The world around him buzzed, the loud echo of the gun shot rang in A's ear. He was frozen with shock, back pressed flat against the cold metal wall of the elevator. Braden loomed over him, he was so close but 'A' was seeing nothing but blurs. Then it hit him, the sharp bite of pain made his whole head throb, searing into his ear. Immediately he grasped his left ear with a shaky hand, whining at the horrible sensation. It was like fire had engulfed half of his face and was zipping through his nerves and spreading to his whole body in a single wave.
Braden was saying something, but 'A' hardly even registered his presence. He had been shot, barely. The bullet grazed his ear, ripping a chunk of it off. He pulled his hand away to see it stained crimson.
“Did you hear me?”
A felt shock overtake him, Braden had actually shot him, well, kind of. Why did he try to run? Why did he even attempt something so stupid?
“Answer me you sorry excuse of an assassin!”
'A' bit at his bottom lip, trying to hold in a sob. His eyes scrunched closed as he tried to pull himself back to reality. The shot was ringing through his head like a loud siren, rattling his brain. The pain throbbed, like his ear had a heart beat.
“Open your eyes!”
He had to pull it together, he would be ok...ok....ok.....
“Answer me!” A harsh slap stung A's face and his eyes snapped open. Everything was quiet as he stared, quivering, into the rage filled gaze of Braden. The ear splitting shot was gone, even the pain was numb to the fright that washed over him, he was doomed.
“Y-yes sir.” 'A' wasn't sure what Braden wanted him to say, but he figured he better say something before he was slapped again...or worse. Braden's brows furrowed together, deep lines pressed between them. He let a low grumble of disapproval emit from his throat before he finally pushed off the wall and gave the trembling experiment some space.
“Never again. Don't you EVER try to run again. Next time, it'll be more than just your ear.” He warned, tucking his gun back in his belt. 'A' nodded.
The poor experiment tried not to have a break down during the quiet elevator ride. Inside his mind was screaming at him. He had messed up, he would never see Clay again, he had failed his scientist, they had all left him. If he wasn't careful, Braden would discard him and move on to the next embryo, Experiment 'B'. He knew it would happen eventually, he had seen the large slime filled vats. Tiny little peanut sized creatures floated in the thick liquid in the Genetics Department. 'A' had found out from Patterson that these were the next batch of experiments; B, C, D and E.
“They are just like me/Mixed with human and Stalker/I will have siblings?” He recalled asking the kind scientist.
“Uh, not exactly. They are mixed just like you, but...not the same mixture you might say. The genetics team, after finding out Dr. Clay had used a different human DNA sample, created a new mixture. They picked human genes different from what you had. We also used a variety of stalkers. So they are all technically related by blood...except for you.” Patterson had explained.
Discovering he wasn't related to the up-coming experiments made the whole project less exciting for the poor assassin. Then again, he figured he wouldn't be around to form bonds with them anyways. Braden had made it very clear that he was the mess up, the trial assassin. He was flawed, botched, and wrong. As soon as they made the perfect assassin, he would be terminated. Still, he was kept around, and trained, just in case. They weren't sure how long Project 0 was going to take. No one had a clue if experiment B, C, D and E would even survive through embryo stage, or if they would turn out right. It was all a gamble.
'A' was jostled form his train of thought as Braden roughly grabbed his blood stained wrist and yanked him from the wall. The elevator was coming to a stop and soon as the silver doors slid open, they were barreling down the hallway.
“Clearly you have been given too much freedom to roam the base as you please. That was never a smart idea.” Braden hissed mostly to himself, but 'A' caught it under his breath. He didn't speak another word until he had taken 'A' all the way back to the lab. The poor experiment's heart was racing, what was Braden going to do with him? Clearly he was livid. He could see the anger practically steaming from the scientist.
Braden gritted his teeth, pulling 'A' towards the long abandoned Zoology sector. The metal doors were locked shut, but that did not deter Braden. He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and quickly found the one to unlock the chains. 'A' felt a tingle shiver up his spine, almost like his gut warning him of imminent danger, but what could he do about it? If he tried to fight Braden, no doubt the man wouldn't hesitate to riddle him with bullets. No, he had to brave up and take whatever punishment the scientist had in store for him.
“It's obvious that I can't grant you free access to the facility anymore. You're bound to try and escape again.” Braden hissed, dragging 'A' inside the Zoology sector. The whole place had been mostly gutted, save for a few left over glass containers where the Stalkers used to be held. Braden stomped over to one of the cases and dialed in a number on the key pad. The top unlocked and swung open like a treasure chest. Immediately Braden chucked 'A' inside and slammed the lid closed before he could even register what was going on.
