Chapter 5 - First Signs of Danger

Author's note: Happy Friday, everyone! I'm back with the fifth chapter of the story. I don't have much else to say, so I'll address your reviews now!

The Illuminaughty Pine Tree, you'll get more than your dose of action this chapter, as well as during the next several chapters.

Turrislucidus, at the risk of foreshadowing future events, I'll respond to your clever review with, "Terror, and surprises, and hallucinations, oh, my!" I wasn't intentionally making a reference to the wizard when I created Stella, but now that I look back at it in retrospect, they do have their similarities. As far as I'm concerned, it was just a major coincidence. :D

mike teevee, I think you're from the wrong movie here, judging by how your surname is spelled. ;)

JOHNHAMMOND1993, there is a significance to Mike's ID number, although it's nothing that any of you would know about. It's actually a reference to the length of two songs I've written. One of the songs is 5 minutes and 86 seconds long, which would technically be 6 minutes and 26 seconds, hence the first three digits. The other song is 7 minutes and 49 seconds in length. :D

Guest, I highly doubt there will be romance between Mike and Stella. You'll find out why during the next several chapters. Now, on with the story!

"I absolutely hate being left in the dark like this," Mike said quietly to himself once he finished recording his second audio log. "At least I have a feeling as to why I was chosen for this mission, but what am I really trying to accomplish here? Anyway, onward."

He used his locator, and the blue line that it projected onto the floor led him towards another server room, which was almost identical to the first. Like before, there was an old computer at the far side of the room, which he turned on. After typing in the same series of codes as he did before, the servers were all booted up, and Mike left the area.

"Good work, Mr. Teavee," Stella said as her holographic face appeared in front of him. "Now, you must make your way to the next locker room, where you will find and retrieve a diamond-bladed saw. Then, you'll head towards the Security Room, which your locator will pinpoint for you. According to our records, the airtight door to the security room has already been opened. You'll hack into the computer and destroy the fuse boxes with your saw to take the system offline, and then once you reach the elevator at the end of the hallway, I will brief you on what to do next. Good luck."

"Stella," Mike said apprehensively, "I don't know why I'm doing this. Why do I need to take the security system offline? That doesn't make any sense at all. I'm worried I'll be endangering the premises if I follow through with your advice."

"Sorry, Mike, you're not authorized to know that," Stella replied. "Your computer skills make you perfect for this task, so please, just relax! All I can say is that after your mission has been fulfilled, the factory will be clear of any hazards, provided you do well. I promise I'll be more readily available within the next hour or so. We can both do this. I have faith in you, Mike."

"But Stella—!" Mike squeaked just as she faded away. "Forget it. Okay, she told me to go to the next locker room, so suppose I'll do that now."

The next locker room was just fifty feet away, and once he got there, he found the saw tucked away inside an open locker. It featured a long, rotating diamond-toothed blade that resembled a chainsaw, as well as a handle with a comfortable gripping surface.

"The W-106 Diamond Saw is a highly versatile tool designed for multi-use cutting purposes," an automated voice spoke as he examined the saw's menacing diamond teeth. "Users are advised to always wear protective clothing whenever the saw is in use."

"Well, duh," Mike said as he slapped his helmet with his gloved right hand, producing a metallic clang that echoed all around the room. "Do you really think I'm that stupid to NOT be wearing protective clothing around this thing? Must be all that legal crap about liabilities or disclaimers or whatever that is."

After Mike grabbed the saw and tucked it into a holster by his right hip, he continued to walk further down the hallway until he arrived at a fork.

"Just what I needed, a freaking maze," Mike said sarcastically. "Nothing my trusty locator can't help me with!" He used it, and the beam guided him down the left-hand path. As he descended several long flights of stairs which led even deeper underground, the lights above him were rapidly flickering on and off, as if they were about to burn out at any moment.

The locator guided him towards an open doorway at the bottom of the last flight of stairs, and he emerged into a large room that consisted of a row of overturned chairs, a control panel, and hundreds of screens that displayed live video footage of each and every room in the factory. He was about to investigate the control panel when he caught a sign of movement out of the corner of his eye: a creature that seemed to resemble a small human raced across one of the screens for a fraction of a second. Something must have taken place just outside of the camera's range, because the formerly sterile floor was suddenly tainted by a violent spray of blood.

