Masked (19 page)

At a brisk pace, I headed back
towards the main corridor. The short entry hall was also empty, but there was
no way to know if the corridor outside would be empty. There was no time to
waste either. I checked the clip to my new 45 mm and it was full. After
adjusting the PTD again, I jumped blindly back into the main corridor with my
weapon in hand. The corridor wasn’t empty.

I appeared in the main corridor only
ten feet from Dr. Roberts and the two armed men escorting her. They were to my
left coming from the direction of the medical section. Their weapons were still
holstered and having just appeared from thin air, I had the element of surprise
in my favor. They went for their weapons, but I put a bullet in each of their
shoulders before either had a gun in hand. The men dropped and as they fell I
turned the gun to Dr. Roberts.

“You’re coming with me,” I snarled.

One of the fallen men recovered
to a sitting position and was trying to get back to his feet without the use of
his arms. I put more bullets, one in each thigh of the rising man and the same
for the other who was also starting to rise. They both fell back to the ground.
Neither ever made any sound of pain at being shot multiple times. Neither said
anything in fact. They just continued to try and get back up.

“What’s going on Michael? How did
you get out here? Why are you doing this?” Dr. Roberts questioned in a frantic
tone. “You shot them. Why did you shoot them?”

“They’ll be fine. You’re going to
take me to Sara,” I said as I approached her.

With my gun pointed at her chest
from just a few feet away, I grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her back
towards the direction of the medical section. Keeping the gun trained on her I
squatted down towards one to the struggling men and unholstered his weapon as
well. He still couldn’t use his arms to try and stop me.

I had to bite back the nausea at
what I’d just done, but forced myself to suppress it. I wasn’t a killer, I
didn’t like violence and bloodshed but my feelings and the moral implications had
to be sorted out at a later time. I didn’t know how much shooting I was going
to do before I got to Sara, but readied myself in case it turned out to be a
lot. I didn’t know the two men, but they were preventing me from being able to protect
Sara. I’d done what I needed to save her.

The shots weren’t fatal, probably
not even if the men lacked my healing ability, which I assumed they did. They
never said a word, let out a cry, or anything. It was strange, but I couldn’t
focus on that.

“You don’t have to do this
Michael. We’re doing all we can for Sara,” she pleaded.

“Shut up,” I said and pushed her
forward with the butt of the gun in my left hand.

We started to walk slowly with one
gun at her back and another pointed ahead in the corridor.

“How many will there be between
here and the entrance to the medical section?” I asked her. “And don’t lie or
try to pull anything. I don’t want to kill you, but will if I have to.”

“I don’t know for sure. There are
two guards at the entrance, but there could be others in the corridor. I’m sure
the shots back there didn’t go unheard.”

“Well, you’ll be my leverage.”

Suddenly, a blaring alarm sounded
overhead. I’d known it was coming but still a sinking feeling came with it. I
was screwed.

“There is no way you will be able
to get to her. They know exactly where you are headed. You will be stopped.
Just stand down now. We can still work this out peacefully,” she tried pleading
again.

“I think I said shut up.” I nudged
the gun harder into her back. “Let’s pick up the pace.”

We soon came upon a door to the
left marked DC01. The data center was supposed to be between the agent quarters
and the medical section. The door to DC01 was similar to the others and had the
same key pad to grant access. With the alarm still blaring, we quickly passed
continuing forward.

With the sound of the alarm, I knew
I wouldn’t hear anyone coming up on us and I constantly had to look back as we
proceeded to ensure we weren’t being followed. I felt trapped and the more we
walked, the more hopeless it all seemed. It was inevitable the next time I
looked back someone would be there, unavoidable I would be over powered and all
would be lost. I couldn’t let those thoughts win. I couldn’t give up. I also couldn’t
see the entrance to the medical section yet due to the curved corridor, but I
had to be close.

Suddenly, Matthew appeared twenty
feet in front of us with his gun raised. He must have made multiple jumps
coming from the other direction to head us off.

