The Decay

Chapter 69 - The Descent

69

'Well, I guess we can forget about the element of surprise,' said Mike. 'Where do you think the lift is going?' asked Anita. Cole shrugged. 'It doesn't make sense. If they knew we were here, why not just shut down the lift?' Before anyone could answer, the lift stopped. 'Laboratories,' announced a voice in the lift. The doors opened and a dark, empty corridor lay ahead. 'What the hell is going on?' asked Mike confused. 'Stay focused,' replied Ray. As the four started down the corridor, they saw rooms with glass walls on either side. Each room had different equipment and apparatus, but the ones that stood out the most were those at the far end. Two large rooms with tanks of liquid. It appeared as if the rooms were abandoned recently and in a hurry. 'Are we meant to pass through here?' asked Cole. 'I think so,' replied Mike. 'Alexia had mentioned passing through the labs'. As they walked past the tanks, they realized to their horror that there were creatures inside. 'What the hell are these?' asked Mike. Ray shook his head. 'Some kind of experiment. Probably the source of those monsters back at the airport.' Anita shuddered but kept moving.

Minutes later, they passed through a door two floors down. As they turned the first corner into the main corridor, they had let their guard down. That proved to be a mistake as a bullet bit into Cole's right shoulder. 'Back! Now!' shouted Ray. The four found cover behind the wall.

Up ahead, soldiers stood in the wide corridor. Several were crouching, aiming weapons over overturned tables that they used for cover whilst others stood at the end of the corridor using the walls on either side. Ray ripped off part of his sleeve and tied it around Cole's arm. 'How's this?' he asked. 'It's... better,' said Cole, grunting. A voice sounded from some speakers overhead. 'At last. The troublesome Mike and Anita together with some friends. I'm sure you wonder why I let you come this far. The reason is simple. I care about my employees. Why suffer a massacre of scientists and other workers when I can lead you into my security forces down here?' The voice paused for a moment. 'The end result doesn't change. End of the line for the four of you. Goodbye.'

Adrenaline rushed through Mike. 'Can you fight, Cole?' Cole shook his head slightly. 'Sorry.' Mike thought out loud. 'We're three able to fight. They're... I don't know, a lot. We didn't come this far for nothing. Douglas did not die in vain.' Ray had a look of unbreakable determination on his face. 'Let's go.' While Cole remained behind the wall, the other three worked in perfect synchrony. Anita blasted the door opposite their cover and Mike dove through the broken door into a small room whilst Ray provided cover fire. A well placed grenade flew down the corridor and the explosion gave Ray and Anita enough time to break from cover and shoot. Ray emptied a full magazine of bullets, some of them finding targets. As the soldiers fired back, Ray dove into the broken door where Mike was and Anita found cover behind a pillar further forward. 'How many did you count?' asked Ray. 'Around nine, give or take. Not a lot for what is supposed to be all the military here.' Ray shook his head. 'This isn't all. Notice the corridor. It's completely different from the other one. I'll bet you there are more of these checkpoints further on'. Mike shrugged. 'There's only one way to find out, right?' Ray moved back out and fired several bullets before reaching Anita. Mike followed suit, but before he reached them Anita was already on the move towards the next point of cover. By the time she reached it, only four soldiers remained. As Mike tried to break from cover, a bullet grazed his left cheek. 'Damn it!' He winced in pain. 'I'll be fine,' he said before breaking from cover again. This time he managed and, coordinating with Anita, the next four bullets all found their targets as the soldiers dropped down lifeless.

The next two checkpoints both had five soldiers, making for a total of nineteen. By the end they all sat up against the wall nearest to them, panting. 'Think... there are any... more?' asked Mike. Ray shook his head once more in reply. 'So what now?' asked Mike. 'Now we check on Cole and then head down,' replied Anita.

They stood up shortly after and traced their steps back to Cole. 'Oh, you're still alive,' said Cole, chuckling. 'You seem to be as well,' replied Anita, smiling. 'Go on you three. My shooting arm is in no condition to be used, sorry.' Anita nodded. 'It's fine, don't worry.' They half walked, half jogged through the corridors until they arrived at a marble staircase leading down to the bottom floor. The three began to walk down.