Update October 2nd, 2016: Ok, so I took an age and a half to write this chapter, but there it is! EVERY chapter in this entire story has received a few minor edits which don't affect the story line. I've also increased text size a bit, and increased spacing for dialogue. I'm not sure if there's anything I need to improve on as nobody has asked. This story is a joy to write, and I'm very excited to write the next chapter!
Chapter 4
There was a long pause. "I'm not crazy. I know what I saw." I repeated.
"Tell me… What did these attackers look like? Perhaps the Omnic invasion has spread further than we thought." Asked Winston.
"All I know is that they flew in very large rectangular ships. They would shoot enormous orange beams that would turn everything into ash. The only person I saw was a woman. She wore a grey jumpsuit, had brown eyes, and she was white skinned." I answered.
"Hmph, these weapons you have described have never existed before. It is possible this Omnic revolution has become what we feared. As for the woman you described, she sounds very close to someone we know. Can you tell me anything else about her?" Asked Winston as he and Tracer shared a knowing look.
The emotion I had let out all came rushing back. "She killed Connor! She shot him, she shot me; Twice. He's dead." I growled.
I had never felt like such an enraged animal before; I was holding back tears, my brain was sluggish, and revenge was the only thought that kept me standing. My vision became clouded, I didn't even care what Winston had to say. As I stood there, two arms came out of nowhere, and hugged me. Looking up, it was Tracer with the same sad look as before. I was so surprised, I was speechless. Hugging her back, I buried my face into her shoulder. Part of my mind was telling me that men were not supposed to show this much emotion, but I didn't care. Nobody, besides my mother had ever hugged me before, and I didn't want this moment to end.
A minute had passed until I pulled myself away. "Thank you." I said weakly. Tracer simply returned with an encouraging smile. Sighing, the room became quiet again. The last few days had been nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster, forcing me to leave my primal fight or flight mode. Breaking the silence, Winston said "Well, it's settled then. Tracer and I will be bringing you back to Troy. Then, we truly will know if the Omnics have been, or still are there." Putting myself back into reality, I replied "Sure, let's do it, but how are we getting there? It's a pretty long walk, believe me!"
"We fly." Said Tracer in a cheerful voice.
"Awesome! I've never flown before in my life!" I said enthusiastically.
"Is there anything you have done before?" Sarcastically asked Winston.
"Hey! I'm not useless! I know how to cook, drive, and fix a lot of stuff." I shot back.
"Impressive, the average human can do that at four years old." Replied Winston unimpressed.
"Manually?" I asked.
"What the!? This is going to be an interesting trip. Tell me, have you ever made peanut butter cookies?" Excitedly asked Winston.
Glancing over at Tracer, it was evident she was stifling a laugh.
"Hmm… Out of all the most complicated food items, why peanut butter cookies?" I asked out of curiosity.
Winston blushed.
"Uh… Oh, nothing. The hangar is right this way" Said Winston as he pointed at a large door down the hall.
"This building is enormous, how on earth do you guys find your way around this place?" I asked as we trudged towards yet another door.
"I don't know, first time in this facility, myself." Said Winston in a matter of fact tone.
"Well, sometimes we all make mistakes, but you have to keep picking yourself back up. You'll find your way around here in no time!" Answered Tracer.
I couldn't stop but think how positive Tracer was. She was so genuine, it was impossible not to like her.
"Well, thanks!" I said as I noticed an open door to the side.
"Hey! What's this room?" I called out as I jumped inside.
The room was dark and mysterious, as if it was hiding a secret waiting to be unfolded.
Within seconds, Winston lumbered through the door and flipped a switch. The lights flickered on, revealing the room's contents.
"This room is what most would call "broom closet". Muttered Winston as he flipped the lights back off.
Tracer stood at the end of the doorway with one hand on her hip, and the other against her forehead.
Slightly embarrassed, I left the room as quickly as I entered it.
Continuing my walk, I trudged onwards straight through the open door at the end of the hall. There was a slight turn after passing through the entrance. The second I rounded the corner, I audibly gasped. I was standing atop an enormous platform leading downwards to the hangar below. The ship that was below looked as if it were straight out of a comic book. It was larger than any passenger plane I had ever seen, and the engines attached to the back, looked plain futuristic. The shape of the ship looked perfectly designed to withstand the most vicious of attacks, and the aerodynamics would have any engineer drooling into their clipboard.
"What are you waiting for!? Get in!" Called out Winston from the entrance of the ship.
Snapping out of my trance, both Tracer and Winston were a thousand feet below from the platform, already inside the ship.
'How is that even possible?' I thought as I sprinted down hundreds of stairs. Slightly out of breath, I had reached the bottom of the staircase. Eyes bulging, the entrance ramp to the ship was still a half kilometer away.
"I was only looking for like thirty seconds." I muttered to myself. Two minutes later, after a lot of sprinting, I at last reached the bottom of the ship's platform. Breathing heavily, I marched the final few steps to board the ship. The exact instant my foot cleared the entrance, the door sealed behind me.
"You guys don't mess around." I said as I collapsed onto the nearest chair.
Tracer and Winston both laughed.
Inside the ship, it was shaped like the letter "u". The middle of the ship was long and flat, while there was a staircase leading upwards to several control panels on either end of the ship. There were about twelve stairs leading upwards to each end of the interior. Within a split second, I watched as Winston effortlessly jumped up the entire flight of stairs in a single leap. Eyes bulging, I blinked hard to ensure he really did just jump up a flight of stairs.
"And you thought being able to bake peanut butter cookies was impressive!" I exclaimed.
"Any other hidden talents you're hiding?" I added.
"For the time being, you don't want to see me when I'm angry." Chortled Winston.
"Well, I've seen everything today." I said while leaning backwards into my seat.
"Welcome to our life." Replied Tracer as she took a seat opposite to mine.
Meanwhile, Winston was furiously tapping away at every control that was within his reach. At last, after a minute, Winston hopped back down to the main platform with Tracer and I.
"Athena. Set course to Troy." Commanded Winston.
"Buckle in, this is going to be a bumpy ride!" Exclaimed Tracer.
Reaching for my seatbelt, I began questioning this Athena.
'Could this computer be right?' I thought. I knew for a solid fact, I witnessed half the city turn into a large pile of ash. My best friend died right beside me; these feelings I felt just couldn't be an illusion.
Groaning, thoughts began circling in my head.
'Maybe you're crazy. Maybe none of these people you knew never even existed? Maybe right now, you're not actually on board a ship, you're just chained to a hospital bed drooling, dreaming of some fantasy world with a talking gorilla. Your real family waits by your bedside, hoping that someday, you'll wake from your paralyzed state.'
"Shut up! Just shut up!" I shouted while beating my head.
Tracer and Winston, both concerned looked straight at me. Cringing, I felt ashamed for my outburst.
"Everything alright?" Asked Tracer.
"Ya, ya. Sorry about that. Please, just get us there; I need to know." I said determinedly.
"Arrival should be in fifteen minutes." Announced Winston as the ship began taking off.
With a sonic boom, my head was forced backwards into the headrest. Even at sonic speeds, the same thoughts from before continued to echo in my mind.