Bravery to Live

“He who fears death will never do anything worthy of a man who is alive.”

– Seneca

Marina asked us to sit on the table so she could explain what happened. Everyone, including the injured people went and sat around the large circular table at the center of the room. Marina looked at me and after taking a large breath, told us “So, after you guys went out we started killing time by playing cards and in general getting to know each other. After all, many in the team were new and we only recently got together to do the job here in this temple…” she stayed in silence for a couple of seconds while her facial expression changed, now looking down at the table with a sad smile.

As she raised her face she took a deep breath and continued her explanation “After a while, some of us started to feel uneasy. We just didn’t know how far away you guys had gone or in general how much time we had to wait. Then, the door you used to leave out of nowhere opened and we thought our waiting was over. Instead, from it came a single drone, a little smoke coming from the joints of its legs, then it stood almost completely still just beyond the door. It only moved its head to look at each of us, making small and precise movements as it went back and forth between us. Then, after Alex, one of the new guys, tried to get close to it the damn thing rushed in his direction. By the moment I had processed what had just happened, three of us were dead, including Alex”.

Marina took a small break to breathe and drink a bit of water then continued “Those 3 were closer to the door than I was, making me think I had enough space to grab something to destroy it. I decided to dash towards the fire emergency kit to grab the axe in there, but as soon as I took it the drone hit me in my arm with one of its legs. Just that was enough to break the bones in my arm and send me to the ground, dropping the axe in the process. Just as it moved to step on me, Marcus hit it with a chair. The damn thing tried to tackle him just like he did to Alex but Marcus was able to avoid it, although just barely. I took this chance to grab the axe and when I looked back at them, Marcus didn’t have a jaw and his head was twisted almost 180 degrees towards his back. As the thing turned back to me and prepared to come back and attack me, Astrid tackled the thing, hugging its legs. She was a tall and strong woman so I understand why she thought she might be able to restrain it, especially given how thin the drone’s legs are. Sadly, it just accelerated at full force before she could respond and crashed against the wall, killing her on impact. Before it could finish removing itself from her body I had managed to reach it and cleaved the axe in its head. It answered by trying to hit me with one of its legs like it did before, but the weight of Astrid’s body restrained it enough to miss. It managed to graze my eye with enough force to destroy it but it didn’t stop me. The adrenaline and anger kept me going, allowing me to cleave the axe in the middle of its head. After that it just turned off and fell to the ground”.

We sat there in silence for a while, looking at the fallen with regret and sadness. Still, Marina wasn’t done telling us “After that we waited a little while for you guys but I got worried more of those things would come, if just one did this much damage god only knows what a group could do. I’m so sorry I almost left you behind, I wanted to find a place where we could barricade ourselves until help arrived and this room’s doors are too big and working electrically. But regardless of the reason I still feel guilty of almost leaving you behind”. Marina was looking downwards and on the verge of crying, this clearly bothered her although she was just fulfilling her promise to keep everyone safe.

While thinking of what to say to make her feel better I noticed something weird and asked her “Marina, why didn’t you just hack the doors to stay closed? You know the systems used in temples like this. You should be more than capable of doing that”. As I asked she suddenly stayed still and then lifted her face. Now, her face was one of serious concern and while looking me in the eyes with intensity she said “That’s what one of the in-house technicians of the temple thought”. She turned her sight towards the bodies and pointed to a young woman, the only one of the corpses I saw that didn’t have blood on her. Then, Marina continued “While I was being treated, the technician stood up and walked towards me. She kneeled down next to me and asked for the total access key, you know, one of the keys that Captain Liu had given us. She told me that with that key she could gain access and program the doors so they stay closed. I would have done it without even needing the key but I didn’t know how much time would take until my injuries were treated so I agreed to her plan. Thus, she took the key and quickly ran towards the door, disarming the security pad and connecting the key to a table she had with her. Then she pulled a cable from her fanny-bag and connected her chip to the tablet. The second she did that she became completely stiff, her eyes becoming wide open and her pupils darting everywhere. After a couple of seconds like this she fell to the ground, her limbs twitching and bending almost to the point of dislocating. After a minute or so had passed with her like this, she suddenly stood still. After placing her with the others we started discussing what to do next and that's when you arrived”.

After hearing her story we joined their discussion of what to do. After a bit of back and forth between us I remembered that the drones are coordinated by a central computer, on a lower floor. If we were to turn it off we could stop all of them from doing anything, those models can’t do a thing without their central brain. I raised my hand and while audibly gulping saliva I proposed “”What if we turn them off, the drones I mean? We don’t know what is going on in the rest of the complex so exploring while hoping to quickly find a place to hide sounds too risky.” I finished my proposal and realized I’m completely stiff with my elbows so high they could be my earrings. While I breathed deeply to calm myself down, Captain Liu asked “Can you do that without dying like the technician?”. Now, somewhat more relaxed, I reply “Yes, inside the room with the central computer that controls the drones there should be a manual switch to turn them on and off. We only need to get there and with the access keys you gave us that should be possible”.

While the captain was wearing a smile of hope Marina’s expression was still pretty tense. With her brow frowned she asked “Now answer me, can you physically do that?”. I grabbed my leg, looked down at it and then looked back up, answering with “I can keep up a good speed for a while longer. My leg will hurt like hell tomorrow but at least we will live beyond today. Of course, I would need help from some of you to get there in one piece”. With her index finger and thumb Marina grabbed the space between her eyebrows, closed her eyes and stood in silence for a while. Then, she opened her eyes, took a deep breath and said with a loud voice “Alright! I’ll go with you. Captain, I'll need you to come and at least two other volunteers as well.”