“Hope you're comfy. This'll be your new room. Hardie will come get you when it's time for your next training session.” Braden's malicious smile returned as he glared at 'A' through the glass. “How fitting.” He huffed. “You always did look like a monster.”
'A' wanted nothing more than to scratch that sneer right off of Braden's face, but he settled for a cold frown instead. He pushed himself up, sitting with his back pressed against the glass like a caged animal. He watched as Braden turned to leave, laughing to himself. The experiment could feel the blood that had dripped down his neck beginning to dry and turn crusty. His ear still throbbed mercilessly and he desperately fought back tears. It didn't help that now he had been contained and locked away in a forgotten sector. The dim light inside the sector began to fade away as Braden stepped out and slowly closed the door behind him. Soon the experiment was left in the darkness, only small neon lights from random equipment shone in the empty room.
Sighing to himself, 'A' hugged his knees close, seeking some form of comfort. He was truly and utterly alone. He needed Clay, he wanted Tabitha, and even the aimless chatter of the purple Clap-Trap was something he desperately missed.
The lonely experiment lost himself to the sheer emptiness of the Zoology sector. Ever since his body was modified with performance enhancers he hadn't needed to sleep. However, the impending darkness brought on an onslaught of swelling emotions that he preferred to block out with the sweet emptiness of sleep. He let his mind draw a blank as he forced his eyes shut. If he thought too much about it, surely the small confines of the tank would send him into panic mode. He needed to forget that he was trapped in a glass cage, needed to forget that everyone he loved had disappeared, needed to forget about the horrible changes and surgeries his body was forced into. All of it, was torture.
He would have been successful in his attempts to drift off, if not for the harsh banging that shook the whole base and made his glass cage rattle. Immediately he uncurled himself from his fetal position and pushed himself up, blinking at the darkness in hopes of figuring out what just happened. Everything was still and deathly quiet, had he imagined it all? He sat there, listening for nearly five minutes before giving up and slumping back down onto his back. Almost instantly another rumble echoed through the base and down to the Zoology sector. This time the invasive crashing didn't stop and the ear splitting sound of alarms followed. Screams of terror pierced through the darkness, filling the trapped experiment with pure terror. Something terrible was happening, and he was trapped.
The Zoology sector sprang alive as red flashing lights began to light up the room. 'A' didn't know what was going on, but fear was taking over his mind. Desperately he pounded on the glass, kicking and punching it until his hands bruised. He had to get out, something was happening. He could hear explosive blasts reverberating above him, slowly drawing closer and closer until he was positive there was gunfire just beyond the metal doors of the Zoology sector.
As if things couldn't get any worse, a bright flash filled the room and the massive metal doors suddenly burst from their hinges, flying across the room like bullets. They zipped over A's tank and smashed into the far wall with a deafening crash. Flames rose up from the open doorway, lapping at the debris that fell from the ceiling. A's eyes widened, his heart would be racing if it wasn't for his ventilator. He felt sick, this was too much, he needed to get out A.S.A.P. As the flames grew higher the frightened experiment frantically tried to break open the cage.
“HELP!” He shouted, feeling the heat rising through the tank. Tears bubbled at his eyes, who would even care to help him? Surely everyone was trying to save themselves and he highly doubted Braden would care enough to come get him. He was alone.
“In and out Axton, do you remember me telling you...I don't know...a million times? Literally that was the only thing we were talking about on the flight over here.” Sarah barked through Axton's ECHO. The Dahl soldier smiled to himself as he pulled the pin on a grenade and chucked it at a group of Hyperion soldiers chasing him down the hall.
“Yeah I remember.” he laughed over the sound of the explosive.
“Ok good. So do you care to explain why you're showing up on my radar as running around on the lower level of the base?” She demanded to know. Axton leapt into an open storage closet as a barrage of bullets zipped down the hall towards him. He popped another grenade from his belt and hurled it toward his attackers.
“Maybe because I am.” He grunted into the ECHO.
“AXTON! Do you have a death wish!? The bomb has been planted already. The whole team is already back at the ship. We have fifteen minutes left before this whole place is blown to smithereens! You get your ass back here right now. I will not have my whole team killed because of you.” She hissed.
“Don't worry about it babe. I've got this. Only 34 left, I can do this.” He charged from the closet as the last of the soldiers in the hall got blasted to pieces.
