[Edit] Sweet, two out of five done but still no new chapter

Disclaimer: Yeah, that thing.

Within These Walls

Chapter 2

Hah! You should have seen Six's face when I showed up early to training! He was shocked beyond words…okay not really. The only reaction I got was a slightly raised eyebrow, but he was surprised on the inside I know it! When I breezed into the training room like I owned the place Six just glanced at me before turning to the agent seated in the control room.

"Start the usual training drills," Six monotonously ordered the agent whom wordlessly nodded before busying himself with the controls and other doohickeys.

"Try not to destroy this training room like the last one," That was all Six said to me before heading to the control room to observe. Now I was the one shocked beyond words. Only normal drills? No laps around the petting zoo? No lasers? This was uncharacteristically nice of Six, but I was never one to look a gifted horse in the mouth as they say. Or however it goes.

"Hah, this is gonna be a piece of cake!" I chuckled as I slipped my goggles on and readying my Smackhands.

10 minutes later

"Siiiiiix I don't like these drills anymore," I shouted over the chaos that had quickly erupted following the start of training, "Okay, okay, okay! I'm sorry to whomever does the karma in the universe or whatever! When I said this was going to be a piece of cake that wasn't a challenge!"

At the moment I was using my Smackhands to block multiple laser turrets all targeted at guess who. Ya it's me, and yes, I did say lasers. The universe hates me, it's official. Usual training entailed fighting captured EVOs or navigating through various obstacle courses. Not this bullshit!

Guessing the universe decided to ignore my pleas or Six just being a jerk, a panel rose from the floor and long metal tentacles shot out from the sides to make a garb at me. Deciding to finally start playing on the offensive I weaved through the volley of laser blasts to grab one of the metal tentacles and ripped right off the panel. Not really a wise decision considering my range of motion on my right shoulder was quite limited. The action of tearing the tentacle jerked my shoulder in the wrong direction and I felt white hot pain prick my back again and make my skin crawl. I instinctively grabbed my shoulder as my Smackhands fell apart. With no protection I dashed behind one of the previously destroyed panels to seek cover from the relentless turrets, but I felt something wet and warm seep into my gloved hand that was holding my shoulder. I pulled back to see my glove stained a dark red-blood red color. My previous patch job didn't seem to have stopped the blood flow from staining the back of my jacket as it quickly soaked through the bandages.

I was too busy examining my glove that I didn't see the panel descending from the ceiling to squish me like a pancake.

"Rex move!" I heard Six yell and his warning barely gave me enough time to dodge. The impact; however, sent me sprawling and my shoulder felt as if someone was putting an open flame to it. The pain made my movements sluggish and my thoughts hazy. Once again my headache returned with a vengeance making me pray I would just be able to make it out of this training room in one piece.

The same panel with the tentacles was still trying to get a piece of me. I guess today is national 'Beat the Crap Outta Rex Day!' Anything I tried to build crumbled to scrap metal before I even had a chance to use them. To make matters worse, when I tried to move my right arm my fingers only gave a weak twitch in response. A half-crippled sick Rex was not a happy Rex.

"Greeeeeeeaaaaaaat," I drawled panting harshly. Now the tentacles were closing in on me. It's official, hate my life. By now Six was yelling at me about something, but I was too busy screaming for my life as a tentacle decided to wrap around my ankle. It then proceeded to hurl me against one of the nearby walls. I shakily got to my feet only to wobble and catch myself as the world tilted oddly on its side.

Stumbling in attempt to reach safety and clutching my still bleeding shoulder my perspective was only jarred even more as the panel beside me extend. I didn't have enough to time to dodge the blow this time so my body went into autopilot; I turned to the side to protect my head and chest.

Definitely a bad choice.

The panel slammed into my injured shoulder and flung me through the air like a rag doll. There have been few times when I have actually passed out from pain, and this was one of them. The pure agony that exploded from my injury brought all coherent thought to a standstill. Where I could only focus on the brilliant flash of white behind my clenched eyelids before it started to fade to blissful black. Though I held onto awareness by my fingernails and was briefly brought back into consciousness as I made contact with the opposite training room wall. I landed on the ground in a crumbled heap and any weak attempt I made at desperately trying to stand merely brought me to my hands and knees before collapsing. I laid on my side curling into myself feeling content to lie there in my personal hell as I could only focus on my labored breathing.

Polished shoes ran into my slowly fading point of view. Feeling a weight land on my shoulder and gently shake me, my response was a shuddering gasp of pain.

"Rex, can you hear me? Rex!" a voice a barely recognized as Six's came from above.

This new onslaught seemed to be oblivious to my situation as Six forced to lie on my back staring into too bright lights. Make it stop! Make it stop! Was the only thought that circled through my mind.

"Rex! Holiday get down here, Rex needs medical attention!" Six's monotone yet urgent voice was the last thing I heard before I finally got my wish.

I woke up to find myself in…my room? After giving myself a quick once over to see my condition I discovered there were no monitors or bandages, but after the beating I just took I should probably be in the hospital. Instead I was still dressed in my usual get up which wasn't entirely odd for me. I got up from my bed and gave myself an experimental stretch, nothing. Maybe a little slow but I wasn't sore at all. No stitches, no bandages, and no injuries. Huh, weird. I got up and without even touching the door it slid open. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the halls given there wasn't a doctor or agent in sight. Instead an eerie silence seemed cling to ever surface, which was odd considering that only happened on Taco Tuesday. I walked around but I didn't see anyone. No masked grunts no nothing. I walked down a bunch of hallways, checked all the training room, the cafeteria, and even the bathroom! There wasn't a soul in sight.

