A Volatiles Claim

Persued in the Dark

             "Run, he is transforming!" Calls out the unnamed woman, her voice holds so much urgency that I follow her towards one of the open panels of the control room.

The drop-down wasn't too bad, even when I collided roughly on top of an armored vehicle. A hiss of pain escapes me when a shockwave of pain shoots through my body, and I was almost convinced that I pulled something until I am forced to ignore it when another deep viral-like scream cries out from the building behind us. And boy does it sound pissed off.

Aiden is the last to abandon the second floor of the car factory, and whatever is happening to Waltz is taking a minute because the more we run away from him, the farther away his anguished screams sounded. That or the crossbow lady really did a number on him. With her leading the way, we had to jump across the truck to a covered bus stop bench and, upon looking on the other side, I grimace internally when it appeared as though we had to get wet. I land in the very flooded parking lot of a metro station, and though there weren't any cars to impede our escape, the water made up for it in terms of slowing us down. Coming up to just below my waist, the cool, and surprisingly clear, water soaked through my pants, shoes, and even a bit of my underwear as I sloshed my way through it toward a set of double doors the woman went through.

'I know Aiden is fast, but hell, she surely surpasses him by a mile!' I think in awe at her agile movements.

Finally free from the restricting obstacle, I scamper up a series of steps and ram open the doors with my shoulder not really caring if anything dangerous was potentially inside. It takes me a moment to register the interior, specifically where our guide had gone, and found that she had already ascended to the next floor via the stalled escalators in the center of the facility. I don't hesitate to follow after her, especially when she turns back and glances at me and then at the set of doors that also flew open from a panicked-looking Aiden.

"Run!" She yells again, this time with a smidge less pressure and a hint of frustration.

'I may be fast but I am no Bolter, Lady!' I fume internally with great annoyance at her constant calls for us to run and act as if we are jogging after her.

Almost at the top of the escalator, I turn back to see Aiden jamming a crowbar between the handles of the entrance to stall our pursuer before following after us. I take a sharp left and continue our uncharted escape route by going through the forever-open sliding doors of a subway car, which by the way, was filled with columns of stacked plastic storage bins. What was inside of them, I don't know but if I had to guess since this specific subway line always leads to the city, they must have been supplies for the people as the world went to shit. It made for a tight fit, especially when I had to leap over a slightly barricaded gangway connection, but I managed to get through them in a surprisingly quick manner because Aiden was hot on my heels. The last thing I ever want to happen right now is me slowing him down and potentially getting us killed. I possibly could be going a bit faster than the speed I was going at now, but I was temporarily capped at this pace due to my wet clothing. Sure I may not have gotten completely drenched, but the clothes around my legs and feet, the same appendages that are doing the most work, are weighted down by the soaked clothing and shoes. The slightly added mass of them wasn't too great, but it did add a bit of a challenge to something where velocity matters.

"Oh fuck..." I pant out when I slide to the left into another subway cabin, only the reason for my curse was its position.

Instead of being a flat and straightforward path, the entire cart was lopsided resulting in a moderate slat of the ground to the right. Not only that, but the moment I stepped inside, I heard the structure groan at the sudden movement. And though my heart was racing from running and slight fear that the thing would collapse, I made it through and jumped onto a completely toppled-over section of the metro, hell, the few cars ahead were either leaning to one side, turned to block the entire tracks, or even bent from collisions with other carts. What exactly happened here, I guess will remain a mystery... not like I was one for history anyway. It was at this point that I noticed that I was out of breath, big time. This entire chase is a strain on my legs, and my back from carrying my filled-up bag, as well as a major workout. The tricky environment, obstacles, and constant reminder on how to handle my breathing is making me wish that someone would put me out of my misery or at least a bolt of lightning would magically strike Waltz to give us more breathing room. Adrenaline was the only drug that is keeping me going at this point, and I suspect that if it weren't coursing through my veins, I would be sore all over.