Frenzy & Torch

Chapter 20: The Lab

An armed mercenary stood at the gate of the bio-weapon and experimentation facility on yet another remote world. The planet, I-741, was comprised of mainly scrubland. The compound itself was a refurbished oil refinery that had previously been abandoned for more than a century. The renovations breathed new life into the old industrial carcass: the cylindrical light grey buildings were twenty stories tall. According to General Ivanov, the weapons, ammo, and synthetic plasma fuel for newly manufactured vehicles like the Mobile Fortress tanks were stored underground. He even caught a glimpse of some life forms being experimented on for combat applications. His knowledge of the base was limited as he had only visited it once, but he knew all the scientists worked on the third level.

The guard was smoking a cigarette and looking at his phone. The afternoon sun was high in the sky, prompting him to put on his tan baseball cap. The sound of a vehicle in the distance made him look up. It was a white sedan that was flying at a hundred miles per hour. He raised his arm and waved at it to slow down.

"Who the hell is this?" he wondered aloud. He spoke into his mic. "Mike, be ready to activate the auto-turrets."

The aforementioned man in the nearby booth who controlled the turrets and level crossing barrier was also on his phone watching a sitcom on a streaming service. He gave a thumbs up, not caring if it was seen or not.

The guard aimed his rifle at the approaching vehicle. His heart rate returned to normal once it slowed down and he could see it was only a pizza delivery man.

"I got a large pepperoni pizza here for— "

Another vehicle, this time a Rolls-Royce, slammed into the back of the sedan at maximum speed. The guard was thrown at the booth and his head was split open upon impact.

"Holy shit!" Mike yelled. He pressed a button that made some of the sand part. From below the ground emerged grey duel-cannon turrets.

Elizabeth leapt out of the trashed car with her sword drawn. She ricocheted the first laser blast toward the booth. In an explosion of glass and metal, Mike was annihilated before he could process what happened. She flew toward the nearest turret, ripped it from the ground, then chucked it at the neighboring one; it flew off its foundation and came to rest on its back.

Annabelle left the car and sprinted toward the delivery driver who had been thrown fifty feet from his car. She slid next to him and checked his vitals. "Please don't be dead, please don't be dead— Elizabeth, why did you tell the driver to crash into this man?!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Hey, it's his fault for getting in the way!" she said as she landed next to her. Her eyes lit up as she saw some pizza on the ground. "Hey, pizza!" She crouched down and ate a slice.

"Oh, my God," the Rolls-Royce driver's eyes were wide. His palms were sweating profusely as he death-gripped the steering wheel. "That was ... that was ... absolutely horrific ... but I've never felt more alive!" he exclaimed. "I should sign up for one of those death derby races!"

Elizabeth suddenly appeared next to the driver's side door. She was embarrassed to admit taking out the turrets made her break a sweat, but then again it was very hot outsides. "Sign up for what now?"

"It's a— "

"Better question, what's your current job again?"

"I'm a marketing designer!"

"Stick to that, okay? Violence isn't really your thing, no offense." She chomped another piece of the pizza.

"Are you seriously crushing my dreams after coercing me into committing manslaughter?"