real excuses for the delays. OT
at work, illness, Holidays, the usual excuses, especially around this time
of year. I've been away from the computer for a while. Haven't read,
wrote, or reviewed in almost a month. (Maybe longer?!) GAH! And sorry,
but the next few monthes promise the same, erratic computer use, spotty
updates and reviews and such. (J. Random Lurker. Eh, I owe you some
reviews. A lot actually. Maran Zelde, I owe you some also. Actually, I
have sooo much reading and reviewing to do, sooo very much..Um, yeah,
anyway:...) No worries though, I will not abandon my stories. Eventually
everything will come to an end. I anticipate only two or three more
chapters on this particular tale. ^-^
Acknowledgements: Thank you and thank you again my dear readers and reviewers. May you find continual enjoyment in this tale. And reviewers, your words bring such warm and fuzzy feelings. ^-^ I luvs yas alls. Thank you Raven, only time will tell. Raina, I hope this continues to be original. Original is good. DibMagician. Thanks! You make me smile. J.Random Lurker. Yay! Fresh juicy fruit is good. So very good. Maran Zelde, I hope you find this chapter just as intriguing. Zukinn Chan, creepy absorbency? Never really thought of it that way. Glad you like it. Invader Mel, By Tallest I hope you continue to find this odd tale neat. What can I say, YOU GUYS ROCK!
WARNING: Okay, a minor boost on the violence. The gore won't be too graphic, some blood, broken bones (actually, there weren't any broken bones in this particular chapter), even death, (but the death is insinuated rather than shown in detail). I still think it falls into the Rated PG -13 but if I'm wrong. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I now know exactly where this story wants to go and how it is going to get there. Scary, eh?
YAY! WE"RE DOOMED!
Disclaimer: Invader Zim and such do not belong to me.
Hope you enjoy!
*****
Chapter Three: Noon
I have never thought of myself as a coward, but the fear I feel runs deep. Abduction attempts are a lose-lose situation. If we are caught, my would- be liberators are killed and I'm punished. If we aren't.I have no idea what will be in store for me.
'This will not be a lose-lose situation. Not if I can escape both groups.'
This becomes my mantra, as I fight to quell my fear, as I fight to remain optimistic.
I will continually vie for freedom at any cost, freedom for my children, freedom for myself.
This FFT has provided me an opportunity to achieve this goal and I am almost confident that these people will succeed in liberating me from my current captors.
Almost.
Just as I am pretty sure that if I can escape this building, I can escape my liberators.
I will finally be able to take my children far from here and live in freedom.
My children!
My family!
Free!
FOREVER!
I jump as a siren cuts through the sounds of the explosion, cutting through my thoughts.
Instinctively, my hands reach up to protect my ears.
The annoying wailing sound causes my fear to reach new heights. Shaking my already unstable faith in my would-be rescuers chances.
*****
Neb, Nik, Jes and my guard are standing by the door gesturing wild. Curious as to what they are saying, I shakily make my way towards them.
I jump a second time as a hand touches my arm. Embarrassed by my own cowardly reaction I turn my head to see who it is.
It's Kabe.
"Put this on." Kabe yells at me through his mask as he shoves a large red sweater at me.
I recognize it as one of the test sweaters that came in last week. He is wearing a similar test sweater and has several more sweaters slung over his arm.
I nod and take the sweater from him then watch as he moves away from me, towards the others. I pull the rather roomy sweater over my head as he begins to hand the sweaters to the others. The sweater slips over the mask with some hesitation, but once it is settled over the uniform, I find its weight is comforting. This done, I join the others at the door.
As I watch the others pull their sweaters over their heads, I can't help but wonder how they were able to keep these sweaters without my captors knowing. Test items were turned in on a nightly basis. Everything is always accounted for.
Check and recheck.
Count and recount.
Just more evidence of my captors' obsessive paranoia.
Whoever these TFF were, they planned their liberations in depth. Again I begin to feel that they might just pull this off.