"What in the world was that?" Mike said in confusion before he shifted his attention away from the screen towards the Security Room's control panel. Without wasting another moment, he typed multiple lines of code into the computer, pushed a sequence of buttons, and flipped a few switches, and seconds later, each screen in the Security Room shut off, one by one by one.

Eventually, it got to the point where only five screens were still illuminated. Then, there were four, then three, and then two. After that one was powered off, only a single screen remained, and it displayed the very room that Mike was standing in. Mike turned to look in the direction of the camera, and he casually held his hand upwards as if he was greeting someone. Of course, the camera never said "hello" in return. Instead, a tiny, pulsating red light flashed on and off for about four seconds, and Mike felt his heart skip a beat. He had no doubt that something was about to go horribly wrong.

"Oh, no," Mike whispered, covering his mouth with both hands. "What the hell have I just done?"

Suddenly, a blaring alarm started to go off, and the white lights in the room quickly became red.

"Foreign beings detected," an automated voice spoke. "Initiating quarantine lockdown."

"Dammit!" Mike screamed as the airtight door that led into the Security Room began to descend. His heart was racing as he looked over his shoulder back towards the monitors, all of which were now red. They each displayed the word "QUARANTINING!" in bold white letters, accompanied by a common biohazard symbol. He whipped his face back around to face forwards, only to see that the door was already a quarter of the way closed, and the gap between it and the floor was diminishing steadily. Without any more thoughts, he ignored his own body's internal alarms and sprinted straight towards the door, which was halfway closed by this point, as fast as his legs could carry him in that suit. It was now or never for Mike, and even as his stomach did countless cartwheels within his chest, he still ran at top speed towards the ever-narrowing escape route. At the last few seconds, he threw himself onto the ground and rolled underneath the door, and just a quarter of a second after his outstretched hand crossed the threshold, the door was sealed shut with a loud clang.

The events that just transpired were a lot for Mike to take in, and he barely had any time to contemplate his near-death experience before he realized what was going on. The hallway was also pulsating with a harsh, red light, and the overly loud alarms threatened to rob Mike of his hearing every single second. Now overcome by sheer adrenaline, Mike jumped to his feet despite the weight of his suit, and he ran down the hallway, legs pumping hard as if they were moving on their own. He heard something burst out of an overhead vent just behind him, and he almost tripped over his own feet as he ran even faster, especially when he began to hear a growling sound coming from behind him. Whatever that mysterious thing was, it was in hot pursuit of Mike, and he dared not look over his shoulder to investigate.

Suddenly, another nearby vent exploded, and as Mike made a sharp turn to the left, he barely caught a glimpse of a humanoid creature that was about the size of a five-year-old child. More growling and frantic footsteps were heard from behind Mike as he continued to sprint further down the hallway.

"Stellaaaaaaaa!" Mike hollered as he frantically dashed around another corner. "Help!"

Dead ahead, Mike saw a pair of double doors that appeared to lead into a service elevator. A wave of immense relief flooded his whole body, and he somehow began to run even faster than before, panting like a dog as his lungs struggled to supply his body with oxygen. He slammed his hand against the button on the wall, and he forced his way through the doors before they had time to fully open. It was only when Mike went to press the "Down" button that he had the chance to see what was chasing him, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The enemies that were pursuing Mike looked like reanimated corpses of tiny men, no bigger than a small child. They had pug-like faces, unblinking, glassy eyes with blood-red irises, forked tongues that resembled that of a snake, and long, bony fingers with claws instead of nails. A thick, yellow fluid was constantly dripping out of their open mouths, which bore razor-sharp, yellow teeth. Their most disturbing trait, however, was the sight of four long, narrow tentacles that were curled over their shoulders, and the fact that they could have lashed out at him from behind at any time.

Before these creatures had a chance to attack Mike, the doors of the elevator slammed shut, instantly blocking them from entering. Mike crashed against the back wall of the elevator, and he practically ripped the helmet off his head to gulp down some fresh air. His head was sweating profusely, and he rubbed the back of his gloved hand against his forehead in an attempt to wipe the perspiration away, all to no avail.

"Stella," Mike said through gritted teeth as the elevator descended deeper underground, "I've got more than a few words to say to you."

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Things are getting a tad intense now, aren't they? This is only the beginning! Anyway, feel free to review, and as always, stay tuned for the next chapter! :)