Roy's mechanical arms moved quickly as he hacked into the control panel, wires sparking slightly as the door groaned open. The blast door slid aside, revealing Juan at the far end of the dimly lit hallway, leaning against the wall and clutching his arm. His face brightened with relief when he saw Goldwin and Gareth.
"Juan!" Goldwin called out, his voice echoing. "Are you alright?"
Juan pushed off from the wall, wincing but grinning. "I'm fine! Just a cut, but I patched it up with the first aid kit."
Gareth stepped forward, motioning for him to come over. "Get over here, now. We need to get out."
Juan hurried toward them, his footsteps echoing down the corridor. But something caught Goldwin's eye—small dots of red light scattered across the floor. His stomach dropped as he realized what they were.
"Juan, stop!" Goldwin yelled, but it was too late.
Juan's foot crossed one of the laser sensors. A sudden high-pitched alarm blared through the facility, the walls flashing red as warning lights activated. The three of them stood frozen for a second as the reality of the situation sank in.
Goldwin sighed, a dry laugh escaping him. "Well, this just got a whole lot better."
Gareth muttered under his breath, "I didn't even notice the sensors…"
Goldwin shook his head, not angry, just resigned to their new predicament. "No use worrying about that now. We need to get moving—fast."
The alarm continued to wail, adding a sense of urgency to their every step. Goldwin led the way, with Gareth and Juan close behind, sprinting through the now-blaring hallway. Roy hovered beside them, his internal systems scanning for any immediate threats.
As they reached a junction, Audrey's voice suddenly crackled through the comms. "Goldwin! I'm picking up some strange energy fluctuations from the underground area where you are—something's not right."
Goldwin slowed, his brow furrowing. "What do you mean, strange fluctuations?"
Audrey's voice became strained, her usual calm breaking with urgency. "It's… I'm not sure. The readings are spiking—wait—" Her voice cut off, replaced by harsh static. Goldwin pressed his PDA to his ear, trying to re-establish the connection.
"Audrey?" he called out, but there was nothing. Just static.
Gareth cursed under his breath. "What now?"
Goldwin's eyes narrowed as he glanced back at the two of them. "We don't have time to figure it out. Whatever's happening, we need to be out of this place before things get worse."
With Audrey's warning still ringing in their minds, they bolted toward the exit, the pulse of red warning lights flashing in sync with their pounding hearts. Every second felt like it could be their last, and none of them wanted to find out what kind of energy surge was lurking below.
As they made their way through the narrow, dimly lit corridors, Goldwin's PDA flickered once, twice, then shut off completely. Gareth glanced at his, confirming it had suffered the same fate. Juan pulled his cracked device out, which also blinked dead.
"Damnations," Gareth muttered. "What's next?"
Goldwin raised an eyebrow, considering. "An EMP? Wouldn't make much sense since the electronics down here are still running. The base's systems should be fried too."
Gareth shrugged, "Well, we're on our own now."
Juan, his voice shaking, quickly spoke up. "I'm sorry... this is all my fault. I shouldn't have gone off on my own. I should've listened to you guys."
Goldwin put a hand on Juan's shoulder, his expression softening. "Look, what happens, happens. No point in playing the 'if-only' game now. The important thing is learning from the mistake and navigating the mess it caused." He gave the boy a reassuring smile. "Besides, we've all had our rebellious moments."
The three retraced their steps, trying to find their way back. When they reached an open hallway, Gareth held up a hand, signaling them to stop. He picked up a loose pipe from the floor and tossed it across the opening.
Midair, the hallway erupted with the sound of rapid gunfire. The pipe was torn apart by bullets before it clattered to the ground in pieces. The unmistakable hum of machinery followed.
Juan winced. "That's... a gauss rifle."
Gareth crouched low, hugging the wall, and peeked around the corner. He spotted the sentry gun hanging from the ceiling, the muzzle glowing faintly as it swiveled back and forth. "Well, this is just fantastic," he muttered. "We're pinned down."
Juan's eyes darted around. "What are we gonna do? We're stuck."
Goldwin smirked, despite the danger. "You've crawled through more vents than I can count, Juan. Now you're telling me you can't think of anything?"
Juan grimaced, "Yeah, but without a map, I wouldn't risk it."
Goldwin's smirk turned to a grin as he gestured to Roy. "Well, lucky for you, I've got Roy here. He can do a scan of the vents. Should help us find a way out."
Roy beeped in acknowledgment, but there was something off about the sound—his voice glitched, repeating words rapidly in a staccato of high- and low-pitched tones.
Goldwin frowned. "Roy?"
The robot's display flickered, and the voice distortion continued. "Scan... scan... SCAN... passage...pass... pASSAGE."