For the second time in so many minutes, a hand touches my arm. This time I don't embarrass myself by jumping again. It is Jes. She tugs my arm, demanding my attention.
"Come with Step and I." She yells at me, nodding towards the guard. "I'll lead you."
My guard's name is Step?! Having never heard his real name I always wondered what it was, but I never dreamed it would be something like that. I look at the guard standing near the door. He just doesn't look like a Step.
Jes drags me towards the waiting group as Step opens the door to the hallway.
A plume of white smoke billows in.
Remembering Neb's warning I push the mask as close to my face as I can. Even through my protective lenses my eyes water and sting. Blinking helps a little, forcing tears to fall from my eyes and line the bottom of my lenses. To my luck, the anti-fog mechanism in my goggles still functions.
Neb, Nik and Kabe are the first out the door, turning left, we follow immediately after them, turning to the right. Step grabs Jes's hand takes the lead. Jes squeezes my arm for a moment as she starts to follow Step, dragging me with her.
*****
The smoke in the hallway is blinding.
I look behind me, searching for Neb, Nik, and Kabe, but they are nowhere to be seen, hidden in the ghostly swirls of smoke. I can't say this surprises me, as it is, I can barely make out the outline of my guard as he leads us down the hallway in the opposite direction.
Despite my best attempts, I am not sure where they are taking me, the smoke makes any identifiable landmarks blurred and unreadable. And since I didn't count the steps when we left, I am totally at a loss. Totally at the mercy of their lead.
Again I repeat my mantra: 'This will not be a lose-lose situation. Not if I can escape both groups.'
'And I will.' I say this to myself, only half convinced.
My children. I remind myself, anything for my children.
There is no way I will give up, not when it means I will see them. Actually physically be with them. They are my world, my reason for existence.
I don't know them, not like I would like to. It is hard to know them when I only see them thru the video link in my double's goggles, but I love my children without a doubt. And I would die for them without a moment's hesitation.
If it meant they would never be forced to live this mockery of an existence, I would slit my own throat right here and now. I would stop their torment before it begins.
*****
Another explosion rocks the building, cutting through my thoughts, and I instinctively duck. This time it sounds as though it is right behind us. Jes squeezes my arm again, tugging harshly in a gesture to make me hurry. I comply without hesitation and soon, much to my surprise, find myself shuffled into a stairwell.
I didn't even know there were stairwells here. I certainly have never seen one.
Jes releases my arm and points towards Step. He has already started his ascent. I quickly follow him, with Jes close behind me.
The smoke is not as heavy here, giving my poor eyes time to wash the sting away. I glance around the barren stairwell as I climb. A security camera meets us at each turn, mounted high in the corners. At first I am concerned. Waiting for someone to burst through the doors and impede our escape. Yet as we continue upward and nothing happens, my fear slowly subsides. A little.
Step's lack of concern for the security cameras helps ease my fear, but does not vanquish it. I know he knows they are there. I've seen his head glance towards them periodically. He just doesn't seem to care. The FFT must have somehow disabled them.
*****
I try to drown out my fears by entertaining myself with thoughts of freedom, of seeing my children in person, rather than some video link thru my double's goggles. I daydream of becoming part of my children's' lives. Of being the father I long to be.
My son, Dib, with his handsome big head and his insatiable appetite for the paranormal.
I love to listen to him talk about Zim. I love to listen to him talk about anything. He is intelligent, insightful, interesting.
Unlike that joke of a father figure, my double, I listen to my son. I hear what he has to say.
I cannot wait to actually talk with him, to hold a real conversation with him. I will tell him how proud I was of him. I will tell him paranormal is a legitimate science. It is merely as quantum physics was before it became accepted into the scientific community. I will tell him to follow his dreams, no matter where they take him. I will tell him I believe in him.
And my daughter.
Gaz.
With her beautiful purple hair, and the lovely honey eyes I seldom really see anymore.
