I've been gone for almost 9 months with this story. I am sorry. I also give you all permission to smack me with a fish. I was almost constantly thinking about this story and what direction I would take it in, and then suddenly BAM! writer's block has lifted! I tried writing this chapter probably 5 times, but i got it to work! Oh, it's wonderful, to not have to stress over family or school for the next two months. If you've stuck with me, thank you. If you're a new comer, I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far. 3
Without further ado, Up's story
Chapter 16: Glass Walls
Five days after Up was healthy to go back to work, Taz wandered around the halls of Headquarters, unnoticed, lost in thought. Twelve days ago Up had spun a true tale full of suspense and danger, yet entirely solemn as he had done so. Her small feet brought her out of the Headquarter wing and towards the North Wing. The science wing. She had a specific destination in mind though. the Robotics and Weaponry division of the science labs was somewhere ahead of her.
Sheesh! I'm sorry." He brought his right palm to his face and rubbed his forehead sheepisly. "Let's see. It was about a year or so ago... The ship I was stationed on was docked here for brief repairs, and we were to leave again the next day. It was a total fluke, I wasn't even supposed to at the base in the first place. I was on my way to the North wing to visit... wait,let me back up here. I was up late, later than normal," Up started off, scratching at the scruff he'd been too sick to shave. " It was around 2200 hours. I had promised to meet up with a pretty science officer in her office after some experiment of hers to get some dinner."
"What was her name?"
"Denise."
"she sounds nice."
"She was..." Up closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose. "Amazing." Taz didn't need to know his background...or his heartache. "We never did get that date." I never got to propose. "Anyway, as I walked down the hallway, I knew something was off. Almost all the lights weren't on. the lights are always on." Taz nodded along with his narration, a feeling of uneasiness creeping into her stomach. Up's retelling was about to take a turn for the worse. "Normally, you could hear the hum of people talking, machinery buzzing, but there was absolutely nothing. Nothing except for the flickering of a flickering fluorescent light at the corner turn in the hallway. I was rightly spooked by this point, but I had to find Denise so I kept going. I took a left where the hallways made an X,"he illustrated with his arms, " and saw drops of blood merging into a drag pattern.
"It was right when I noticed this that the whir of gears reached my ears. Do you remember what the robots sounded like, the ones that attacked your home? It was them, though that model was so new I'd never seen them before. And there were ten of them. In Denise's lab. You see, she worked in a unit of science officers whose main job was to dismantle robots in order to learn about their technological advancements.
"I had to crawl on my hands and knees during that last stretch. There were some giant windows between me and them. I had to crawl around corpses Taz, God, it was terrible. Those robots are programmed to never show mercy. I was terrified about what could have possibly happened to my Girl, but I couldn't concentrate on saving her. I had to take down the bots first and foremost, to ensure that they didn't get to the rest of the Base. So, I was carefully making my way over to the lab door, and the entire time I could hear the robots talking to each other, laughing over the demise of fellow rangers, and discussing their plans to annihilate the entire Base." Taz bit her lip as he frowned, memories being brought up that he didn't want to share with his little friend. Not yet.
"What were they saying? I mean, what was their plan?"
" I was finally able to make it into the lab and hide behind the closest table. One of the robots voluntarily shut itself down and allowed the other nine to disassemble it's body. They were remaking it into a homing beacon, to reveal their location to other Robots... who knows how many."
"Dios mio." Taz whispered, "they were going to bring more of them to the base."
"Just like a trojan horse. They must have known we take a couple of robot hostages for research. Right then, a glass vial rolled towards me and bumped into my foot. About... about fifteen feet away lay Denise, dying with a pen in her outstretched, bloody hand. I don't want to tell you what kind of a state she was in... I just wanted to run to her... I-I- she was so..." Goddammit he was crying in front of Taz. A single tear, but still. The Latina gently moved the checkers board and sat down next to him on his bed, wrapping an arm over his shoulders.
" Shhh. It's okay. You don't need to tell me. You don't need to continue. You need to sleep." He leaned back against her arm and the wall, letting out a long sigh.
"I do. But I promised to tell you. A promise is a promise; and I never make a promise unless I intend to keep it. So I'm going to continue. Alright? I haven't told anyone what truly happened except for General Gregor." Taz nodded quietly, giving him time to pick up the story at his own pace."Okay, so Denise had rolled a test tube with a note stuffed inside it towards me. It was a warning, and instructions." I was reading that note as she passed away. " the note was sloppy, but she was able to write that one of her colleagues had tripped an alarm in one of the bots. It woke up and went on a killing spree. After the carnage, it started to revive the other robot cadavers by pulling on a yellow and black wire in their necks. The last words Denise wrote were 'Cut those wires Up.'
"Were you able to?"
"Just barely. I had a pocket knife on me, and I was able to snip three of 'em without their noticing. The homing bot was a bit harder to get to, but I managed. The remaining six chased me back out of the lab and down a hallway. I snipped another one. I eventually was trapped in a chemistry lab. I was able to grab a bunch of chemicals and acids and chuck them at their heads and neck."
"Did it help at all?"
"I think it slowed them down. Their heads are where most of the important stuff is anyway. Unfortunately, all the chemical fumes mixed and poisoned the air or something because the lab went into lock down and the sprinklers kicked on. I was trapped, them robots were trapped and we were all going to stay trapped until an E.S.U-"
"A what?"
"An emergency situation unit, came to check out what was going on. Luckily a lock down meant an alarm was going off somewhere. Anyway, I was able to take out two more and rip off the arm of another before the fumes knocked me out."
"Bien."
"I'm not sure what happened after. Maybe the sprinklers short circuited them, maybe the E.S.U showed up in time, but the next thing i remember is waking up in a hospital and receiving a badge of honor for single-handedly saving the base. The next day I was promoted to Lieutenant and the rest is history."
"Wow."
"So this is where it all happened." Taz murmured as she walked between the multiple glass in-cased labs. There were no walls now in the science wing of the base. There were only panels of reinforced glass. She could look straight into one lab and see what scientists were doing in all five laboratories behind it, then right out into the vastness of space. It was surreal, and kind of terrifying. After that inside attack, G.L.E.E. wasn't willing to risk a surprise ever again. When there was privacy, there was danger. Taz slowed in pace once she reached a memorial bronze plaque embedded in glass. Up's Denise died here, along with 12 other men and women. As her fingers brushed against the names of those who had died, she felt the urge to do something she hadn't done since losing her family. She began to pray.
"Querido Dios, gracias por haberle salvado la vida. Gracias por su ayuda para salvar la base GLEE usted. Debido a eso, no tengo una casa. Espero que estas personas que murieron son felices con ustedes en el cielo. Especialmente Denise, Up que realmente le gustaba. Todos se merecían algo mejor. Sé que no estás muerto, y que puedes escuchar mis oraciones, al igual que Papi dijo. Amen."
Translation to the prayer:
Dear God, thank you for saving his life. Thank you for helping him to save the G.L.E.E base. Because of that, I have a home. I hope that these people who died are happy with you in heaven. Especially Denise, Up really liked her. They all deserved better. I know that you are not dead, and that you can hear my prayers, just like Papi said. Amen.
dios Mio: My god
Thanks for reading! I literally was up all night writing, and decided to just post it without major editing BECAUSE I WANT TO KEEP WRITING. If there are any errors, grammar, plot holes, spelling, spanish or otherwise, do tell! I'll get on them right away.