“What are you doing Michael?
Let’s stop this before anyone else gets hurt,” Matthew said in his normal light
conversational tone. His tone didn’t match the fact he was pointing a gun at
me.

“I don’t think so. I’m getting
her out of here.”

“You are not leaving Michael. Not
this way. We will stop you. Please give this up. Surrender your weapon and we
will take you to see Sara. You can see for yourself she is being cared for,”
Matthew pleaded.

There was no way I was
surrendering. I’d heard what Matthew said to Caldwell and Batton earlier. His nice
guy, I’m one of you façade was crap. Matthew started to walk towards us, gun
still raised.

“Come on Michael, just drop the
gun and let Dr. Roberts go. We can fix this. You can trust me.”

He was now just a few feet away.

“Okay, okay. If I drop my weapon,
you will let me see her?” I asked.

“Yes. Of course. We’ll go right
now.”

“Okay,” I said after a few
seconds hesitation, exhaling and putting a defeated tone to it.

I started to lower the gun I had pointed
at Matthew and he looked satisfied with himself having diffused the situation.
At once, I forcefully shoved Dr. Roberts forward into Matthew and hit the PTD
control. I appeared twenty feet ahead in the corridor and I turned in time to
see them both tumble to the ground. The gun Matthew was holding flew from his
hands.

Matthew quickly recovered and
tried to crawl towards the fallen weapon. The right side of his body was exposed
to me. I put two shots into him before he reached the gun. The first hit his
shoulder and caused his body to lurch back onto his left side. With his torso exposed,
I put the second bullet into his chest, aiming for his heart. Matthew toppled
onto his back.

I shot to kill. I can’t say for
sure I’d never killed anyone before that point. The way I felt inside, the dark
pit I’d just stepped over the edge of, was confirmation. I knew Matthew’s true
nature and there wasn’t time to just slow him down. I couldn’t risk it.

With his still good arm, he put
his hand to his chest over the dark wet spot now spreading on the front of his
shirt. He didn’t yell or scream out in any apparent pain or agony, but just
looked at me, intense hate in his gaze. He started to shutter and as he did, I
could see the strain on his face as he forced to continue his stare, not
relenting to the reflex pulling his eyes to roll back. Finally, he lost the
fight. His eyes rolled back and after a few more violent shutters, Matthew laid
still.

From the corner of my eye, a
white blur shot toward me. Before I could fully turn in reaction, I was flying
towards the side of the corridor looking back at Dr. Roberts. Both guns were
out of my hands.

Before I hit the wall, I twisted
to my left and hit the PTD. I crashed into the wall twenty feet back up the
corridor. Quickly, I got to my feet and saw Dr. Roberts secure one of the
fallen weapons. Hitting the PTD again, I jumped back just a few feet from where
the good doctor was standing.

She trained the gun towards me
but I was able to block her turn and knock it back out of her hands. In
reaction, her other hit collided with the side of my face and the impact caused
me to twist back onto the ground. There was some real power behind her punch, the
same power I would have had if I’d have thrown it. It seemed the good doctor
was more than meets the eye. She was one of us.

The doctor was upon me before I
even hit the ground, pounding the side of my face again, this time with her
foot. The impact caused me to twist back even further and when I finally
settled on the ground, I swept my legs blindly to the left, anticipating her
continuing attack.

I caught her as she rushed me and
forced her hard to the ground. My head was spinning from the multiple thrashings
it had just taken, but still I was able to jump up and immobilize her before
she could recover. She was strong and fast, but I think I was just a bit
stronger and faster. We twisted and struggled together on the ground while I
tried to maintain the dominant position.

I had her arms and legs pinned.
As I held her, she thrashed, spat and cursed at me. Because of the way we were
positioned, there was only one way to put her out. It was violent and unsavory.
I felt sickened at having to do it, and the fact I was going to do it to a
woman, made the feeling worse, but it had to be done.

I was able to get enough leverage
to lift her upper body off of the ground some and then slam it down, her head
hitting the ground hard. There was a loud crack as it hit, even over the blaring
alarm. She cried out for me to stop. I didn’t stop. I did it again and again. I
kept doing it, it took eight or nine times, until she no longer thrashed or
spoke.