She is nearly always lost in the cybernetic depths of a hand held Gameslave when they let me see her, so far removed from the real world.
I will show Gaz the joys of real life. Show her that while cyberspace is fun, the real world can be just as captivating. I will teach her how to live.
***** I am not blind to my children's needs as that fraud is.
Gaz loves that joke of a father they've given her.
I see it in her eyes when he pays the least bit of attention to her.
And Dib? I've seen enough to know how he longs for his father's acceptance, if not his approval.
I hate that imposter.
He lives MY life.
Ignores MY children.
Dooming them to a childhood no one should have.
No child deserves my childhood.
No child should be without a loving, responsible parent.
Especially not MY children.
I've lived my children's lives. I grew up not knowing my real father. Merely some sick substitute they provided me with.
Neglectful.
Arrogant,
Manipulative.
That was how I knew my father.
My fake one.
I met my real dad two days after they harvested me. I was introduced to him in the casual evil fashon of my captors.
He looked as if someone had beaten him within an inch of his life. They probably had.
The instant I saw him, he was an enigma.
I didn't know who he was at first, but instinctively I knew he was someone important to my life. It was as though he was the last piece of the puzzle known as my life, the one piece that would solve the mysteries in my life and cause everything to make sense.
When they said he was my father, it fit. The puzzle was complete. Well perhaps not complete, but at least the answer to some of my more pressing questions. His introduction, however, opened a plethora of questions I may never find answers to.
Who am I?
Who are our captives?
Why were we subjected to such a miserable life?
And the list goes on.
I worked beside my father for two days.
I asked my father these questions. I don't think he knew the answers. If he did, he took them to the grave.
At first I resented my father, as undoubtedly my children will resent me.
When he thought they couldn't hear, he would whisper to me about how much he loved me. How much he cared.
Yet my captors countered his claims of affection, continually feeding me lies, and in my depraved, influential state, I believed them.
My father told me they stole me from him.
My captors told me he abandoned me. Left me to fend for myself. My famous 'fake' father adopted me out of the kindness of his heart.
Yeah. His cold unfeeling heart.
My biological father told me he tried to see me but they prevented him from doing so.
My captors told me when they asked if my biological father wanted to see me, he would say no.
*****
A side ache is growing at an alarming rate, braking me from my daydreams and forcing me into the here and now. Taking deep breaths to try and dull the pain, I steadily follow Step.
Heh.
Follow step.
Step climbing steps.
I smile. I cannot help but do so. I've always liked humour.
Take it where you can find it!
For a moment my mood is lightened, but it doesn't last long.
I fall into another daydream, this one darker than the last.
Revenge.
Visions of destruction infest my mind.
Mass destruction at a grand scale.
Until neither my captors or this prison are left standing.
I cannot think of my captors without enmity.
I long to destroy this nightmare existence and all it holds.
To destroy the WWITS.
To destroy the cage they keep me in.
So they can never enslave me again.
Most importantly, so they can NEVER touch my children.
Sick anticipation floods my very soul and I cannot help but to smile.
Someday I will free us from this retched fate.
Perhaps someday very soon.
I can wait.
I have no choice.
*****
I am not sure how much time has passed. We tread steadily upward; the sound of the siren drowning out the sound of our footfalls. My breath is ragged through the mask and I wish I can take it off. I dare not though. Despite the thinning smoke, neither Step nor Jes have taken theirs off. They still don't trust the air, so I shouldn't either.
As we climb, the side ache steadily grows, reaching a point of where it distracts me from my daydreams and threatening to bring me to my knees. With my restricted lifestyle, I am not in the best of shape and by my count; we have already climbed ten floors. If not for the continuous prodding of Jes, I would have stopped long ago. I am thankful, however, that this trip has been uneventful so far. I can only hope it continues to be so.
