"Lockdown initiated, beginning lockdown."
Iris's mechanical voice resounded in the chaotic laboratory.
Suddenly, the lights flickered and went off, and the hum of the laboratory equipment dimmed before going completely silent. The laboratory was completely shrouded in darkness. A faint ray of light shone through the small window at the far corner of the laboratory, illuminating it slightly.
Zed stepped away from the syringe and looked up curiously. His eyes seemed to glow in the darkness.
"ERROR! ERROR! Power is insufficient. All defensive equipment is offline. The base cannot be sealed. Emergency backup power activated (30 minutes till backup power is exhausted). Proceeding with the lockdown of the main laboratory."
The lights came back in an instant, briefly blinding everyone.
"D*mn it!" Dr. Daniel Peterson cursed as he ran to the window and looked out.
"There's a traitor in the facility!" He shouted as he observed the scene outside. A group of heavily armed men in black tactical gear was already barging through the main gates and advancing towards the facility. The intruders seemed to be a highly organized unit, moving in perfect formation and armed to the teeth.
"A traitor?!" Alan gasped in disbelief. All the staff in the facility have undergone a background check and are verified by the government. "How could there be a traitor?"
"There's no other explanation for this situation. Our facility is equipped with cutting-edge technological weapons and under normal circumstances, even a full army won't be able to break in without an extended siege.
But now, all the weapons and equipment are down, and even the power required to seal the base was cut off.
Tell me, if this isn't the work of a traitor, what is it?"
Alan didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't find the words to refute the senior researcher's reasoning.
"What should we do now?" he asked anxiously. It was only his first day at this facility. He definitely didn't want to perish in such a ridiculous manner.
Dr. Daniel Peterson didn't reply. Instead, he turned and looked at the mechanical ball floating in the room. "How long until the main power returns and the weapons are online?"
"Analyzing..." Iris's mechanical voice rang out melodiously. Unfortunately, no one in the room was in the mood to appreciate its voice.
"Based on the extensive damage to the central control room, and accounting for the time required for the repair bots to fix the critical components, according to preliminary estimates, all equipment and power should be online in 20 minutes."
Alan felt his heart sink when he heard this. He turned to look at Dr. Daniel Peterson expectantly, hoping for a solution.
But when he saw the gaunt and despairing look on the senior researcher's face, he felt a knot of dread tighten in his stomach.
"We need to go." Dr. Daniel Peterson stepped away from the window and said decisively. "The fortifications around the lab won't hold them for more than 10 minutes. These guys are also suppressing our armed unit. We can't wait for the power to return."
"Where are we going?" A mousy voice rang out.
Alan and Dr. Daniel Peterson both turned and looked at Zed.
"We're going outside. There's a hidden passageway at the back." Dr. Daniel Peterson said as he tore off his protective suit.
"Alan, take Zed and follow me. Hurry! There's no time!"
Alan nodded rapidly, resembling a chicken pecking rice as he started stripping out of the protective suit with all the speed he could muster.
Zed ran around happily in his cage and packed some seeds into his cheek pouches.
He felt extremely excited.
He'd heard a lot about the outside world, but had never seen it with his own eyes before. But this time, he was finally going out!
----------
"Reap, it's you! Why is Shadow here? Who sent you?"
The gaunt leader of the mercenary group, Shadow, simply smiled back at Captain Johnson without replying.
Johnson controlled his anger and said, "It doesn't matter who sent you. How much did they pay you to do this? We can pay you double the amount. Come on, you're a mercenary. You don't have anything against money, do you?"
Reap's lips parted, revealing a set of sharp and menacing teeth. A gruff and murderous voice escaped his throat. "That won't be good for my reputation, Johnson," he growled, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous intensity. "You understand the code. Our business thrives on trust and reputation, and once that's compromised, it's a slippery slope." His words hung in the air like a poisonous mist.
"Stop stalling for time," Reap snarled as his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "I know what you're trying to do. It's pathetic, Johnson.
But since I'm feeling generous today, I'll give you a chance." He paused, allowing a grim smile to form on his ferocious face.
"Join us, and I can still spare you," Reap offered, his tone surprisingly cordial.
"You're a strong fighter, and I can promise you a good salary, one that will make your pathetic government position look like pocket change." He leaned in closer, his breath hot on Johnson's face.
"You don't have anything against money, do you?" He queried, mimicking Johnson's tone.
"In any case, it's a much better alternative than dying for a regime that values you as much as a disposable tool."
Johnson's nostrils flared as he snorted in response, his brows furrowing in a fierce scowl. "You know I can't do that, Reap," he spat, his muscles tensing as he jumped backwards and assumed a fighting posture.
The weathered and scarred mercenary shrugged and unsheathed his alloy knife. "As you wish. I've already given you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. You can't blame me when you meet the Death God." His words hung in the air like a death sentence, as if he knew the outcome of the battle already.
Guns and bullets were useless in a fight between Augmented individuals like themselves, so the two of them directly opted for close combat.
