Project XII

Chapter Two

Johnny could feel a chill run through his spine as they neared the island. When they were close enough, they turned the engine off, and paddled to the shore. They got out of the boat. Johnny went to look for leaves and small shrubs to cover the boat with while Shawn and Katie tied the boat to a tree.

After they were done covering and tying the boat, Johnny explained to them how he almost fell into a pit on his way back to the boat. It was probably some kind of trap - made to keep out intruders. They knew then that this wasn't the only surprise that would be waiting for them.

They had already had their breakfast and it was time to move out. Johnny checked his cell phone. And as he had suspected, there was very low cell phone coverage. Then, Johnny removed his GPS from his pocket and looked at it. According to the GPS, there was a factory located about two kilometers from where they currently were. Although the island was beautiful, they had no intention of admiring their surroundings. Instead, they only focused on their goal.

So they set off for the factory. They took their backpacks with them as they knew that it was going to be a long walk.

About half an hour later, they could visibly make out a faint outline of a building. They would take about ten minutes to reach there, and they were feeling exhausted. So they sat down for a quick snack. Their mini-meal consisted of 7ups, chips and ham sandwiches. Then Johnny spoke up, "So, I was thinking. We've made it so far without getting caught, but the factory will be a different story. There'll be many workers, not to mention the security guards and surveillance cameras. This is definitely going to be hard."

"I have an idea. We could sneak to the rear of the factory and enter via the traffic door." Katie said.

"Or instead of the traffic door, we could use the fire escape staircase." Shawn said.

"That's a good idea. We'll also be able to scout out the place." Johnny replied.

They walked towards the factory. When they were close enough, they began crouching towards the factory's rear through the bushes. They continued crouching stealthily and hid behind the cover of a few parked trucks. When they saw that the area was clear, they ran for the staircase. Suddenly, a truck pulled up just a few meters from them. They fell to the floor. Then they crawled back to the cover of the trucks.

They waited for about ten minutes, waiting for the truck driver to move, but he just stood there, smoking cigarette after cigarette. They were wasting precious time. So Shawn crept up behind him and dealt him a flying tackle. The burly man fell to the floor and stood up instantaneously. He threw a punch to Shawn's jaw. Shawn ducked, barely missing his blow. But he had gotten grazed by something hard. The driver was no ordinary fighter. He was poised to strike, waiting for Shawn to make the next move. And then, Shawn saw it. The driver was wearing brass knuckles. A few blows from that would be enough to settle this.

From the corner of his eye, Shawn could see Johnny sneaking up on the driver from behind. Then, Johnny caught him in a headlock and Shawn used that time to throw a rock at the driver's head. Sparks flew out almost instantly. Johnny jumped back and exclaimed, "What the..." The driver hit the dirt, causing more sparks to fly out. Shawn and Johnny bent down and examined him. They both were thinking the same thing. And then they noticed, he was wearing a human-like-face mask.

After removing it, they saw it. He wasn't exactly human. Half of his face was metallic. They saw he wasn't actually wearing brass knuckles either. Some of his fingers were metallic as well. They could see the words 'Prototype X' engraved in his neck. "What on earth is going on here? Is he like a robot?" Johnny asked, stunned. "I'm not sure myself, if this is just a prototype..." Shawn's voice trailed off. He was too terrified to continue. They found a battery compartment on his back. The cover was engineered to blend in with his skin, but one could easily make out the sides of the cover upon close inspection.