*****
It is around the 37B Stairwell that I collapse, landing hard on my hands and knees. I stay there for a moment, trying to catch my breath. Stars dance around the corners of my eyes, threatening a blackout.
I feel a hand touch my shoulder.
Embarrassed, I turn around and sit on a stair.
Jes is kneeling beside me and though I cannot see her face behind the goggles and the mask, I can tell she is concerned. My heart flutters at the though of someone being so concerned for me. It is almost frightening. I hold up both hands in apology, showing her that I am fine. Internally I am chastising myself for being so weak. Jes barely seems winded as she studies me.
She glances past me, up at Step. I turn and watch as she quickly climbs the stairs to where Step continues to climb. He is unaware of my pathetic collapse. Jes grabs Steps arm, stopping him. She points towards me and he nods. He heads down to where I sit, still gasping for air. He watches me for a moment, allowing me to gain some composure before offering his hand. Reluctantly I take it. I am still in pain, still winded, but I feel a little better from the rest.
I flinch involuntarily as Step hooks his arm around me, supporting my weight. After a moments hesitation I wrap my arm around his broad back. I am still to weak to protest such needed support.
We begin to climb again.
*****
By the 23B stairwell, I gain my second wind, relishing the endorphins as they start to work their wonder on my throbbing side.
I free myself from Steps support. He glances at me questioningly but I give him thumbs up, showing that I am okay. He watches me for a moment more before nodding then starts up the stairs again. I follow close behind.
We barely make it to the 22B stairwell when the alarm stopped.
Collectively we stopped at the sudden lack of sound, a sense of uneasiness filling the stairwell.
Without warning Step turns around and grabs my shoulder.
"Down." He yells, pointing down the flight of stairs we had just climbed. "They're coming. They know we're here."
He barely finishes the words before the sound of footsteps reach my ears.
Without hesitation I turn and follow Jes to the 23B landing. Step pushes past us and opens the secured door. After a quick glance into the hallway he pushes Jes and I through.
As I stumble through the doorway I hear a volley of gunfire. I turn to see Step slam the door shut and punch several keys on the security pad. One hand is holding the left side of his face, over his ear. Immediately I notice the blood trickling down his neck, staining his brown sweater black.
He has been shot, and from the amount of blood spilling, it looks serious.
Instinctively I go to him, my thoughts on how to stop the bleeding.
To my surprise he grabs my arm and turns me around. Forcefully he pulls me towards where Jes is. Jes takes my arm as he releases his grip.
Within seconds a gun is in his hand. He hands it to Jes who takes it in her free hand.
"Take the professor to shaft 23B East. It has been secured as a backup. It is more dangerous, but should take you to ground level." As he speaks he pulls a second gun from one of his hidden pockets.
He glances at the door we had just came thought. "I will be with you shortly."
Jes nods at him before pulling me quickly down the hallway.
As Jes begins to pull me around a corner I glance back at Step. He is bleeding at an alarming rate.
I wince as he shoots the doors keypad. No one will be going though that door any time soon.
Seconds before I round the corner, Step turns and looks at me, his solemn expression providing no solace in this time of turmoil.
I get the feeling that this will be the last time I ever see him.
Another explosion rings in my ears.
This one was close.
In the hallway where we just were, in the hallway where Step was.
I hate when my premonitions are correct.
*****
I can hear commotion and yelling voices flooding into the hallway we just left and my fear grows almost to the point of where it nearly incapacitates me. If not for Jes dragging me behind her, I would have froze in place, letting them come. She urges me along with a strong silent grip, forcing us to run from the sounds behind us.
The sounds in the hallway behind us fade as we speed along, twisting and turning through the labyrinth towards a destination only Jes seems to know.
Even so, my optimism is hard pressed.
Step's death forces me to face the reality of the situation.
We are in the belly of the beast. Two nearly defenseless people against countless armed WWITS Personnel romping in their own playground. How could we possibly make it to freedom?
We take several more turns as I feed my growing pessimism.
The end is near.