Johnson didn't waste any time and moved to seize the initiative. His figure suddenly blurred as he exploded with a crazy speed, his movements almost too fast for the naked eye to follow.
In just a few breaths, he arrived before Reap. His right fist swung down in a heavy blow towards the top of his opponent's head.
But Reap simply leaned backwards slightly, his sharp eyes tracking every move Johnson made. The latter's fist swung past his face, barely missing his nose by a few centimeters.
But Johnson didn't falter for a second.
In an instant, he unleashed a furious barrage of kicks and punches at his opponent, each blow packed with an explosive force.
Reap also narrowed his eyes as he got serious. He moved with lightning-fast reflexes as he dodged and blocked every attack, sometimes leaping up to avoid the leg sweeps and occasionally counterattacking with his sharp blade.
The two warriors were now fully engaged in a fierce and brutal brawl in the midst of the battlefield, surrounded by the whizzing of bullets and the desperate cries of soldiers.
Loud explosions echoed constantly as heavy weaponry blasted against the thick walls of the facility, adding to the cacophony of the battle.
Slowly but surely, the UFHL militia was pushed back and forced to retreat continuously.
As the walls of the facility crumbled, Johnson stumbled two steps backwards and fell onto his knees. He spat out a mouthful of blood and gasped heavily for air. His uniform was torn, soaked in blood, and riddled with gaping cuts. Every breath felt like a struggle, and his eyes felt extremely heavy.
"Give up. You can't win." Reap stepped forward and pulled out a glossy black handgun from his side pocket.
"You can't dodge this bullet in your current state." He was also heavily bruised and battered, but he appeared to be in a much better condition than Johnson.
"They have my family." Johnson mumbled. His voice was soft, and it disappeared quickly, like a whisper carried by the wind.
He closed his eyes, ready for death.
Images of his wife, children, and aged parents flashed across his mind, and a single line of tear rolled down the side of his bloody cheeks.
"I know." Reap sighed and pulled the trigger.
"I'm sorry, guys. Please live well without me." Johnson prayed as a bang echoed in his ears.
Before the sound could register in his mind, the bullet had already pierced through his heart. He felt his body weaken rapidly and after a few breaths of time, he couldn't even feel the pain anymore.
Captain Johnson's body turned limp, and he slumped onto the floor lifelessly.
Reap shook his head and led his men into the destroyed facility.
The United Front of Human Liberation or UFHL, was a hypocritical totalitarian regime. They are a government that appears to be providing protection and safety to those struggling to survive in the post-apocalyptic world, but the reality is far from the surface façade.
Their rules are oppressive and harsh, and there are heavy restrictions on the citizens. Meanwhile, the ruling elite engage in power plays to maintain control.
People are treated as mere pawns, and their individual freedoms and rights are disregarded. The regime cares little for the welfare of its people and is consumed by the desire to maintain its own power and control.
How could such a regime allow an important facility like this to be guarded by soldiers that they didn't trust completely?
The families of these soldiers, from the highest-ranking captain to the lowest sentry, had been relocated to a military-controlled settlement and monitored around the clock for their "safety".
In truth, they were hostages, collateral held by the regime to ensure compliance.
It was the sole reason these soldiers were willing to fight to the death. They knew that the consequence of defeat or desertion was too great to bear.
In the face of certain doom, they felt that they might as well try to take a few enemies with them to accompany them on the road to the underworld.
Shadow proceeded smoothly through the facility, all the way until they reached the tightly sealed doors of the main laboratory. A thick metallic barrier stood in the way of the group, forcing them to come to a stop.
"Stand back."
Reap walked up to the metallic barrier and rapped his knuckles against it. A solid sound rang out from it.
"Bring the cutter." He said without turning his head.
A skinny man at the back with totemic tattoos all over his body immediately responded and pushed a large device about the length of his arm and the width of his torso forward.
This laser cutting tool was a rough and unrefined creation, cobbled together by the mercenaries.
Its appearance was a haphazard fusion of mutated beast parts and jerry-rigged wiring, held together with crude welding and rough soldering.
The exterior was a messy amalgamation of giant insect exoskeletons, fused together in a chaotic manner. It flickered with electric energy that provided an extra layer of protection for the delicate internal workings of the device.
At the heart of the device was a powerful claw, taken from an unknown mutated beast. The claw radiated intense heat and energy, and it pulsed with a vivid red hue that made it seem as if fire was flowing within it. The claw amplified the cutting power and precision of the laser to formidable levels.
While it was not agile enough to be used in combat, the laser cutting tool was a formidable device that could cut through even the toughest of materials with ease.
In less than a minute, the piercing laser tore a hole through the thick reinforced alloy barrier and Reap took the lead to climb through it and enter the laboratory.
"Search the place." he said as he scanned his eyes across the space.
The men who followed him immediately went inside and combed through the place meticulously.
"Boss, there's no one here. They've escaped!"