Kleiner led us into a large room, consisting of two broken machines with a bridge in between. The machines themselves looked like large pistons, though they were no longer functioning.
As expected, there was a bridge straight from the door to a large opening in the tunnel. It seemed to be intact, but the lack of railings and a very high drop below did not do much to boost our morale.
"I admit," Kleiner muttered. "I never quite understood the purpose of this room, but for once it seems Breen's determination to save costs will be to our advantage."
We crossed the bridge and entered the tunnel. We found a large metal door that appeared to have been smashed through, though by what, I'm not sure. The second door was also broken, as was the automated gate behind it.
From there, we reached a long square-shaped tunnel that looked more like a mine shaft than a monorail route. Only a few fading red lights illuminated the path forward, but it was only a short walk before I noticed sunlight.
"We… Kleiner muttered. "We… made it."
"I wouldn't get our hopes up just yet," Grimsberg said.
I ran towards he end of he tunnel, stopping a the edge of a steep cliff in a very large canyon. The only way down was a short drop to a lower ledge, and from there a path along the side. I was he first to climb down, followed by Grimsberg and Kleiner, and finally Otis.
The canyon's floor was mainly covered by a single large helicopter landing pad, on which the wreckage of a cobra was standing. Around the pad were a pair of smashed landing lights and pieces of the monorail track from above, including the wreckage of one of the monorail cars.
But I quickly noticed that the place wasn't entirely quiet. There were people at the bottom, equipment had been set up. Crates were placed everywhere, a truck had been parked next to the helicopter.
As we walked down the path, we made it to the edge of a large door marked by two slanted walls. Our only way down was to slide.
As I reached the bottom, I stepped behind one of the crates. Unsurprisingly, it was more of the black-clad soldiers, probably trying to cover up all evidence that anyone was here. Two of them were busy scavenging the helicopter. Nearby was another mass grave, where two others were throwing in bodies. I could see a mix of different uniforms—scientists, security guards, marines. They were apparently all the same to these people.
"I've killed about thirty of these stupid marines," one of the soldiers remarked. "Not one of them put up a fight."
"Any word on Bishop?"
"Not yet, but I wouldn't mind getting a shot at her. Or Freeman."
"What about this Shepherd guy?"
"Shepherd?"
"One of the grunts. Apparently tougher than most. Managed to take out a bunch of our guys already."
"Really? Oh yeah, I'd definitely like to get him."
Suddenly a message came in over their radio.
"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! This is bravo team. We're being overrun! Need backup no-"
I noticed a large object floating over the canyon. It was a rather peculiar thing to see—it had the shape of a stingray, but its movement was much more stiff. Its tail did not move. It looked like some kind of aircraft.
Two more appeared. A giant orange beam appeared from under one of them, destroying the truck.
"OPEN FIRE!" One of the soldiers yelled.
Another orange beam struck the ground. This one was continuous, and being moved steadily along the ground, wiping out every soldier in its path.
"This is probably a good time to run," Kleiner said.
"Yes, let's go!"
We sprang for the tunnel. The soldiers were too distracted to notice us, if any were even still left.