The World Of Steam

47

As the quiet afternoon fell upon the bloody battlefield, The Black Mark proceeded with infiltrating The Council Of Gold's base. Their rifles and machine guns were prepared and stocked up with bullets, their swords were sharpened and polished to a high gleam. Karzen gave the signal and everyone split up, covering as much area as they possibly could. We had to be in and out like termites. Once the cure was in our hands, we needed to escape within an instant. The longer we stayed, the lower our chances were at surviving. Facing the enemy in their base would instantly turn into a one sided battle with dire consequences. We would be slaughtered on the spot and it would all be over in a flash. We would be walking right into a firing line with no backup to protect us. They were the masters of their domain, knowing every twist and turn, every ambush point to attack us from behind or take us by surprise. Meanwhile, we were strangers in a strange land, our brains rattling about, trying to process everything that our eyes saw, trying to come up with a plan that would at least give us one advantage over our enemies. Karzen may have had the most knowledge of the base, but even he did not know what to expect. Knox could have laid out traps everywhere and included a few upgrades in the process. He was not going to allow us to get out alive. The army circled around the entire base, going down hatches into basements and through back doors, entering through whatever passage they found. I went through a hatch into a basement and came up to a corridor. Karzen gestured, giving a signal, and I nodded, taking one way with Jennix by my side, and he went the other way, Xavix by his side. Reaching behind his back, Xavix drew out two, large, curved daggers, ready to cut up anything in his path. "How did you meet Lennox?" Karzen asked.

"A long story that we don't have time for." Xavix replied. Karzen nodded.

"Fair enough."

Not even a moment went by and the place was alive with alarms and flashing lights. Gunfire filled the air and bodies began to drop to the floor, filling the building with the sounds of battle. Two enemies ambushed Xavix from the corridors, but he quickly sliced through them, not surprised in the slightest. Blood splattered onto the walls. Karzen took care of another one as he fired the poison dart from his gun, giving his enemy a slow and painful death. Jennix and I walked through the corridors and were suddenly greeted by a large steel door. I pulled down the handle and pushed, but the door did not budge. Jennix quickly scanned the area for anything useful, finding a broken knife and a rusty spoon. She grabbed them and gently pushed me out of the way, stopping me from wasting my own time. Stooping down, she began to fiddle with the lock and after a little moment of small frustration, it clicked and we were granted entry. The cure stared right back at us, sitting inside a cold chamber, almost entirely covered by freezing steam. A small keypad and a temperature gauge just above it were fixed to the chamber. Hearing footsteps, we turned and saw a scientist walk in. I stepped over to him, not letting him get away as I grabbed him by his coat. Pushing him up against the wall, I punched him in the gut. He gasped as his breath was forced out of him.

"Open the chamber or I am going to cut something important of yours off." I told him sternly. Obeying, the scientist stepped over to a keypad and tapped in a code. The chamber lifted up, hissing out the compressed air, releasing the cold steam onto the floor which quickly dissipated into nothingness. I smashed the butt of my gun into his head and he fell to the floor in a heap. Without waiting for anything else to happen, I grabbed the cure, putting it into my coat. We left the scene and fled swiftly through the corridors, trying to remember the exact way that we had come through. I saw a man appear from a corner and aimed my gun at him, went to pull the trigger, but stopped myself.

"Jesus, Lennox!" Karzen exclaimed, seeing the gun barrel an inch from his face. I put the gun down.

"We have the cure and need to get out." I told him. Karzen gestured with his hand.

"Come, I might know a way."