I let go of my hold and checked
her pulse and breathing before I got back up. She was still alive, though I
wasn’t sure if she would stay that way. Our enhanced bodies could take a lot,
but I didn’t know for sure how much. As much as I probably should have, I
hadn’t wanted to kill her, just keep her out of my way. The alarm was still
blaring and I was out of time. Quickly, I recovered two of the fallen weapons,
stepped past the bodies and rushed forward again.

Discovering Dr. Roberts had
abilities as well was something that I would ponder if I survived. There was no
time, but the questions it led to, though, were huge. Who else had abilities?
Did they all?

I knew the door to the medical
section had to be only seconds away as I rushed forward. I had a gun in each
hand and was ready to put bullets in whoever got in my way. I’d proved I could
do what was needed, that I could kill. I couldn’t risk non-lethal shots any
more. If everyone had abilities I couldn’t risk anything but a head shot. Whoever
got in my way, tried to stop me, would end up dead or else I would. That was
the cold truth that matched my cold detached determination.

As I sped through the corridor, the
turn soon revealed another door to the left with no one standing guard. It
baffled me as to why every soldier in the facility wasn’t standing ready for my
approach. Similarly, why had only Matthew come for me before? It seemed what I
was doing warranted more force to try and stop me. Maybe they were waiting
inside.

The door was marked MD01 and it
had the same nine digit keypad with a red light indicating it was locked. It
was time for the Hail-Mary so I jumped.

There’s nothing worse than failing
the one you love, the one who depended on you to be their only hope of a
savior. I failed that day. Despite all my determined effort and lines crossed,
I failed Sara.

The main corridor of the medical
section was empty, quiet and dark. Like all of the other sections of the HUB I’d
seen, there was a shorter entry corridor that led to the medical section
entrance. Like in the main corridor, there was no one waiting in the shorter
passage. The next door was locked and after taking another deep breath and
readying myself for instant conflict, I jumped. Again, when I appeared, there
was no one.

A bustling, busy frenzy of white
lab coats and black fatigues is what I expected to see. I was in what looked
like an open reception area, a large box shaped room. The space was empty with
three other doors, one in front and one on each side. Like the doors from each
of the corridors, all were large enough for the small transport vehicle that
took Sara to pass through. It looked like I had to play guess which door.

I went with the door to my left,
marked MD03, staying chronological Eeny, meany, miny, moe. It was as good a
guess as any.

As I approached, the door opened
automatically. I jumped back and swept the opening passage. No one came through.
I guessed there was an automatic senor. The space past the door was well lit,
giving me some hope I had selected the right one. With both guns raised, I went
through.

There was another short hall
before the space opened up into another larger reception area. I’d made my way down
the hall cautiously, but it wasn’t necessary. The large area was empty as well.
A small desk area held several computer terminals located to the right of
another open hallway directly ahead. Parked to my left was the transport
vehicle or at least one just like it. It looked like I made the right choice.

The fact the medical section, the
entire facility, seemed to be almost completely empty, gnawed at the back of my
reason. I ignored it though. I’d expected a lot more resistance than what I came
across. It hadn’t been easy, but definitely not as hopeless as I truthfully
thought my chances were. Sara was somewhere nearby, I felt it.

I was walking across the empty
room, towards the open hall when I heard an agonized scream from further down
the hall. The voice sounded muffled and distant, but still rang loud. I’d never
heard such a sound of misery, despair and pain from Sara before, but I knew it
was coming from her.

“Sara!” I exclaimed in fright and
rushed off towards the tortured cry.

I sped through the bright hallway
and all types of horrors flashed through my mind. At the end of the hall, I
turned left and saw a guard just thirty paces away.

I squeezed off one shot without a
seconds hesitation and one was all that was needed. One shot into the side of
the head. I tried to ignore the spray of blood from the opposite side.

The body dropped and I continued.

