March 2009 Archives

"Yukari!" Jonathan yelled, turning his head rapidly towards me. "We're going to be in some deep shit! You think you can kung-fu those guys?"

"Kung Fu? Do I look like some sort of martial artist? I'm a swordfighter!"

Jonathan grabbed the console hard, and it started to melt away. Sparks flew, and the tram seemed to cry in pain, as the steel screeched in stress. As the tram slowed, a sword began to form from the shell of the console. Jon worked quickly, resulting in a dirty and unremarkable blade, but adequate for what I needed.

Tobias drew a pistol from his trench coat, his only defense. Sienna also reached for hers, although I had doubts to whether she could bring herself to fire it. She was a strong-willed woman, but killing simply was not her way.

As we began to enter the station, Jon turned around and tossed me the sword. He then sat on the ground, taking cover behind the remains of the console. Anna sat against the wall in the back, while Sienna kneeled in front of her, with her pistol pointed at the station's arrival area. Tobias took up a similar position behind a bench in the middle of the tram, while I knelt against the rear side door waiting for us to arrive. Unfortunately we couldn't cover Michael too well, although I suspected he'd be the least of our problems.

I looked over at Anna who was clenching to Sienna's back, and asked her, "Can you tell how many of them are there?"

"Uhm… I think… sixteen?" She said.

"Oh, only sixteen?" I replied with a sarcastic tone.

The tram finally came to a stop. I peeked over the tram's wall, looking around for these soldiers. They were sitting silently, guns pointed at the tram.

"Not even a word," I thought to myself. "They have no intention of taking us alive now."

It was obvious that they were going to wait for us to make the first move, so I took the initiative. Because the tram was comprised of only half-height walls and no ceiling, I could easily jump up and out without using the door. I'd like to think I was stealthy enough to have moved unseen, but it was really a side effect of my speed.

My goal was to draw their fire away from the tram, so that they could safely get out and defend themselves. I kicked the gun out of the nearest soldier's arms, and tossed it into the tram. By this point, my movements were no longer a blur, and the others began to open fire. They didn't seem to be concerned with friendly fire, and thoroughly devastated the soldier I had just disarmed. I kept moving towards the next target, further away from the tram. Bullets zoomed past me from all angles.

I didn't have time to get fancy, so I brought my sword to bear. It was a more traditional short sword, rather than the katana I was used to. The weight was much different, so I had to be careful not to accidentally lose grip. I took down the next couple of soldiers in short form, using their bodies as shields when possible.

It was then that I heard additional gunfire, from the direction of the tram. I took a risk and glanced back, to see Jon wielding some sort of rifle. It must have been the other thing he was melting earlier. I also spotted Tobias opening fire with his pistol. I was confused as to why no one was using the rifle I had tossed them, until I saw Sienna of all people holding it.

"So much for not killing anyone," I thought to myself.

A bullet then whistled right past my abdomen. I felt a slight twinge of heat, and looked down to see the bullet had traveled through my shirt. That was enough motivation to finally stay focused at the task at hand. I didn't have time to check in on the rest of the group.

I moved towards the next soldier crouching behind a bench. Just before I reached him, another soldier popped out from behind a support column, and aimed directly at me. I dropped to the ground as fast as possible, attempting to dodge his fire, when I suddenly noticed he wasn't firing. I raised my head to see that he had dropped the weapon and was now clenching a bullet wound in the chest.

I flicked my head around to find my savior, but whoever had shot the soldier was already moving on to other targets. Taking a deep breath, I hopped back on my feet, and forcefully disarmed the man behind the bench. With him gone, the right side of the station was cleared. There was a loud call from the other side, ordering everyone to fall back to the surface. The gunfire suddenly dropped off, and the station fell quiet. My heart was beating so fast I thought that even Michael could hear it.

