Ultimate Sligs oddysee: Chapter 9, Lock Down
Chapter 9: Lock Down
Once again, Eba entered a kind of ‘slow motion’ state. He did not know whether this was part of his genetic engineering, or whether all people reacted this way in life or death situations. He squeezed the trigger, firing off only two single bullets. As he fired he moved the gun ever so slightly to the left, towards 024. While he fired, 024 let off a large shotgun blast off bullets in Bea’s general direction. Slightly before this, Bea released his long charged Spooce energy which formed a large ball, rather like a meteorite. Bea’s Spooce energy went straight through 024’s bullets, and they were vaporised, causing the energy to disperse into a haze, having hit a target. Eba’s bullets flicked past this chaos. One zoomed towards Bea’s Spooce Bow, hitting it in the central gem, shattering it and causing the entire contraption to vaporise itself in another blue haze. The other, which had been fired as Eba flicked his rifle, cut through several wires on 024’s Mech-Claw. Steam shot out and a burst of electricity exploded from it, consuming 024. His smoking body dropped limply to the ground. Eba’s vision returned to it’s normal sharp state, as opposed to the slight blurring of edges he had just encountered, and sound returned to normal. The sound of gun fire was the first thing he heard, and he dropped to the ground as bullets sparked all around him. Bea was already on the ground, staring into Eba’s eyes. “You fool! You destroyed my weapon! Now how am I to defend myself properly?” He went to a kneeling stance and swiftly drew and threw a small dagger over Eba’s head. There was a dull thudding sound behind him as a Slig off in the distance fell, knife lodged in between eyes. “Come on! Lets get out of here!” yelled Eba over more gunfire in response to the throwing knife. Bea gave a very small look of disgruntled confusion, and nodded “Come Doctor” he said turning to Dr Mort. Eba awaited the response, but heard none. He turned his head to see Dr Mort laying on the ground, where he had been pushed, but with a bullet wound in his chest. He was gasping for breath. “Doctor! You killed him!” yelled Bea. Eba crawled over to Dr Mort “Doctor! I can carry you!” Dr Mort shook his head slowly, and through rattled breaths said “Take…Bea…and…go” Eba turned to Bea and yelled “He’s been hit by one of those Sligs! He wants us to go without him!” Bea dropped to his belly again and crawled over “No! I wont leave you Doctor!” Mort gasped again “I…will…lock…down…the tunnel…run…before…you are…crushed…” Bea’s eyes began to water. Eba suspected he would be doing that too, if only his eyes produced water in the same way. He felt the deep wrenching in his gut, though. “Dr Mort, you were like a father to me…” Eba said quietly. Dr Mort grinned, and jerked with a twinge of pain “…and you…like…a son…” Eba laid the palm console Dr Mort had dropped in his hand, and clutched it for him. Bea grabbed his shoulder “The Sligs have stopped their advance! Reinforcements must be coming! There could be more ATF on the ceiling! We must…we must go!” The ATF…024. Eba scrambled over to take a look at the charred body of 024. He looked into his eyes, his black lifeless eyes. Only…they weren’t lifeless. The small green pulse monitor in his eyes, although flickering on and off, was unmistakeably fluctuating, lightly. “He’s still alive” cried Eba. Bea drew another knife “We’ll soon end that…” Eba knocked him to the ground “No! I’m going to save him! I’ve seen the good in him!” Bea sat up, enraged “You heard what Dr Mort said! He’s no better than a machine!” Eba grabbed 024 and slung him over his shoulder “He can be reprogrammed! Now let’s GO!” There was no time to argue. Both got to their feet and sprinted into the darkness, followed by another shower of hot lead. As they ran the sound did not become quieter, or less recognizable. They must’ve been following. Although they would’ve had quite a job seeing their targets, they would have been able to follow the tunnel, one long gradually curving tunnel.
Dr Mort lay, bleeding on the ground. A squad had now secured the area and ATF interrogators had arrived. Dr Mort looked up into the cold cruel mechanical eyes of the Slig, the ATF member wearing black gleaming armour, with the number 001 tattooed on his torso. The Slig crouched down, his arm turning into a large sharp instrument, already stained with blood. His eyes widened. The ATF member saw the look on Dr Mort’s face and pointed at the blade “I do not have it cleaned. It adds to the sense of unimaginable terror, of which I am highly trained to deal out. I think you will find that before you die, you will wish this shot had killed you.” He began to slowly move the blade towards the bleeding puncture wound. Dr Mort gave a smirk and a grimace “I…should not…have…made…you…001…” The Slig slowly began pushing his blade into Dr Mort’s wound “No, you shouldn’t have, should you?” Dr Mort cried out with pain, and then moaned in agony, slowly drawing the palm console from beneath him, where he had concealed it. “Now…I shall…unmake…you!” The Vykker pushed the large central button down hard and then died his mission complete. The ATF members looked around “I register no explosives wired through this tunnel” said one, scanning the walls. 001 shrugged “It was the ravings of an old and dying fool. Let us hunt these fugitives…” He drew a long slender white blade, pristine and glimmering, even with no real source of light nearby. An ATF member further back from the group, in the direction of the lab, was standing on guard when he felt a slight tremor. He waited, another tremor came. He crouched down, onto his knees, and a small radar disc protruded from his mask, and began to scan the ground. “Sir…” he said, still feeling the ground “sir I’m registering tremors…” 001 turned around and looked scornfully at the Slig “Its probably just a small skirmish above us! Do not waste my time, fool!” The ATF member turned back to the darkness, and peered down the tunnel. It seemed like he could see the end, getting closer and closer…but it wasn’t getting closer…it was large metal door after large metal door, slamming down from the ceiling. The ATF member looked up. There was a door, above him, and one in front of that, and behind it, going off in each direction. The entire tunnel was lined with pneumatic force blast proof doors! “SIR! WE GAVE TO GET OUT!” the doors were closing in, the ones above them would shut any minute now. “SIR WE HAVE TO…” He didn’t finish. The door above his head slammed down, crushing him underneath it. The other ATF members, seeing their comrade crushed, used the only tactic they could. Flee.
Much further down the tunnel, Eba and Bea were doing exactly the same, but from Slig troops. Bea was a good runner, and had kept up his fast pace for quite a while, but was now beginning to slow, his breathing getting harder. Eba, having mechanical legs, was feeling no fatigue at all. The only thing slowing him down was the unconscious 024 slung over his shoulder. With all the red-rust armour, Eba’s arms were beginning to feel the strain. Bullets were still being rained down on them from behind, and the constant rattling sound had become regular background noise. As they ran, Bea kept slightly stumbling, although still keeping up the pace. Eba twisted his head slightly to get a better look. Bea seemed to be stumbling every few seconds, rhythmically. As if answering a question Eba had not yet asked Bea said “There are tremors running through the tunnel…they are growing closer…” Eba activated his pressure sensors, and felt it too. “But what could…” Eba stopped mid-way. The noise of gunfire had stopped. Only a loud rhythmic thudding, accompanied by a shudder was left. He swung his body around, independently of his legs, to see what this sound was. The sight made his blood run cold. Doors, huge metal ones, slamming down, growing closer, and seemingly getting faster, had stopped the gunfire. The Sligs had been crushed, without even hearing their death swiftly approaching them from behind. “What is it?” yelled Bea “Just don’t look back!” replied Eba, swivelling his body back round. In the distance was a small speck of light…the exit! Now they just had to out run the lock down…
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