“What are you talking about...34...?” Sarah paused for a moment before screaming through the ECHO. “Is this about your stupid little game!?” She was furious.
“It's not a stupid game...it's a tradition. I'm so close to beating my kill count record. Last mission I got 125. I'm down 91, just 34 and i'll beat my record.” He explained.
“No! We are not sitting around and waiting for you to beat one of you dumb records. As your Commanding Officer I demand you return to the ship instantly!” Sarah shrieked.
“As your husband...I'd have to decline.” He snorted, “Look, I'm making my way to their docking bay. I'm sure i'll have 34 by then. I'll use one of their ships. You guys go on ahead, I'll meet you back at the base.” He said then shut off his ECHO, he wasn't in the mood to argue with her further, she'd get over it, she always did.
Axton barreled down the halls, following the signs towards the docking bay. Another group of soldiers charged around the corner up ahead, aiming directly for the Dahl soldier.
“Have you guys met my girlfriend?” He shouted, earning a few confused grunts from the Hyperion men. Before they could open fire on him, he chucked out his turret and watched as 34 quickly dropped down to 28.
“Sweet.” He de-digitized the turret and continued down the hall. Unfortunately he arrived at the docking bay before any more Hyperion soldiers could even find him.
“Well if they won't come to me, I'll just have to come to them.” He quickly checked his watch, 12 more minutes, he had time. However, before he could run down the other hall, an echo of voices caught his attention. A small commotion was coming from the bay, making the soldier step inside. All around was a wide assortment of ships ready to blast out of the base. By one of the ships was a small group of men all wearing lab coats, Axton assumed they were doctors. He watched as four of them hurried into the air craft, however, one seemed upset, pleading with the others.
“Braden, where is 'A'?” The upset doctor exclaimed.
“Patterson, we don't have time for that! We can make millions of him back on another base. I transferred all the data onto my portable computer.” He pointed to a small rectangular device held safely in Patterson's hand. “Now get on!” He demanded, waving a laser gun in his hand dramatically.
“Just...can't I just run and get him. It won't take me but a minute.” Patterson begged with the one he called Braden. Braden furrowed his brows angrily. Axton huffed, he was wasting his time with these men, what he needed was soldiers. Before he could turn to leave, a shout erupted from behind him.
“They're here!” Axton whirled around just in time to see Braden fire his gun in his direction. The Dahl soldier expertly rolled out of the way, drawing his own pistol as he came to a rest on his knee. Doctor or not, that Braden guy was going to be number 27. He fired his gun with precision, and it would have pierced him squarely in the chest. However, the scientist was also quick on his feet. Having anticipated the soldier's reaction, Braden had yanked Patterson onto the ship's steps, holding him tight against his body. Patterson didn't get a moment to process what was happening before a sharp pain ripped through his shoulder blade and out his chest. His muscles clenched as a piercing throb rippled through every nerve in his body. His eyes shot open, searching Braden's face in confusion as an ache filled groan escaped his paling lips. Braden wasn't concerned with the dying scientist in his arms. He looked down at the shattered computer where the bullet had lodged. He cursed under his breath, tossing Patterson aside in a heap. Quickly he fired a few stray bullets towards the Dahl soldier before retreating into the ship. The door slammed shut behind him and immediately began to pull out of the docking bay.
Axton debated pulling the rocket launcher off his back and blowing the air craft to dust, but his time was running up, he wasn't sure how many people were in the ship, and the explosion could damage the other ships and he'd be stranded. He checked his watch again, 9 minutes, he better hurry.
Luckily for Axton, another group of soldiers had been heading for the docking bay in hopes of escaping.
“Perfect.” Axton smiled. He only needed 27 more and this group looked big.
“Catch this!” He shouted, not hesitating to unleash the rest of his grenades in a wave of exploding death. A few of the Hyperion soldiers managed to jump out of the blast range and quickly turned their laser guns on the Dahl soldier. Axton dove behind a conveniently placed crate, tossing his turret behind him.
“Sorry, boys, I've got turret syndrome! Get it? 'Cause of the turret?...” withing seconds his “girl” had taken out the remaining soldiers. “Sorry...lame joke.” He snorted, peaking over the crate. Surely he had broken his record now. He hurried to the middle of the room, quickly counting the bloodied corpses littering the ground.
“24...25....26...” He paused, quickly scanning the room to make sure he hadn't missed one.
