My Classmate is a Killer (Unfinished)

Chapter 10: Complications

Well, this could be going better. As bullet whizz overhead, pinging off manufacturing machines and chemical storing containers with a metallic sting. I struggle to reload my weapon, fumbling with the chest strap holding one of my rifle's magazines, my back planted against a metal workbench shielding me from the hail of gunfire as s Sakura, rushing to cover next to me, pulls the pin to one of her flash-bangs and tosses it over her head. As soon as we hear the deafening screech, we both peek over the workbench and pick off the masked HIVE rifleman. I push my index finger against one of the buttons on my headset. "Maxwell, how are things looking up there?" Following disjointed audio of grunting and gunshots, I finally get a response. "All clear up here. Jarrod's looking around the chief officer's office. Looks deserted if you ask me, the bugger probably left in a hurry, documents are everywhere." I form up with Sakura and Ashleigh who are securing the site. I walk over to one of the storing crates and lift the cover off with a resounding hiss, revealing dozens of cylindrical tubes glowing with a yellow liquid chemical inside it. I pull one out, immediately feeling the immense heat radiating from it. I look to Sakura who is now standing beside me, equally curious. "Biochemical?" She asks, tilting her head. I shrug. "Could be. Not sure. Either way, let's secure it and make our way to the basement." Suddenly, Jarrod's voice fills our ears in comms. "We could use a hand up here! Some sort of heavily armoured infantry are holding the 3rd floor, requesting immediate support!" We look at each other and nod, racing up the stairway.

As Sakura kicks down the door, a bullet whizzes past me and pings Ashleigh in the chest, knocking her down the stairway. "Ashleigh!" Sakura yells, only to hear the groans of our squad's marksman. I put my hand on Sakura's shoulder, who is visibly shaken. "Go and check on her. I'll help Jarrod and Maxwell. Meet us at the extraction point." Sakura hesitates but eventually nods, racing down the stairway to retrieve her injured comrade. I sprint towards Maxwell and Jarrod's position, immediately coming under fire from heavily armoured HIVE troops, their metallic shoulder pads gleaming from the dim lights of the building as the empty their LMGs at me. Someone yanks me aside behind a wall before any of the bullets can shred me. I breathe out a sigh of relief and look up to see Maxwell wearing his trademark SAS gas mask, his gloved hand patting my shoulder. "Close one mate. As you can see, we're slightly pinned here." He gestures to Jarrod, dumping his magazine in an attempt to at least slow the troop's advance. I glance back at Maxwell, noticing the white bandage around his arm, slightly stained with a cherry red. "You've been shot," Maxwell shrugs it off. "I've had worse." Maxwell and Jarrod continue to try and target the weak points of the troop's armour, but to no avail, as the seemingly invincible beasts march towards us, guns blazing as bullet casings cover the floor. I formulate a plan in my mind as I grasp a smoke grenade in one hand, knife in the other.

"Maxwell, Jarrod, covering fire." I order, tossing the smoke grenade across the hallway towards the enemy. The grenade hisses, exhausting grey, thick smoke from its interior. Maxwell and Jarrod glance at me, confused. I nod, imploring them to trust me, as I sprint towards the fog engulfing the hallway, holding my breath. I slide across the floor through the smoke, slicing at the ankles of one of the armoured troopers in the process. The soldier yells in pain, stumbling back as I swivel behind him, plunging the knife into an unprotected spot in his neck. As I pull the knife out the man collapses to the ground, grasping his neck in a futile attempt to keep the liquids in, spluttering and gasping as blood leaks from his neck and across the green carpeted floor. I return my focus to the other armoured troop, who is struggling to navigate through the smoke, blindly firing his weapon in the process. I leap and latch onto his back, my hands unintentionally covering his faceplate as I grasp onto him for dear life, causing the armoured beast to stumble and swing around, his aim further deteriorating. I finally get a stable hold around him and swipe my knife across his neck, causing him too to fall to his knees as he grasps his own neck. I hop off him, coming face to face with the last brute, his LMG pointed directly at me. I freeze, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, a round rings out as the man crumples onto the floor, blood and bits of metal and brain splattering across the glass wall behind him, his head left with a crater exposing the bloody interior causing me to feel slightly ill at the sight of it. My head swings to the origin of the shot to see Jarrod crouching, aiming down the sights anti-material rifle set on his right knee, the barrel smoking as he lowers the weapon. Maxwell pops out from his cover, equally stunned at what he had just seen. "Nice shot," I finally state in laboured breath. Maxwell lightly punches Jarrod's shoulder, impressed and confused at the same time as Jarrod stands up. "Where on earth did you get that?" He inquires, prompting Jarrod to shrug. "Officers should learn to keep their stuff better."

I chuckle as we race towards the CCTV room and armoury, guarding Jarrod while he sets the C4 charges on the doors and walls, giggling with joy as he activates each of the explosives. After Jarrod sets the last C4, we dash for the research labs, Maxwell kicking down the door as we aim our rifles at any potential targets. The laboratory, contrary to the other rooms of the facility, appears in better condition, its marble white floors a toothy white while its walls a nice granite finish. The desks themselves appear recently used, as bits of equipment and papers still lay motionless on the surface of the metal desks. At the front of the laboratory is a single large flatscreen, large than any TV I've ever seen, displaying the world map with bits of information and science jargon. Below the screen is a single desktop which we quickly rush towards, setting our weapons aside. Maxwell types away at the desktop while me and Jarrod stand on either side of him, observing his rapid clicks and button pushes, his skill of unwavering concentration regardless of fatigue showing through. "Looks like some chemical formulas for some sort of biochemical weapon," he states, scrolling through chunks of text and diagrams. "By the looks of things, this chemical is even more potent than the samples Jordan tested," Maxwell sternly faces me, his gas mask despite hiding his expression telling a grim story. "They've evolved the formula. This gas not only destroys organic material, it also infects organic life, essentially turning the victims into mindless corpses, alive only in body, not mind." Maxwell continues to read the documents as me and Jarrod glance at each other.

Suddenly, the desktop's screen cuts black as the larger screen above us displays the silhouette of a man, his face far away from the screen in a dark room to ensure his identity is hidden. We walk backwards slowly, eyes still fixed on the unknown man. Finally, the man speaks, his voice both hoarse and full of venom. "Well, well, well. Look what I have found. I couple of thieves trying to steal all our hard-earned work." The man's voice sends shivers down my spine as I can basically hear the smile forming on his face. "Sad thing for you, though, is no-one will ever hear what you have to say." Gas suddenly fills the room as me and Jarrod fumble to put our gas masks on. The man, observing this, laughs manically. "Oh I wouldn't try that. This gas is more... deadly." Maxwell suddenly begins to cough and splutter as a crack on his gas mask forms. I suddenly feel my lungs tighten and my neck strangulated, as my gas mask seems to have no effect in negating the gas. Jarrod quickly passes out, collapsing onto the floor, Maxwell soon following in suite. On my knees, I manage to choke a question out as I grasp my neck for air before passing out. "Who are you?" I demand as my eyes begin to close, black shadows forming around me.

"Enigma."