We will be captured.
Jes will die.
I might very well die today.
Yeah, if I'm lucky.
Heh!
Always the optimist.
No.
I shake my head, trying to clear it of such negativity.
We will not fail.
We cannot fail for the sake of my children.
Yet I cannot escape my growing doubts.
Especially as the sound of footsteps make their rapid approach.
*****
Acknowledgements: Thank you and thank you again my dear readers and reviewers. May you find continual enjoyment in this tale. And reviewers, your words bring such warm and fuzzy feelings. ^-^ I luvs yas alls. Thank you Raven, only time will tell. Raina, I hope this continues to be original. Original is good. DibMagician. Thanks! You make me smile. J.Random Lurker. Yay! Fresh juicy fruit is good. So very good. Maran Zelde, I hope you find this chapter just as intriguing. Zukinn Chan, creepy absorbency? Never really thought of it that way. Glad you like it. Invader Mel, By Tallest I hope you continue to find this odd tale neat. What can I say, YOU GUYS ROCK!
WARNING: Okay, a minor boost on the violence. The gore won't be too graphic, some blood, broken bones (actually, there weren't any broken bones in this particular chapter), even death, (but the death is insinuated rather than shown in detail). I still think it falls into the Rated PG -13 but if I'm wrong. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I now know exactly where this story wants to go and how it is going to get there. Scary, eh?
YAY! WE"RE DOOMED!
Disclaimer: Invader Zim and such do not belong to me.
Hope you enjoy!
*****
Chapter Three: Noon
I have never thought of myself as a coward, but the fear I feel runs deep. Abduction attempts are a lose-lose situation. If we are caught, my would- be liberators are killed and I'm punished. If we aren't.I have no idea what will be in store for me.
'This will not be a lose-lose situation. Not if I can escape both groups.'
This becomes my mantra, as I fight to quell my fear, as I fight to remain optimistic.
I will continually vie for freedom at any cost, freedom for my children, freedom for myself.
This FFT has provided me an opportunity to achieve this goal and I am almost confident that these people will succeed in liberating me from my current captors.
Almost.
Just as I am pretty sure that if I can escape this building, I can escape my liberators.
I will finally be able to take my children far from here and live in freedom.
My children!
My family!
Free!
FOREVER!
I jump as a siren cuts through the sounds of the explosion, cutting through my thoughts.
Instinctively, my hands reach up to protect my ears.
The annoying wailing sound causes my fear to reach new heights. Shaking my already unstable faith in my would-be rescuers chances.
*****
Neb, Nik, Jes and my guard are standing by the door gesturing wild. Curious as to what they are saying, I shakily make my way towards them.
I jump a second time as a hand touches my arm. Embarrassed by my own cowardly reaction I turn my head to see who it is.
It's Kabe.
"Put this on." Kabe yells at me through his mask as he shoves a large red sweater at me.
I recognize it as one of the test sweaters that came in last week. He is wearing a similar test sweater and has several more sweaters slung over his arm.
I nod and take the sweater from him then watch as he moves away from me, towards the others. I pull the rather roomy sweater over my head as he begins to hand the sweaters to the others. The sweater slips over the mask with some hesitation, but once it is settled over the uniform, I find its weight is comforting. This done, I join the others at the door.
As I watch the others pull their sweaters over their heads, I can't help but wonder how they were able to keep these sweaters without my captors knowing. Test items were turned in on a nightly basis. Everything is always accounted for.
Check and recheck.
Count and recount.
Just more evidence of my captors' obsessive paranoia.
Whoever these TFF were, they planned their liberations in depth. Again I begin to feel that they might just pull this off.
For the second time in so many minutes, a hand touches my arm. This time I don't embarrass myself by jumping again. It is Jes. She tugs my arm, demanding my attention.
"Come with Step and I." She yells at me, nodding towards the guard. "I'll lead you."