“Are you freaking kidding me!? Really, just one away!?” He exclaimed. With a huff he eyed his watch, 7 minutes left. For a split second he considered hopping in one of the ships and ditching the whole record. However, his imagination easily got the best of him as he considered how awesome a story this would be.
“Axton, Dahl hero,” he muttered to himself, racing from the docking bay, “Continued to beat his kill record on every mission, nothing could stop him. Not even the possibility of having his limbs blown off.” He smiled, he just needed one more.
The Dahl soldier had under estimated how populated the base was and was shocked at the utter lack of soldiers. The hall was completely empty.
“Just one more!” He grunted, running faster than he should have been able to considering all the guns strapped to his person. Another minute passed and still there was no sign of any Hyperion worker, not even a janitor. He quickly switched from his pistol to his rocket launcher, he needed this last kill to be fast.
“Come on, someone, I don't care if it's not a soldier. Scientist, doctor, janitor, heck, I'd count a Clap-Trap at this point!” He growled, nearing a large sector labeled Project 0. There had to be someone hiding in there.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” He sang, wondering aimlessly around the massive sector. Desks and chairs were turned over, clearly everyone had left in a hurry, but where had they gone? He didn't recall seeing a bunch of workers in the halls, perhaps they were hiding. With the promise of beating his kill count by a landslide, he ventured further into the sector. Finally his eyes landed on a massive set of metal doors far across the room.
“Jackpot.” he smiled, surely that's where everyone was hunkered down. He swung the rocket launcher over his shoulder dramatically and launched two shots. The rockets collided with the doors and easily broke them free of their hinges, shaking the whole sector. The doors slammed against the far wall, sending a wave of debris into the air that instantly caught fire. The room was flashing with red lights, sirens blaring loudly in warning. The soldier watched as the flames grew, it wouldn't be long before the whole room caught a flame. However, he wasn't hearing screams of terror. Frustrated he charged into the burning room, he had to get one more, just one more.
“Is this really too much to ask!?” he groaned, reluctantly reloading the rocket launcher. He took a deep breath and charged into the burning section of the lab, maybe the blast had taken someone out. He could feel the heat of the flames pressing against the exposed skin on his face and arms, but he had to know, had he finally broken his record?
“Help!” A voice called. Axton's heart leapt, a smile spreading over his face, finally, the last one! He held the rocket launcher close, finger on the trigger as he carefully searched the room. He had heard it, someone was there, he was so close to 126, he could almost taste it. His hungry eyes fell on a glass tank, illuminated by the flashing red lights. Inside he could see someone huddled in the fetal position. Without hesitation he peered through the sights of his favorite gun, rocket launchers were just the best. No way was he missing this last shot.
His finger twitched over the trigger, but he didn't fire. Now he could easily see the frail form of a kid, no older than ten. His knuckles and neck were bloodied, tears streaking from his one, emerald eye, flooded with fear. His body quivered as he stared, terrified, at the ferocious Dahl soldier aiming the wide barreled rocket launcher straight for him. Immediately Axton lowered the gun, this was not the one he had been looking for. How could he count this toward his kill streak, was he even Hyperion? Clearly the kid was some spawn of a cruel experiment and left, trapped in a glass tank, forgotten by the world.
Maybe he had enough time to find another soldier, if he hurried. He glanced at his watch,
“Four minutes...” He whispered, he wouldn't be breaking his record today. If he didn't leave now, he would be remembered as the dumb ass that got his head blown off trying to beat his own record. He needed to go back to the docking bay, but for some reason beyond his comprehension...he couldn't. A muffled sob escaped the glass and something soft in the record breaking driven soldier made him charge for the glass tank. He pulled the pistol from his belt and shot the key pad on the cage. The metal top swung open but to his surprise, the kid remained huddled on the glass floor apparently too fear stricken to even move.
“Come on kid, this place is gonna blow!” He barked, but the poor child covered his eyes. With an irritated huff, Axton dropped his rocket launcher on the ground and scooped the thin boy out of the tank. He tried not to think of all the stuff he had blown up with his favorite gun as he charged out of the burning sector, the child clutched tightly in his arms.
Author: This chapter kicked my butt! Send help!
Clap-Trap: Yeah right. I wasn't even in it, it can't be all that.
Author: This story isn't about you...you are just the comic relief.
Clap-Trap: I'll take it.
Author: But seriously, we FINALLY get to see some action again.
Patterson: I'm glad my sacrifice was entertainment to you.
Author: Get lost I don't need to remember you exist anymore.
ns 15.158.61.42da2