When I got to the fallen guard’s
body, I saw shoulder length dark brown hair spilling from her black cap. I forced
myself to ignore the pale young face of the girl I’d just so coldly killed.
Even though I was focused on my goal, I had to fight the feeling of nausea I
felt at the sight of so much blood and at what I had just done.

The screaming was coming from
just behind the door near where the girl lay. Gathering my wits again, I
breathed in deeply and went through.

The room I entered was white and
filled with a bright light somewhat blinding even coming from the well-lit
hallway outside. The sterile room was some type of laboratory with a variety of
differing pieces of testing equipment against the walls as well as tables with
different beakers and vials on them. In the center of the room was a large
hospital bed and lying on it, restrained, was Sara, screaming and thrashing as
two people in white lab coats performed some sort of procedure.

I stood frozen as I tried to
process the scene, the girl I loved, the one who mattered the most, in such
agony. The two men working on her didn’t seem to notice me. Not knowing what
they were doing to her, I was unsure of what to do. If I just rushed up and
broke their necks while they were in the middle of some procedure, would Sara
survive? Could I just take out one, and threaten the other to help her and give
me the information I needed to save her?

“Michael. No. Watch out!” Sara
screamed.

In all she was going through, she’d
seen me. As she said it, a surge of intense blinding hot pain coursed through
my body. The guns immediately fell from my grip and I, in turn, fell to my
knees as I lost all control of my faculties. I screamed out in pain and fear.
There was a powerful blow to my head and I crumbled to my side onto the ground.

“Michael no! Michael!” I could
hear Sara screaming as I lay on the cold white floor.

A strange tingling flowed through
my mostly numb, limp body. I couldn’t make any of my limbs move. I opened my
eyes to see two men wearing Titan black fatigues standing above me with blank
expressions on their faces. Get him up someone snarled to my left. My neck didn’t
have the strength to look at who it was.

The two men reached down and lifted
me from the ground. I swayed when they had me upright. They held me up,
grasping each arm in order to keep me standing.

“You bastards! Leave him alone,”
Sara screeched followed by another agonizing scream as the two in lab coats
continued their work.

Something unintelligible came out
as I tried to shout something at the men hurting her. My mouth was just a gob
of useless tingling tissue.

Batton moved out from behind me. “You
need not worry about her, Michael. We are almost through. It is yourself you
should be concerned with.”

In his hand was a three foot rod,
its tip glowing and sizzling bright blue.

“You are next. We will cut you
open, see what there is to see, and then you will both be ours.”

I shouted something that ended up
sounding like “blu thun tha va bit” as I tried to call him the male child of a
female canine.

“Oh, wearing off already?” he said
casually and then moved the blue end of the rod to my chest.

The electricity crackled as the
pain coursed through me. He pulled it away and the pain started to fade, but a
few seconds later he put it back to my chest and I screamed as the blinding
pain returned.

Sara was still screaming, at the pain
she was suffering and at what she could see them doing to me.

“Sara,” I tried to scream as the current
tortured my body.

I couldn’t get the words out,
just garbled sound.

“What are you doing to her?” I ordered.

“Stop, stop,” Sara pleaded as the
door behind me burst open.

I was able to turn my head just
slightly to see Dr. Roberts enter the room. Fresh blood still trickled from her
lip. Batton moved the electrode from my chest and the two guards were still
securing my arms, holding up my limp body.

Dr. Roberts moved to me. She had
something in her hand, a syringe. She took that very large syringe and jammed
the needle into my neck. Sara was thrashing against the restraints in the bed
screaming “Stop, stop!”

It was immediate, with the sharp
jab of the needle, I faded. I had to try, had to fight to keep my eyes open,
but it was useless.

“Sara, Sara!” I mumbled as
everything faded to black.

I’d failed. That was the last
time I saw Sara, the last memory I had before waking cold and alone in the dark
Montana wilderness.

I never understood how I was able
to get away from the HUB, really no idea on how long it was I was unconscious.
They were going to either kill me or do some other unpleasant thing. They’d told
me as much, but there I was lying on the cold forest floor alone and free, well
at least free from the HUB. I’d never feel free. I’d always carry the burden of
letting Sara die. I’d left them all die.