My guard's name is Step?! Having never heard his real name I always wondered what it was, but I never dreamed it would be something like that. I look at the guard standing near the door. He just doesn't look like a Step.
Jes drags me towards the waiting group as Step opens the door to the hallway.
A plume of white smoke billows in.
Remembering Neb's warning I push the mask as close to my face as I can. Even through my protective lenses my eyes water and sting. Blinking helps a little, forcing tears to fall from my eyes and line the bottom of my lenses. To my luck, the anti-fog mechanism in my goggles still functions.
Neb, Nik and Kabe are the first out the door, turning left, we follow immediately after them, turning to the right. Step grabs Jes's hand takes the lead. Jes squeezes my arm for a moment as she starts to follow Step, dragging me with her.
*****
The smoke in the hallway is blinding.
I look behind me, searching for Neb, Nik, and Kabe, but they are nowhere to be seen, hidden in the ghostly swirls of smoke. I can't say this surprises me, as it is, I can barely make out the outline of my guard as he leads us down the hallway in the opposite direction.
Despite my best attempts, I am not sure where they are taking me, the smoke makes any identifiable landmarks blurred and unreadable. And since I didn't count the steps when we left, I am totally at a loss. Totally at the mercy of their lead.
Again I repeat my mantra: 'This will not be a lose-lose situation. Not if I can escape both groups.'
'And I will.' I say this to myself, only half convinced.
My children. I remind myself, anything for my children.
There is no way I will give up, not when it means I will see them. Actually physically be with them. They are my world, my reason for existence.
I don't know them, not like I would like to. It is hard to know them when I only see them thru the video link in my double's goggles, but I love my children without a doubt. And I would die for them without a moment's hesitation.
If it meant they would never be forced to live this mockery of an existence, I would slit my own throat right here and now. I would stop their torment before it begins.
*****
Another explosion rocks the building, cutting through my thoughts, and I instinctively duck. This time it sounds as though it is right behind us. Jes squeezes my arm again, tugging harshly in a gesture to make me hurry. I comply without hesitation and soon, much to my surprise, find myself shuffled into a stairwell.
I didn't even know there were stairwells here. I certainly have never seen one.
Jes releases my arm and points towards Step. He has already started his ascent. I quickly follow him, with Jes close behind me.
The smoke is not as heavy here, giving my poor eyes time to wash the sting away. I glance around the barren stairwell as I climb. A security camera meets us at each turn, mounted high in the corners. At first I am concerned. Waiting for someone to burst through the doors and impede our escape. Yet as we continue upward and nothing happens, my fear slowly subsides. A little.
Step's lack of concern for the security cameras helps ease my fear, but does not vanquish it. I know he knows they are there. I've seen his head glance towards them periodically. He just doesn't seem to care. The FFT must have somehow disabled them.
*****
I try to drown out my fears by entertaining myself with thoughts of freedom, of seeing my children in person, rather than some video link thru my double's goggles. I daydream of becoming part of my children's' lives. Of being the father I long to be.
My son, Dib, with his handsome big head and his insatiable appetite for the paranormal.
I love to listen to him talk about Zim. I love to listen to him talk about anything. He is intelligent, insightful, interesting.
Unlike that joke of a father figure, my double, I listen to my son. I hear what he has to say.
I cannot wait to actually talk with him, to hold a real conversation with him. I will tell him how proud I was of him. I will tell him paranormal is a legitimate science. It is merely as quantum physics was before it became accepted into the scientific community. I will tell him to follow his dreams, no matter where they take him. I will tell him I believe in him.
And my daughter.
Gaz.
With her beautiful purple hair, and the lovely honey eyes I seldom really see anymore.
She is nearly always lost in the cybernetic depths of a hand held Gameslave when they let me see her, so far removed from the real world.
I will show Gaz the joys of real life. Show her that while cyberspace is fun, the real world can be just as captivating. I will teach her how to live.
***** I am not blind to my children's needs as that fraud is.
Gaz loves that joke of a father they've given her.
