|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 10, 2008 21:15:15 GMT -5
Ashley's response was to reach out and grip Daws' wrist fervently. "If you're a friend--kill me, please..."
Vance peeled off his mask. "Colonel, it's Vance--Major Jerod Vance. Listen to me. We're taking you out of this place."
The Colonel's eyes widened in recognition, but his short, shallow breaths did not relax. "Vance..."
"Yeah." Vance gently shouldered the women aside, reaching out to gather Ashley's emaciated body into his arms. "Don't worry. We'll have you safe soon."
The invalid whined and squirmed weakly as Vance picked him up. "No, please..."
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 10, 2008 22:21:27 GMT -5
Daws rubbed absently at the wrist Ashley had grasped, looking around the lab with a black expression. "I say we trash this place on our way out." She said with quiet, bitter vehemence.
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 10, 2008 22:36:06 GMT -5
A new explosion rumbled through the tunnels.
"Can't waste the time and strength now." Vance handed Ashley off to Scythe, whose superhuman strength easily bore the frail burden, and quickly led the group out of the dark space of the laboratory. He started back in the direction they had come; their only hope was that the encroaching enemy had not yet come between them and the emergency exit.
"Doesn't make sense," Vance muttered to Daws as they hurried along. He jerked his head back toward Ashley. "I thought the idea here was to make a supersoldier. The Colonel's half-dead."
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 10, 2008 22:41:34 GMT -5
Daws shook her head. "Maybe whatever they were tryin' didn't work. Maybe they gave up on their first idea . . . and just kept goin' because they could. I guess we'll have time to figure it out once we get ourselves out of here."
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 10, 2008 22:49:56 GMT -5
"Maybe the power they were trying to develop wasn't muscle power," Proteus muttered grimly.
In Scythe's arms, Ashley was still protesting feebly. Vance shot a glance over his shoulder at his former superior. The levels of horror and fear roiling through Ashley were as distinct as anything his slight telepathy had ever perceived.
"But he's not afraid of staying... he's afraid of leaving..."
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 10, 2008 22:55:52 GMT -5
"Hang on. " Daws held up one hand and slowed pace slightly. "Remember what Highsmith said? If we took him out of there . . ."
She glanced at Vance with a grave expression. "Jerod -- maybe Colonel Ashley knows somethin' we don't."
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 10, 2008 23:14:19 GMT -5
Vance looked hard at Daws. Then he stopped, gesturing for the others to pause as well, and turned to the pathetic figure in Scythe's arms.
"Colonel, what are you afraid of?" Vance scowled. "Is there some kind of booby trap that will be set off if we take you out of these tunnels?"
"It's... not like that." Ashley sounded rather relieved that he was at least being listened to now--but his emotions visibly turned to something darker as he turned his face away.
"But I can't--can't control it... the things they've done..." He drew a rasping breath. "Not... without the drugs..."
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 10, 2008 23:27:07 GMT -5
"That isn't good." Daws frowned and touched Vance's arm, jerking her head back the way they had come.
"We can go back after the stuff they had him hooked up to," She said quietly, "Dunno what's there, or how long it'd last . . . but it'd be a stopgap. Enough to buy us some time, maybe."
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 10, 2008 23:33:14 GMT -5
Miriam scowled. "We don't know what dosages of what drugs those machines were feeding him. If we start trying to pump them into him again, we'll probably kill him."
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 10, 2008 23:47:18 GMT -5
"Fair enough." Daws nodded towards the front exit, "But whatever we're doing, we'd better decide quick, before we lose our last ticket out of this place."
She glanced at Ashley. "Colonel . . . " She hesitated, "How dangerous is what they've done to you?"
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 11, 2008 21:32:04 GMT -5
Ashley grimaced at Daws, his eyes shadowed. "I told you to kill me."
"That's out," Vance growled. "I'm not giving up what we came here for. Just hold on, Colonel--we'll take care of you as soon as we get out of this place."
Without waiting for any forthcoming objections, Vance barged ahead once more. Nate gave Daws a rather pained look behind his mask, then hurried to follow his father.
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 11, 2008 21:43:22 GMT -5
"Well, we didn't expect it to be easy." Daws shook her head and sighed as she quickened pace to catch up with Vance.
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 11, 2008 22:05:59 GMT -5
Following Vance's lead, the fighters quickly threaded their way back in the direction they had come. They found fewer unconscious bodies sprawled in the corridors. It appeared that many of the guards and even a few scientists had woken up and wandered off, either to fight the new wave of invaders or search for a way out.
As they advanced toward their own hoped-for means of escape, the explosions ahead of them grew steadily louder.
"I don't know if they've passed that emergency door yet," Vance said. "If it comes to a fight, it's gonna make fighting those guards look like kindergarten."
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 11, 2008 22:13:55 GMT -5
"No kidding." Daws replied. "Best we can hope for is that they haven't gotten there yet -- and that they don't realize we got here first. If they head for the lab, it'll give us some time to get out of the way."
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 11, 2008 22:23:22 GMT -5
"If there's a place to get away to..." Vance muttered grimly, wincing at another explosion.
Nate glanced over his shoulder at Ashley, who was still making a feeble struggle in Scythe's arms. Then he shook his head and told the group, "Almost there. Just another turn in the corridor."
That turn came upon them half a minute later, with startling swiftness. Vance was the first one around the corner...
And he hit the deck as an unmasked figure--with several others behind her--spun around in surprise and shot a jet of acid at him.
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 11, 2008 22:32:40 GMT -5
Daws yelped in surprise and instinctively ducked into a crouch, momentarily ducking for the relative cover of the corner she had just rounded. "So much for our luck holding out!"
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 11, 2008 22:41:01 GMT -5
Vance pitched a relatively powerful boomer as he rolled back behind the cover of the intersecting corridor. There was a single short scream as it detonated, followed by mixed cursing and sounds of movement; at least some of their opponents were still intact.
"Get me to that door and I'll get you through it," Proteus said tersely.
Vance nodded, then glanced over his shoulder to the rest of the group. "No options... we fight it through."
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 11, 2008 22:47:40 GMT -5
Daws nodded and extended her claws. "Lead the way -- we're behind you." She grinned ferally. "Let's spoil Tiernan's night before we leave."
|
|
|
Post by Jordanna on Jun 11, 2008 23:00:16 GMT -5
Vance nodded. "Okay. Regina, Nate--get Proteus to the exit door. Scythe and Doc, do the same with Ashley. The rest of us'll cover you."
He swiftly made eye contact with each member of the group, trying to give them what silent reassurance he could. Then he drew a deep breath, summoned another boomer to his fingertips, and lunged back into the corridor intersection to let it fly.
There was no need to say that he was using up a lot of energy, and struggling to ration what he had left. Soon he would be as spent as Outlander, who was relying now on a gun.
|
|
|
Post by skybright on Jun 11, 2008 23:06:48 GMT -5
Daws nodded briefly to Nate and Proteus, then rounded the corner as Vance let the boomer fly. She kept one shoulder close to the wall -- if she and the others could work their way along the wall to the door, it might be easier than plowing straight through a crowd of Tiernan's henchmen . . .
|
|