10 Minute Tales

Mar 23

The stairwell was populated by those turrets too.

"Shit..." Queenson huffed. "This is gonna be a long climb down."

"No other way out, at a guess?" Aurora asked, looking out the window. "Going by the spire down there... wait, humans can't go that far down, can they?"

"I'd be stunned if you could." Queenson grumbled. "We're miles up."

"The angle is unsuited for a gradual descent, too..." Abe muttered. "We need an inside man. Something to disable the turrets."

"Not gonna happen, we've suffered way too many fatalities already."

"We aren't all under attack." Aurora grimaced, trying to line a shot up. The turret she was aiming at ducked back into cover; she tutted and lowered the rifle again. "Avo's still here, isn't he?"

"Yeah, trapped in his lab by now, and that's assuming there's no turret in his lab."

"There wasn't anything like that, the worst he had was a deadlock door."

"So what's Avo gonna do for us, stuck in an isolated lab like that?"

"Break the isolation lock. Would go into detail, but someone might overhear." she nodded with her head towards a speaker in the corner of the room. Queenson tutted, but admitted defeat.

"... on?" a voice suddenly echoed from Aurora's torso. It was Avo! "Is this thing on?"

"Bloody hell, Avo, take your goddamn time!" Queenson beamed. "How are we getting out of this one?"

"Well, since I can't exactly do much from down here, the most I can suggest is... air vent?"

"You're kidding me, right? That wouldn't take our weight."

"Maybe not the humans, but Aurora's... oh, Aurora's heavier..."

"Yeah, but I can figure out where it's gonna break and act accordingly." Aurora grinned. "Just need to find a circuit storage, right?"

"In theory. Just be careful not to overcharge yourself in the process, okay?"

"Got it. You guys wait here, I'll be right back." Aurora grinned cockily, casually shooting at a duct. The cover flew off, clattering away into a corner. Aurora took a running start and slid in elegantly, dropping down the first gap and vanishing. Queenson looked at Abe, concerned.

"This is nuts, it's not gonna work."

"What would you suggest?"

"You go crazy again?" Abe frowned.

"That anger is behind me. I am a better man."

"Yeah, but I've never seen anyone that strong before. We need to harness that properly in a situation like this, this damn pistol ain't gonna get us out safely."

"I can agree with that, at least." Abe huffed, lifting his behemoth of a weapon again. "Where is the first turret?"

"Nearest's up and right, just under our current location."

"Far wall or connecting?"

"Connecting." Queenson grinned. "Just like old times, right?"

"You can not escape." Sentinel warned with that booming voice. "Even now, every augmented citizen in this biodome is approaching this location with one intention in mind. You are to be captured and removed."

"Shut your mouth." he snapped at the speaker. "Can't you see men are working here?"