I see it in her eyes when he pays the least bit of attention to her.
And Dib? I've seen enough to know how he longs for his father's acceptance, if not his approval.
I hate that imposter.
He lives MY life.
Ignores MY children.
Dooming them to a childhood no one should have.
No child deserves my childhood.
No child should be without a loving, responsible parent.
Especially not MY children.
I've lived my children's lives. I grew up not knowing my real father. Merely some sick substitute they provided me with.
Neglectful.
Arrogant,
Manipulative.
That was how I knew my father.
My fake one.
I met my real dad two days after they harvested me. I was introduced to him in the casual evil fashon of my captors.
He looked as if someone had beaten him within an inch of his life. They probably had.
The instant I saw him, he was an enigma.
I didn't know who he was at first, but instinctively I knew he was someone important to my life. It was as though he was the last piece of the puzzle known as my life, the one piece that would solve the mysteries in my life and cause everything to make sense.
When they said he was my father, it fit. The puzzle was complete. Well perhaps not complete, but at least the answer to some of my more pressing questions. His introduction, however, opened a plethora of questions I may never find answers to.
Who am I?
Who are our captives?
Why were we subjected to such a miserable life?
And the list goes on.
I worked beside my father for two days.
I asked my father these questions. I don't think he knew the answers. If he did, he took them to the grave.
At first I resented my father, as undoubtedly my children will resent me.
When he thought they couldn't hear, he would whisper to me about how much he loved me. How much he cared.
Yet my captors countered his claims of affection, continually feeding me lies, and in my depraved, influential state, I believed them.
My father told me they stole me from him.
My captors told me he abandoned me. Left me to fend for myself. My famous 'fake' father adopted me out of the kindness of his heart.
Yeah. His cold unfeeling heart.
My biological father told me he tried to see me but they prevented him from doing so.
My captors told me when they asked if my biological father wanted to see me, he would say no.
*****
A side ache is growing at an alarming rate, braking me from my daydreams and forcing me into the here and now. Taking deep breaths to try and dull the pain, I steadily follow Step.
Heh.
Follow step.
Step climbing steps.
I smile. I cannot help but do so. I've always liked humour.
Take it where you can find it!
For a moment my mood is lightened, but it doesn't last long.
I fall into another daydream, this one darker than the last.
Revenge.
Visions of destruction infest my mind.
Mass destruction at a grand scale.
Until neither my captors or this prison are left standing.
I cannot think of my captors without enmity.
I long to destroy this nightmare existence and all it holds.
To destroy the WWITS.
To destroy the cage they keep me in.
So they can never enslave me again.
Most importantly, so they can NEVER touch my children.
Sick anticipation floods my very soul and I cannot help but to smile.
Someday I will free us from this retched fate.
Perhaps someday very soon.
I can wait.
I have no choice.
*****
I am not sure how much time has passed. We tread steadily upward; the sound of the siren drowning out the sound of our footfalls. My breath is ragged through the mask and I wish I can take it off. I dare not though. Despite the thinning smoke, neither Step nor Jes have taken theirs off. They still don't trust the air, so I shouldn't either.
As we climb, the side ache steadily grows, reaching a point of where it distracts me from my daydreams and threatening to bring me to my knees. With my restricted lifestyle, I am not in the best of shape and by my count; we have already climbed ten floors. If not for the continuous prodding of Jes, I would have stopped long ago. I am thankful, however, that this trip has been uneventful so far. I can only hope it continues to be so.
*****
It is around the 37B Stairwell that I collapse, landing hard on my hands and knees. I stay there for a moment, trying to catch my breath. Stars dance around the corners of my eyes, threatening a blackout.
I feel a hand touch my shoulder.
Embarrassed, I turn around and sit on a stair.