I absentmindedly tried to put the sword into the hip hilt, forgetting that it wasn't a proper katana. Annoyed with having nowhere to put it, I wiped the blade off as best I could, and haphazardly slipped it through my belt. Hopefully I wouldn't trip and gouge myself with it. Shirking the responsibility of helping the others off the tram, I followed the exit path of the soldiers, to make sure the area was clear.

The stairwell seemed clear. The team slowly worked themselves off the tram, and we made it over to the stairs.

"Is there seriously no elevator here?" Sienna complained.

"We can't flick Michael on yet, there's no way he'll make it all the way up from here." Jonathan informed us.

"Tobias, what does your reference manual say?" Sienna asked sarcastically.

Tobias glared at Sienna distastefully, but pulled his notebook out anyway. He grabbed a yellow bookmark hanging out of the top, and flipped to its page. Paging forward a bit, he finally found something.

"There's a service elevator about 50 yards down the track."

We turned around and walked back to the track. Although this was the last station, the tram line continued for a distance into a tunnel. There appeared to be a walkway along the side of the tunnel as well. Tobias and Sienna pushed Michael's stretcher along the grated walkway, the metal wheels rattling wildly.

The tunnel grew dark as we progressed. I was surprised just how dark it became, as the underground was barely lit itself. Finally we arrived at the service elevator. The elevator was locked by a key, which Jonathan made quick work of. Once inside, Tobias quickly covered the escape plan. The elevator went up to the 15^th floor of the surface maintenance area. After the elevator arrived, we'd need to activate Michael and run like hell. It wouldn't take the army long to figure out what we had done.

As Tobias finished up his review, I looked at Anna, who was sitting on the stretcher looking over Michael.

"He looks so peaceful; I wonder what he's thinking," Anna wondered aloud.

"He's probably worrying about us," I offered.

"He may look peaceful, but I doubt he is. Imagine being completely cut off from the world… no sight, no sound, no touch, no smell, not even taste." Jonathan explained.

"That almost sounds like… being buried alive," Sienna said worriedly.

Jon nodded in agreement. "It couldn't be pleasant."

"We're almost to the top, let's wake up Michael," Tobias said readily, as if he suddenly felt guilty for Michael's situation.

Tobias slowly and carefully rolled Michael on his side again, and pulled his shirt up. Jonathan hobbled over, and reopened the access panel. He pressed a couple of buttons, and the strange voice once again detailed the revival of Michael's robotic body.

As it continued, the elevator reached the final floor, as high as it could take us. I grabbed the back of the stretcher, while Tobias grasped the front. A hard push and a couple of thuds later, and we were out. We were once again on a grated walkway, except now we were suspended nearly 100 feet in the air. I tried not to look down.

Anna didn't take too kindly to the heights, hopping off of Michael's stretcher and hovering close to Sienna. Jon was careful not to trip or have his crutches become stuck in the grating. There was a silent sense of urgency as we moved, although it seemed there was no immediate threat. We had all seen enough action for one day.

By the time we reached the end of the walkway, coming closer to the walls of the dome, Michael had finally awakened.

"How much farther?" he asked Tobias.

"About five flights of stairs straight up," he said, pointing above us.

I followed his arm and saw, through the walkways above, many large metal tubes. There was a low hum, the hum of the ventilation fans.

Michael left the stretcher behind, and walked carefully with us.

"Think you can make it?" I asked, concerned.

"Hard to tell. Only one way to find out," he said, smiling.

"I'm glad you're not concerned," I muttered.

Michael made himself useful, and practically carried Jon up the stairs with him. Flight after flight, we kept moving. We were about halfway when Anna grabbed Sienna's arm.

"What is it, baby?" she asked.

"There's more coming, from below!"

"The stairwell," Tobias realized.

"We don't have time to stop and fight. We need to keep moving," Jon said, ushering us as much as he could with Michael holding him up.

"Jonathan!" I called from the back.

"What?"

"Couldn't you melt these stairs down? They don't seem too rigid."

"Good idea. Everyone get up here, I'll reform these stairs into a wall."

