The World Of Steam

37

Making our way towards the exit of the organisation, we came across a suspended metal bridge with a single door at the end. Jennix looked down the long and large drop into the dark abyss, her eyes being able to catch not one glimpse of what laid beneath. The only thing that she could see was the grey, bored out walls of the pit, but even they quickly disappeared into the gloom. One tiny slip and it would be certain death. There was no safety net waiting for us down there, only the promise of a one-way trip to the afterlife. Looking up, Jennix closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and sighed, gathering herself, letting her vertigo subside. After making sure that she wasn't going to faint and fall to her death, she quickly but steadily followed after me, catching up. Freedom was soon near. It was so close that I could practically taste it. It was a wonderful feeling, but I could not celebrate just yet. Our escape was not over. All we had to do was make it to the end of the bridge and run like hell when we were outside. The war was still raging with no end in sight. Who knew what was waiting for us beyond that door? Maybe Karzen had set up a trap for us to walk right into should we try to escape his grasp. We made our way to the middle of the bridge when the door opened up. The Black Mark stopped us, blocking the doorway, impeding our exit. They instantly poured through the doorway like ants and arranged themselves in a firing line formation within seconds, giving us no chance at picking off their numbers. They aimed their rifles at us, their itchy fingers already hovering over their triggers. I did not doubt that they wanted to end our lives, they just needed the order or reason. They were nothing but mindless killers with a taste for delivering vengeful death upon anyone that they deemed a threat. The blood on Karzen's hands well exceeded the blood on mine. We may have had the same sense of justice, but Karzen's was much more psychotic. The troops slaughtered entire divisions in their endless crusade for victory against their enemies. That was all that mattered to them. Victory. This wasn't just a random bridge that was built for the purpose of getting through the base – it was a trap for any double agent or spy trying to flee, their escape only leading them to their death. I did not think that I wanted to know what laid at the bottom of that dark gorge. I turned, making my way back, when the other side was blocked as well with troops, also forming a firing line. Karzen made his way through his soldiers and slowly walked up to me. Being cautious, he stopped after a few steps, making sure that I did not have enough space to jump at him and tear his throat out. Reacting to both firing lines, I took the cure and held it over the abyss.

"Don't think that I won't drop this!" I yelled at him, making sure that I got the message across. Karzen held his hands out and looked behind him and back to his soldiers in front of him.

"Stop!" He ordered. The soldiers all lowered their weapons, immediately obeying. Karzen put his hands down by his sides and looked at me.

"What should I do with you?" I asked him. "I thought that we were allies. I thought that we both had a common goal."

"We do." Karzen replied to me calmly, despite the standoff that he was in. "With our alliance, we can bring peace to the country."

"Peace?!" I shouted at him, my simmering rage finally boiling over. "What do you know about peace?! What about that laboratory that you have?! All of those people stuck in the walls?! What peace can you bring to them?!"

"We are trying to help them. We are trying to find a cure for their illnesses."

"It looks a lot like torture!"

"We are just doctors here. We are on the side of the angels."

"Angels of death, more like it!"

"Lennox!" Karzen yelled at me, his anger rising, not being able to tolerate me any longer. "For God's sake! Can't you see that we are trying to help this city! Our goal is to stop this madness!"

"That's only what a liar would say! What about those inquisitors, torturing people, forcing them to breathe in the toxins of the outside?!"

"You have your techniques and I have mine."

"And the meat plants?!"

"I'm not a cannibal unlike Knox, I use the same cartridges that you yourself have in your gas mask. Those vats of blood are strictly for research purposes." He reached into his suit and took an identical cartridge out. Without hesitation, he stabbed the three small metal spikes into his neck. He snarled. "You think I like using these things?!" He asked me, waving the empty cartridge about slightly. A second later, he threw it down into the abyss angrily. "It may not be as expensive as your version, but it's still something! Christ! What I wouldn't give for a big, juicy steak! If I had a steak, I would – fuck it."

Jennix's eyes and lips twisted into disgust. "Jesus." She remarked.

"I have heard enough." I said, just before tossing the cure to Jennix. Eyes wide with surprise, she dived for it, catching it in both her hands. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, not being able to comprehend the action that I had just carried out. She looked up at me as I strode over to Karzen, my gloved hands clenched into fists. The leader also strode over to me. We both engaged in a fury of blows. I punched at him, managing to land a blow to his cheek. He dodged the second attack that I sent at him and punched me in the gut. I gasped as all of my oxygen left my body. Collapsing to my knees, I panted, looking down at the bridge's platform. Karzen looked down at me.

"Go ahead, take the cure. I'm curious to see how far you will get with it. Now leave...before I kill you both." He told us coldly. I stood up as I recovered and made my way across to the end of the bridge. Jennix put the cure into her coat and swiftly followed after me. The soldiers parted, taking their aim off of us, allowing us through. One soldier stepped up to Karzen.

"Why did you let them take the cure?" He asked him.

"Lennox will guard that thing with his life." Karzen replied. "He is not going to let it get destroyed. Letting Lennox take the cure may sound warped, but it's our best chance at surviving this madness."