Jes is kneeling beside me and though I cannot see her face behind the goggles and the mask, I can tell she is concerned. My heart flutters at the though of someone being so concerned for me. It is almost frightening. I hold up both hands in apology, showing her that I am fine. Internally I am chastising myself for being so weak. Jes barely seems winded as she studies me.
She glances past me, up at Step. I turn and watch as she quickly climbs the stairs to where Step continues to climb. He is unaware of my pathetic collapse. Jes grabs Steps arm, stopping him. She points towards me and he nods. He heads down to where I sit, still gasping for air. He watches me for a moment, allowing me to gain some composure before offering his hand. Reluctantly I take it. I am still in pain, still winded, but I feel a little better from the rest.
I flinch involuntarily as Step hooks his arm around me, supporting my weight. After a moments hesitation I wrap my arm around his broad back. I am still to weak to protest such needed support.
We begin to climb again.
*****
By the 23B stairwell, I gain my second wind, relishing the endorphins as they start to work their wonder on my throbbing side.
I free myself from Steps support. He glances at me questioningly but I give him thumbs up, showing that I am okay. He watches me for a moment more before nodding then starts up the stairs again. I follow close behind.
We barely make it to the 22B stairwell when the alarm stopped.
Collectively we stopped at the sudden lack of sound, a sense of uneasiness filling the stairwell.
Without warning Step turns around and grabs my shoulder.
"Down." He yells, pointing down the flight of stairs we had just climbed. "They're coming. They know we're here."
He barely finishes the words before the sound of footsteps reach my ears.
Without hesitation I turn and follow Jes to the 23B landing. Step pushes past us and opens the secured door. After a quick glance into the hallway he pushes Jes and I through.
As I stumble through the doorway I hear a volley of gunfire. I turn to see Step slam the door shut and punch several keys on the security pad. One hand is holding the left side of his face, over his ear. Immediately I notice the blood trickling down his neck, staining his brown sweater black.
He has been shot, and from the amount of blood spilling, it looks serious.
Instinctively I go to him, my thoughts on how to stop the bleeding.
To my surprise he grabs my arm and turns me around. Forcefully he pulls me towards where Jes is. Jes takes my arm as he releases his grip.
Within seconds a gun is in his hand. He hands it to Jes who takes it in her free hand.
"Take the professor to shaft 23B East. It has been secured as a backup. It is more dangerous, but should take you to ground level." As he speaks he pulls a second gun from one of his hidden pockets.
He glances at the door we had just came thought. "I will be with you shortly."
Jes nods at him before pulling me quickly down the hallway.
As Jes begins to pull me around a corner I glance back at Step. He is bleeding at an alarming rate.
I wince as he shoots the doors keypad. No one will be going though that door any time soon.
Seconds before I round the corner, Step turns and looks at me, his solemn expression providing no solace in this time of turmoil.
I get the feeling that this will be the last time I ever see him.
Another explosion rings in my ears.
This one was close.
In the hallway where we just were, in the hallway where Step was.
I hate when my premonitions are correct.
*****
I can hear commotion and yelling voices flooding into the hallway we just left and my fear grows almost to the point of where it nearly incapacitates me. If not for Jes dragging me behind her, I would have froze in place, letting them come. She urges me along with a strong silent grip, forcing us to run from the sounds behind us.
The sounds in the hallway behind us fade as we speed along, twisting and turning through the labyrinth towards a destination only Jes seems to know.
Even so, my optimism is hard pressed.
Step's death forces me to face the reality of the situation.
We are in the belly of the beast. Two nearly defenseless people against countless armed WWITS Personnel romping in their own playground. How could we possibly make it to freedom?
We take several more turns as I feed my growing pessimism.
The end is near.
We will be captured.
Jes will die.
I might very well die today.
Yeah, if I'm lucky.
Heh!
Always the optimist.
No.
I shake my head, trying to clear it of such negativity.
We will not fail.
We cannot fail for the sake of my children.
Yet I cannot escape my growing doubts.
Especially as the sound of footsteps make their rapid approach.
*****