EX//MACHINA: EXORDIUM

Chapter XIII - Wasting my hate

Torn backpack on her back? Alright, barred door? That's right too. Loaded gun? Yes, but not for long.

With this level of preparedness that would make anyone envious, Amy opens the office window, sticking her head out and inspecting what she was about to do. It wasn't such a high drop, she'd probably break a leg at worst if she was really clumsy. The real problem? Infected, heaps of them right below, and she wouldn't get out of this situation with just a broken leg.

Analyzing the structure of the outer wall, she realizes she could climb if she used her hands, placing her feet in some holes she spotted around. That was terrible; climbing in this situation was the worst thing she could do, the risk of falling was way too high. But she still had a chance, and facing the creatures at the door directly was simply impossible. Between bad and worse, she knew what to choose.

And finally, even though she was sure she was alone in that room — if not for long if she stayed put — she couldn't shake off the sensation left by the creature that had been there just moments before. It seemed to have left the same way it arrived; by surprise and silently, but the fear it brought remained with Amy, as well as the questions it had raised with just one mention of Vega.

THUD

An impact on the door reminds her that time is running out, and if she wants the luxury of worrying about Vega, she has to get out of there now. Understanding this, the girl approaches the window and carefully leans on it as she envisioned, moving a little each time she takes one of her hands off the support and quickly places it further away, always seeking footing before moving.

When she's far from where she started, she can hear the door being pushed down, and fast footsteps almost made the girl decide to jump for good, forgetting about the infected below. Accelerating to get out of the creatures' line of sight, she feels her grip slipping when a pursuer sticks its head out of the window.

In that brief moment, Amy swore the creature was smiling, relishing the situation it was witnessing. Those bloody red eyes conveyed a different feeling than that of a hungry beast; she saw cruelty. That pursuer didn't just want to devour her and head back to its lair for the rest of the week; it wanted to enjoy the hunt, give her hope, and savor her slowly when she was almost believing she could escape.

How many times could they have killed Amy during these days? None? Several? It didn't matter, intentional or not, the terror imposed on her mind was real, and she wouldn't feel safe anytime soon. Realizing how scared she was, the pursuer slowly withdrew its head from the window, retreating back into the building, and the ensuing silence shattered the girl's confidence entirely.

They were already mobilizing to intercept her; no escape route was safe, all paths led to certain death. She knew that; you didn't need to be an intelligent and naturally predatory creature to ensure that she couldn't get out of there without being caught. And even knowing that, why couldn't Amy just give up? Could this intense hatred for the world she was feeling alone move her for so long? Or was there something else unknown even to her?

Amy concluded that she might end up dying without ever finding out.

Finally reaching a resting place in front of a window, the girl pauses for a moment to assess what she can do with what she had, and a bottle of alcohol waiting for use in her backpack seemed tempting. Considering that a pack of those creatures had around half a dozen pursuers, she could do some damage with it. They had thick skin and took a while to die with just bullets? Yes, but nothing she'd seen so far was immune to fire.

Unfortunately, she had no other small miracles hidden in the depths of her backpack, but one might be enough. She needed to make it count. Determined to follow another stupid plan, Amy starts to sneak around the edges again and begins to plot a route to the ground, where she would undoubtedly be hunted and eventually caught. It was simple; she needed to circle the building on the outside until she finally reached a place where it wasn't crowded with infected, then she would descend and—