Chapter 9: Bullets

The crate that Marina couldn’t open. Something about this moment feels right, despite the fact that we entered the warehouse against all my instincts. In the game, the police were unable to locate this specific crate after Marina’s stunt, leading me to believe that whatever is inside must be important to the hidden plot and possibly Elliot’s fate.

I double-check that no one is coming, and carefully approach the metal box. Elliot stares at whatever is inside in amazement, a kind of vapor oozing out from within the crate. He doesn’t even blink as he reaches for his phone to take some photos. I step next to him and peer into the open box.

“Have you ever seen anything like it?” Elliot asks, eyes wide.

Cold air seeps from the box and into my exposed skin. Gazing inside reveals an unusual object, perhaps an augment: on top of a silicone mannequin is what looks like a soft, skin-like material, shiny like metal yet malleable. Exposed wires snake in between the gaps of the augmentation, and I can also see several bottles of an unknown liquid stored next to the mannequin.

“What do you think it is?” I say, genuinely puzzled. It’s the first time I've come upon knowledge of its existence in this universe.

“Not sure… It looks fancy, though.” He reaches for it cautiously, caressing the surface of the strange material.

“Ok, we got what we came for. We'd better report back to Myers or he might lose it,” I say, moving towards the back of the room to minimize the chance of anyone overhearing.

“Good idea. I’ll watch the door.” He removes his hand from the augment and moves to guard the entrance to the office, gun in hand.

I get ready to talk and activate the earpiece. “Myers, we could secure photos of the contents of the crate. We will be making our way out now. They didn’t seem to notice we snuck in; there might be no need to send in the cavalry after all.”

“God damn it, Hayes. You had us all worried back here. Get your asses out of there asap. Report back when you’re outside. Myers out.”

“Yup, Hayes out.” I deactivate the microphone, closing the crate carefully on my way back to Elliot.

“Ready to head out?” I say to the angel in front of me.

“Yeah, let’s go. I’ll take point again, if you don’t mind,” He says kinda sheepishly. I think he liked the feeling of taking the lead.

“Lead the way.”

Elliot cracks open the door and scans the area, giving me a thumbs up before heading out. I am extremely hopeful about this; things didn’t go to hell after opening the crate! Could this really mean I have entered the secret route!?

But I’m getting ahead of myself, we aren’t out of the waters yet. Bad things could still happen if we screw up, so I steel myself for the road back and tell myself that yes, I can do this. I’ve already done it on my way in, so I can definitely do it on our way out.

Elliot swiftly makes it down the stairs and turns right at the bottom. He is momentarily out of sight, but I assume he is hiding behind the same crates we used just a few minutes ago. I step out of the office as well, but right then, I hear a commotion downstairs.

A big noise, like metal hitting the ground, resounds all the way to the second floor. I wait and assess the situation before moving down the old metal stairs.

“Hey! What’s going on? Pork Chop, go check it out,” A deep voice calls out, an Untamed minion, I suppose.

I hear steps approach the base of the stairs, as a different, second voice shouts, “Hey! We got rats in here!” He shouts, alerting basically everyone in the area. I hear gunshots follow closely after.

Fuck! Did they find Elliot? Please let him be ok, please. I panic. We were doing so well. Is this how things are always supposed to go?

The shouting from downstairs gets the attention of the people on the second floor. I see a huge man with bionic eyes step away from the shadows, his path directly intersecting with mine. He immediately spots me. I freeze, my eyes meeting his.

Everything happens in slow motion. It’s like they say in the movies, life passes by in front of your eyes when you’re about to die. Is this it for me? The man raises his gun and, by pure instinct, my legs move down the stairs hurriedly, as bullets hit the steps where I just stood a second ago.

FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK?! Please! Someone tell me this isn’t happening!

“Hayes! We can hear gunshots! Are you ok? We’re moving in!” Myers' voice comes out loudly from the earpiece; he’s freaking out.

There’s no time to reply to Myers. I tumble and fall to the bottom of the stairs, and I crawl to take cover behind the metal boxes next to it, but they are different now. The boxes are toppled over, various metal parts and augments strewn across the floor. Is this what the ruckus just a moment ago was about?

I look around, but Elliot is nowhere to be found. I can’t do this without him. I’m not Marina! I will definitely die!

“Hayes! Don’t just stop there! At least four Untamed are coming up behind you, you gotta move!” He must have still been monitoring my signal from outside. His words break me out of my panic attack somehow, and I bolt towards the nearest cover I can find. Maybe if I hold out long enough, the other teams can come and save us.

“Do you have eyes on Elliot?” I shout, trying to get my voice through in between the sounds of gunfire all around me.

“Sorry, Hayes, almost everyone is making their way there now. We don’t have enough eyes on the building,” He grunts, clearly distressed. “Right now, it’s just me, and I only have eyes on you. But don’t worry, we’re going in now, hang in there just a little longer.”

“Roger that.” I deactivate the mic and focus on staying alive. Footsteps approach my location slowly. I can’t let them get to me. I reach for my handgun, trying to remember everything I learned from gunlover69, hoping that returning fire is enough to keep them at bay.

I gather all my courage and wave my arm over the crate I’m using as cover, randomly shooting in the direction of the footsteps. They seem to step back and stop shooting for a moment before returning fire themselves once more.

“The cops are coming! What do we do, Pineapple?!” A squeamish voice I haven’t heard before speaks. I have to say, their names are very creative.

“The boss was very clear, if the coppers come, we let them have it,” The Untamed laughs diabolically. Whatever does that mean? Will they fight?

Gunfire stops altogether as I hear the sound of several footsteps running away from my position. Are they leaving, or is it a trap? I wait for a minute, entrenched behind cover. Two minutes pass, and I still can’t hear a sound.

“Myers, talk to me. Am I alone here? It sounded like they were leaving,”

“They seem to have vacated the premises through the eastern loading bay. I think it’s safe to come out. Our men are moving in from the front as we speak. Rendezvous with them.”

“Elliot?” I say, desperate for any updates on his whereabouts.

“Sorry, Hayes, still no Elliot. Now that you’re out of danger, I’ll scan the building for his heat signal and get back to you. Myers out.”

This is so messed up. Things weren’t supposed to go like this. I thought I did everything right! Why did Elliot have to rush out of the car like this? Nothing is making sense right now. Is he still here? I need answers. I stand up slowly, gun in hand, and scan my surroundings. There really is no one left on the floor.

“Elliot? Are you there? It’s safe to come out!” I shout to the empty warehouse, hoping nothing bad happened to him. I wait, but there’s no reply.

I jump as the lights suddenly go out in the room. In the darkness, I can see a red light shining from behind some containers a few meters away from me. There is still no sound to be heard throughout the room. Cautiously approaching the light source, I make sure not to make any sounds.

And that’s when I see it. A huge device with a digital clock screen displaying a countdown. It doesn’t take me long to figure out that it’s a fucking bomb.