Gareth exchanged a look with Goldwin. "Something down here is messing with him. Whatever's in this place, it's not just affecting our PDAs."
Goldwin took a deep breath. "We'll have to move fast before Roy shuts down completely." Roy managed to complete the scan, revealing a series of intersecting vents leading back to the entrance, though it was a long and winding route.
The trio crawled into the vent system, evading the lethal sentry gun as they maneuvered through the cramped space. The atmosphere was suffocating, the faint echoes of the sentry gun scanning outside only adding to their sense of urgency.
As they pressed on, Goldwin spotted a catwalk below through a grate in the vent shaft. "We can drop down there," he said, motioning for Gareth and Juan to follow. But something in the shadows caught his eye—a massive device, looming in the dark abyss beneath the catwalk. It pulsed with a faint, eerie glow, casting strange shadows against the walls.
Goldwin squinted, a chill running down his spine. "What... in the world is that?"
The others crowded closer, peering into the dark below. The glow from the device intensified, humming ominously, as if it were aware of their presence. Whatever it was, it seemed to be the source of the strange disturbances affecting their equipment.
Goldwin's heart raced. "We've got to move. Fast."
***
As we dropped down from the vents onto the catwalk, I took a deep breath, steadying myself. The metallic clang beneath our feet echoed through the cavernous space. Gareth, kneeling, checked his busted PDA. His brow furrowed as he glanced back at the looming device before us.
"I can feel a pull," he muttered, "like... magnetic, but faint." He lifted the PDA and waved it around slightly, almost like testing a compass.
I glanced at the giant glowing machine ahead of us, its eerie hum vibrating in my bones. "So, you think this thing's messing with our gear?"
Gareth nodded. "It has to be. Whatever that is, it's screwing with all our electronics. And it's not just some regular EMP."
I agreed. If it was just an EMP, everything would've shut down—lights, alarms, even that murderous sentry gun we barely avoided. But here we were, stuck with malfunctioning PDAs while the facility kept running.
Juan, who had been quiet up until now, piped up. "Do you think it's some kind of... government weapon? You know, like a secret project?"
I let the thought linger for a moment. "Could be. Makes the most sense, given how deep we are underground." I didn't want to say it out loud, but I had a feeling we'd stumbled onto something we weren't meant to see.
We moved forward cautiously, the metal catwalk creaking under our weight. Every sound seemed amplified in the stillness. My thoughts were interrupted by a sharp clatter—the walkway beneath Juan collapsed with a thunderous crash. Before I could react, Juan's scream echoed through the facility as he slipped over the edge, his arms flailing.
Reflexes kicked in. I lunged forward and grabbed his wrist just in time. The weight of him nearly pulled me down with him, but I held on, feeling the strain in my arm as I anchored myself against the railings.
"Gotcha, kid. You're not that easy to lose," I grunted through clenched teeth.
Gareth was at my side in an instant, helping pull Juan back up. When we finally got him to safety, he was pale, gasping for breath. "Th-thanks, Old Man... I thought I was done for."
I gave him a quick grin, despite my own racing pulse. "You're way too young to check out just yet. Besides, I've got reflexes like a cat." I patted his shoulder. "Now let's be more careful. No more impromptu falls, alright?"
Juan nodded, his face still pale as we continued. Roy, our trusty robot, had taken the lead, its sensors lighting up the path ahead. But something wasn't right. I noticed Roy slowing down, its movements growing jerky. Sparks flew from its joints, and a high-pitched whirring sound filled the air.
"Roy?" I called out, my stomach sinking. The robot froze for a second, then started moving erratically, jerking left and right. Without warning, it bolted straight for Gareth, aiming to plow into him at full speed.
"Gareth, look out!" I shouted.
He barely dodged in time, the robot speeding past him and slamming into the wall. Sparks flew everywhere. I tried issuing a shutdown command, but Roy wasn't responding. It twitched, almost as if in pain, and then spun back around to face us, its sensors glowing a sickly red.
"Roy, shut down! Stand down!" I barked.
It didn't listen.
"Rebel... rebel... rebel..." Roy's voice glitched as it focused on Juan, the word echoing like a broken record. The robot revved up, speeding straight toward the kid.
Juan froze, his eyes wide, still shaken from nearly falling off the catwalk earlier. His body locked up, too scared to move.
"Juan!" I shouted, but he was paralyzed with fear.
Without thinking, I shoved Juan hard, sending him flying into Gareth's arms just as Roy barreled toward him. The impact sent me flying over the railing. The world spun in a blur of metal and darkness as I tumbled down into the abyss, Roy tangled in the fall with me.