"Hello? Is anybody there? Helloooooooo?" I called and I only heard my echo resonate through the empty halls. The only sound I could hear was my own shoes slapping against the tiled floor as I ran from corridor to corridor. I was seriously close to freaking out.

What the hell is going on?! What happened if there was a huge evo attack and everyone had to go fight? What happened if Van Kleiss killed everyone? What happened if they were all abducted by aliens while I was out cold and they only left me!? Now I'm the only hope for humanity! I slapped myself.

"Okay Rex just calm down," I told myself, "Maybe everyone's out getting coffee…all at once. Or maybe Doctor Holiday discovered something ground breaking about the nanites. Or maybe Caesar blew up his lab again. Yeah, that sounds right. I just need to relax and-" I was cut off by the lights overhead suddenly bursting and sending a shower of glass and sparks to the floor. Covering my head to protect myself I whirled around looking for the source of the sudden attack. The hallway I was in seemed to stretch and darken suddenly. Now, I was freaking out. The next thing I heard made my skin crawl in all different kinds of wrong and break out in a cold sweat. There was a blood curdling scream and I immediately built my Rex Ride heading straight for the noise to see if someone needed help. I heard the scream again but this time accompanied with a splitting howl.

Door after door whizzed past me until I came upon Holiday's personal laboratory. I busted down the door without a moment's hesitation using my Smackhands, but the sight that greeted me almost made me throw up my lunch. In the center of the room was everyone I had ever known in a bloodied pile. Some of them had their limbs torn off, while others had gruesome claw marks all over them. Noah, Holiday, Six, Bobo, Caesar; everyone I knew was lying in a pool of his or her own blood all sharing the same expression of vacant horror. All I could do was slump to my knees in utter devastation in the doorway.

"Why?" I whispered, "Why? Why? Why?! WHY?!" I screamed slamming my fists on the ground. There I sat screaming and cursing whomever did this to the deepest darkest pits of hell. My mind was sent reeling and trying think of whoever could have done this. Whoever could commit such atrocities?

"Hehe, you like what you did?" asked a dark voice behind me. I quickly stood whirling around with tears in my eyes and my BFS ready to tear apart the source; yet the only thing I saw in the now pitch-black hallway was a pair of glowing blue eyes.

"Who's there?!" I roared searching for someone to hack into tiny pieces so I could avenge my friends as tears clouded my vision.

"Me? Oh, I'm offended. Why are you angry at me? After all, you're the one who did this," the voice asked mockingly from the shadows, but I still couldn't see a face. The shadows seemed to spread farther into the room looming over me as they circled my person. I tried to discover its identity of this horrendous creature but the swirling mass of shadows concealed any distinguishable features. Besides the smooth voice a distinct clicking could be heard as the monster paced around me.

"Shut up and show yourself dammit!" my sword was shaking with unbridled rage. I angrily swiped at the tears streaming down my face and bared my teeth ready to tear the thing apart.

"You can't save them you know. You're going to kill every last one of them and it's all your fault," the shadow stopped in front of me.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" I screamed as I blindly slashed at the shadows but my sword never made contact with anything solid and instead I felt myself get knocked backwards onto the floor. I looked up dazed to see the shadow pinning me with barely visible blue fangs snapping inches from my face. I tried to squirm but gigantic paws with black claws dug into my forearms. I could almost see a smile spread across the shadows' face.

"It's all your fault and they blame you," the shadow stated simply. The shadow tendrils licked at my form seeming to shake with sick mirth. Behind me I heard shuffling and the whispering of cloth brushing against tile; to my dismay I could see the corpses of my friends and family crawling toward me.

"Why Rex? Whyyyyyyyy?" each seemed to moan but their lips did not move. Their death covered eyes just locked onto me as they drew closer. Clawing at the ground with what available limbs they still possessed.

"I didn't! I swear I would never!" I tried to defend but I was drowned out by their collective voice that rose and fell with their apparent agony.

"Why Rex? Why did you kill us?" their whispering turned into screams as they dragged their mauled corpses ever closer leaving smears of blood in their wake. Mouths gaping and closing in silent screams.

"You can't fight it Rex! You're going to become a monster and enjoy every minute of painting these walls with their blood!" the shadow cackled above me.

"I DIDN'T DO ANY OF THIS!" I was hysterical as the corpses bloodied hands clung and grabbed at my limbs. I desperately tried to get away but I was frozen.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT REX!" shadow and the bodies seemed to scream in unison as the corpses tore at my limbs. I writhed screaming in terror trying to escape feeling my skin tear away.

"You can't fight it Rex," with that the shadow growled and its huge muzzle clamped onto my right shoulder with surprising force. I could feel my bones breaking and turning to dust as everything began to fade. The last thing I saw was a bloody orange and black wolf bearing over me with gore dripping from its snout.

I screamed and struggled. I could still feel the hands of my friends clinging to my limbs. Now that the pressure wasn't on my arms the first thing that came to my mind was BUILD. Instincts took over and heard something ripping before my head made contact with something cold and solid. I looked around dazed to see I was on the floor; white walls and heart monitor, which was beeping out of control, told me I was still in Providence. I allowed my Punk Busters to fall away and craned my next to see what I had been struggling with. The torn remains of sheets, which I had probably tangled myself in, lied discarded on the floor; not the bodies of my friends, just sheets. Once the adrenaline and panic wore off I realized it had all been a dream. More like a nightmare. It felt so real. So real I thought as I wrapped my arms around my prone form on the cold floor.

"You can't fight it," I froze as I swear I heard the shadow's voice again, but there was no one else in the room. It's just…it's just my mind playing tricks on me. Though I didn't feel so wholly convinced. I need to seriously lay off the Mountain Dew.

So, uh, review please.