Elysium Falling (ONC 2024 Long List)

Chapter 11 As I Must

The building continued to quake around Rowan as he moved towards the front door and salvation. Dust was thick, he covered his mouth as much as he could but he was already coughing. Screams could be heard in the distance. He didn't bother to check for survivors as he went. The whole group could die. He was here for one person only. 

He navigated the crumbling corridors barely seeing them as his mind raced with calculations and possibilities. 

There was the matter of deciding who to hit first. Dik or Dana? He couldn't have the other coming up on him if he was forced to fight at the entrance.

Another rumble and he lost his footing. He pitched forward onto the floor barely catching himself with his hands. It wasn't enough to stop him from skittering into the wall. He was up in an instant on unsteady legs still mentally working out the last details to his plan.

Dik was closer and also picking his way towards the door but he was alone. Rowan tried to figure out his former partner's motivations but it became far more difficult with rubble falling left and right.

"Shit," he bit his tongue as the building shook again. Blood filled his mouth and he found himself spitting it out and then coughing on the dust in the air. The lights continued to flicker on and off but the rumbling had at least paused for now.  

Rowan knew this was far from the main event.

The fail safes were slowly burying the evidence. But he suspected a sophisticated network of hackers were working on slowing them down or stopping them. Now that the firewall was down anything could happen in here. The Watchers were just one faction of many. It was their time. 

The mainframe died. 

Rowan paused attempting to link up to it again. There was response, not even a glimmer. It was probably one of many fail safes to keep hackers out. They'd failed at shutting down the count down. This would be far more difficult without access to the palace network. Opening the front doors just became everyone's problem. If he was no longer tagged in...

"Guess we'll all go together," he thought. It wasn't his preferred way to go, but it was better than his other options. And quicker.

The building continued its onslaught. Rowan knew it could come down around him any second. He dialed out again. That access at least was still working.

"Code Terra: Going to need the front door open," he snapped before breaking the connection. He hadn't reached out to his contacts since he'd gotten into this mess. He could see the messages piled up but now wasn't the time.

He was so close to the entrance. It really wasn't going to matter anymore who saw him. 

He surged into the room, guns drawn, spying both Dik and Dana. 

Dik whipped around to face him, gun drawn. 

"Rowan," he said. He tipped the gun up, his other hand up. "Not here to fight you."

He backed away, away from Rowan and away from Dana. No threat. Rowan turned and focused his attention towards Dana.

The building shook knocking all of them off their feet. The sound of the building's tortured screeching metal and stone was nearly deafening, creating a cacophony of destruction that underscored their need to get out and get out quickly.

"Can you open the door?" Dana asked, her voice muffled. She coughed as she picked herself up. Blood ran down her forehead. Her eyes were wide. Her face betrayed real fear. Her voice cracked as she spoke. 

"Where's Miranda?"

"What? This isn't--" 

Rowan pointed the gun at her face. Her eyes went to the barrel and then back to Rowan's face.