Alt+Control Chapter 33

The two of them step inside, and the door slides shut. With a heart-stopping jolt, the elevators began to drop at an alarming speed. My stomach jumps and my eardrums pop as the elevator accelerates.

I’m about to press the emergency halt button because I think that the elevator’s broken when the elevator comes to a sudden stop. The door slides open again with a quiet ding to steel plated and barren hallway.

I stick out my cane again and step out of the hallway. There’s no one else in the hallway, and our footsteps echo along the metal. We turn the corner, and see a worker in a white uniform walking down the hall before us.

“Hey, you!” somebody barks, and I nearly jump out of my skin before I realize that it’s Marc. The worker turns around, and at the immediate sight of us, the worker stiffens.

“Yes, sir? What can I do for you?” I see that the worker’s face is hidden behind black helmet visor. The voice is ambiguous, so I can’t tell if the worker’s male or female.

“Please show us the way to Chronos. We have urgent business here.” Gerad waves the “papers” in front of the worker’s face. The worker grabs it, and lifts his or her visor.

Underneath the black visor is a pure white, smooth face with a fixed smile. Oh crap. Marc and Gerad seemed to have noticed my sudden fear, and they inch slightly closer to me.

The android’s eyes beam as it scans the papers, glowing an unsettling shade of blood red. When it finishes scanning the papers, it takes it and starts methodically ripping it.

“What do you think you’re doing with that, android?” asks Marc, and grabs the android’s wrist.

“Marc, don’t—“ as I realize that the free hand is the weapon one. It’s too late, as the android pulls out its weapon and shoves it into Marc’s side. Marc flies into the wall, landing with a loud crash that echoes down the hall. He turns his head slightly, and I see that the mask has started to peel off from the jolt.

“You are intruders. Intruders must be eliminated,” It says plainly.

The android’s voice makes shivers climb up my spine. I crouch into a defensive stance, and yell at Gerad, “The eyes! The eyes are the weak spot!”

Gerad immediately starts trying to hit the eyes, whilst avoiding contact with the weapon. I notice that the weapon this time is a mix of a club and a hammer, which makes the android a bit slower. We can use that to our advantage!

“Gerad, back it into the wall!” I hiss. Gerad nods, and he starts forcing the android through punches and kicks towards the wall.

When the android raises its weapon to strike Gerad, I thrust my cane horizontally and trap the wrist to the wall. The android, now finding itself weaponless, gives its full attention to me.

“Now Gerad, quick!” Gerad obeys and punches the android in one eye, and then the other. I shove my cane down the now empty sockets and attempt to disconnect wires. After a few seconds of writhing, the android stops moving, and I pull my cane out of the socket.

I shake off the pieces of glass to the best of my ability, and turn to Gerad.

“Oh my god, your hands are bleeding!” I exclaim. His knuckles, where I assume they made contact with the eyes, are bleeding profusely.

“I’m ok,” he says. “Just need to pick out some glass. Go take care of Marc, I think he needs more help than I do.”

I had totally forgotten about Marc. Gee, what type of an ally am I? I rush over to him, and find him slumped beside the wall. His breathing is raspy, and slow.

“Hey, you ok?” I ask him. He turns his head towards me, and winces.

“Yeah. I don’t think anything’s broken. It sounded a lot worse than it is.”

“Here, let’s take off the mask. It’ll help you breath better.” I carefully peel it off and place it on the floor besides him. “Better?”

He nods. “Better.” He pauses. “I think it was a good choice to make you my ally.”

“You mean you had doubts?” I ask him. Funny, I’d never think of Marc as someone with doubts.

“Well of course. I had no idea what you were capable of. Now I know you’re strong, smart and cool in a lot of situations. It’s funny how I just seemed to know, without me knowing you that well at all.”

“It’s called intuition. Sometimes, you heart knows better than your brain.”

“Yeah.” There’s a pause between the two of us.

“You know, I’m glad I decided to pair up with you too,” I tell him hesitantly. He just smiles at me and closes his eyes.

I sit besides him, waiting for his breathing to regulate. Gerad sits with us, and we just wait for I don’t know how long.

“Ok, I think I’m ready to get up,” Marc opens his eyes. He raises his arms, and Gerad and I stand up to help him up. We manage to pull him up, and Marc unsteadily managed to walk.

“What about the mask?” I ask, pointing to it. It’s still on the floor besides the wall.

Marc waves his hand. “Screw that. They should know we’re here now.” Gerad peels off his mask and places it besides Marc’s.

And slowly but surely, we walk to the next obstacle.

So Gerad manages to prove himself capable :) yay! What's the next obstacle, you ask? Wait till the next chapter ;)