We slid past Jon, and he limped back down a few stairs. Grabbing the railings first, he proceeded to melt the stairs down into bars, like a jail. He continued to work as fast as he could, not attempting to secure the bars, just to deter the army and remove their passage (as around five stairs were suddenly missing). Once he made it up to the floor, he melted the floor up as we moved, ensuring that no one could jump or climb over.

The scaffolding and stairs seemed to moan, and I wondered if Jon had mistakenly removed some supports in the process. We didn't waste any time to find out, though, and charged onward. Jon had moved as quickly as he could, but Anna let us know they were rapidly approaching. I could actually hear them clambering up the stairs below, and many shouts for us.

As we approached the floor we were heading for, Michael suddenly let go of Jon. He grasped the handrail tightly, but kept moving.

"Michael, are you alright?"

He nodded, but was silent.

We kept moving, only one more flight to go. He slowly crept up with us, as if every step he took would cause him to fall. He was waiting for his legs to finally fail him. We were on the last steps, I could see he was struggling as much as he could. Then he stopped for the final time.

"I'm sorry," he said, and collapsed there on the stairs.

"Shit!" Jon yelled. He grabbed Michael's arm, while gesturing to Tobias to grab the other. Sienna and I realized it was going to take more than one and a half men to drag Michael up, so we went to grab his legs. We pushed and pulled as hard as we could, and little by little, we moved him up those last few stairs. Once we were on the floor, Jon struggled to make another stretcher for him.

While Jon worked, Tobias walked across the walkway towards the ventilation fan. We could hear the wind howling through. He looked up and down the round vent duct, and grabbed onto a handle. He struggled with the handle for a while, finally resorting to using his leg for leverage, he popped the door open.

Without warning, a red light flashed and an alarm blared.

"The alarm is for the filtration system being bypassed, just ignore it!" he called over.

Jonathan had just finished with the stretcher by now, and he was looking visibly worn out by the effort. He had used his powers a great deal today, and I'm sure his head was pounding. Unfortunately, Anna's visibly worried face told me we didn't have time to sit down and relax.

The new stretcher was much lower to the ground, so that we could easily roll Michael onto it. Once we managed to get him on, we took off for the vent door Tobias had opened. The alarm continued to sound, and I couldn't help but worry about what sort of trouble it would cause. We fumbled our way into the ventilation shaft, and the wind ripped us apart. I felt like I was going to fall over. Tobias led the way, carrying Anna on his back. Sienna and I pushed Michael, while Jon carefully pushed his way forward.

It wasn't a long walk before we reached the ventilation fan. The fan was massive, over 10 feet in diameter. It became harder and harder to push forward toward the fan as we approached.

"This is the last obstacle before we make it out of here! We need to shut this thing down!" Tobias yelled over the roaring motor and wind.

I felt guilty, but I looked back at Jon once more. He nodded, and we helped him up to the fan, holding him so that the force of the wind wouldn't knock him back.

He placed his hands on the motor, and concentrated deeply. He was straining and fighting the pain in his head again, and I could tell he was having difficulty. Suddenly, with a cry of pain, he let go of the motor and grasped his forehead.

"Jon, are you alright?" Sienna asked, also concerned.

He shook his head, but placed his hands back on the motor again anyway. Again he tried to melt it down, to stop the fan in any way he could manage. However, just like last time, he let go, yelling out in pain.

"I… I can't do it, it hurts too much to concentrate!" he cried.

"Sienna, isn't there something you can do?" I demanded.

"I can't do anything for the mind. It's too complex," she explained.

Left with no other option, I grabbed the generic sword Jon had made for me earlier. Drawing it from my belt, I looked around the fan for some place to stab it, possibly jamming it or breaking it. Having difficulty finding a weak spot in the motor, I took my sword and jammed it as quickly as I could in the blades.

Milliseconds later, one of the blades struck the sword, and to my surprise, snapped it cleanly in half against the supports I had jammed it against. I let the remaining half drop to the floor, and looked back at the others.

"Well, I'm out of ideas!" I yelled.