Exploring the rest of the facility took less than an hour. They found storage areas stocked with raw materials, giving them a clearer idea of what this complex was really for.
This complex specialized in mass-producing war gear. They discovered numerous battle exoskeletons, which, unfortunately, were in a state of disrepair, as well as various weapon parts and ammunition. Naturally, the overseers kept the slaves away from these rooms to prevent them from accessing the gear. Usually, it was the monkey who inspected these rooms alone, often coming out with a grin, muttering, "Damn, we're definitely getting a promotion for this!"
Everything was relatively calm until they finally found a storage room full of finished weaponry. As they continued to explore the remaining parts of the complex, the monkey and the octopus carried two ancient carbines.
With these weapons in hand, they weren't afraid to be ruthless. Any deviation from their "norms of behavior" was met with brutal blows to the head. Sam walked ahead with the fifth slave, rubbing his head where he had recently been struck by a rifle butt. He was barely holding himself together, fighting the urge to lash out at the two overseers, but reason kept him in check.
Seeing the two carbines only fueled his fear, a feeling he hated above all else.
However, he stole several glances at the carbines, trying to understand their appearance.
They looked exactly like what humanity had once imagined in old films. They were long, elegantly white weapons with glowing blue inserts. The stock was the same white color, but it was clear it wasn't made from the same material as the body. The barrel was flat, shaped like a rectangle rather than the usual round hole from Sam's world.
The sight of these weapons amused Sam, but he had no doubt they could easily turn him to dust. After all, these were ancient weapons, and the ancients were masters of war.
How could it be otherwise when they had been fighting for centuries? At least that's what the elders told him, having read about it on some "Terminals."
Soon, the group reached the last room in the vast complex. The walls outside the room displayed digital signs depicting a toolbox with a hat floating above it.
'Could this be the main storage?'
Sam didn't know for sure, but until now they had only seen small weapon and equipment storage rooms. They had also encountered numerous black exits and underground hangars, but unfortunately, the exits were blocked by heaps of stones.
As usual, the monkey entered first to inspect the room. It took less time than usual, only a few minutes. After the inspection, the others entered and found a rather unusual room they hadn't seen before.
The room was lined with open metal boxes on the sides, and in the center stood a huge computer projecting images from surveillance cameras. Red triangles with exclamation marks were visible everywhere, but Sam thought it was trivial compared to the fact that the complex was still operational.
They still hadn't found the generator room, although there was one door they couldn't access with their keycard. That door was massive, adorned with numerous glowing signs depicting lightning bolts. Sam assumed that the generators, working tirelessly for an unknown amount of time, were hidden behind it.
The monkey's irritating voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Alright, we'll stop here. The room doesn't look too dangerous, so you can find a spot on the floor."
Unfortunately, there were no barracks in the complex, and this room looked the cleanest and least smelly. The smell of old oil had already seeped into Sam's nose, though he was sure he wasn't the only one affected.
The room also had a single chair, which the monkey promptly occupied. The octopus, in turn, decided to stay by the wall and observe the others.
'I don't like this guy... He's said only a few words the whole time. A pretty grim type; it's better to be cautious with him rather than with the monkey. Something tells me he's the boss among them.'
The octopus had been suspiciously quiet all along, only speaking a couple of times and making one remark when Sam's fellow race member spoke to him.
With nothing much to do, Sam decided to check the open boxes. Naturally, they were mostly filled with rusty junk, though the boxes themselves had strange images of weapons on them. Perhaps they had once contained special armaments available only to the head guard.
After all, this room looked like the kind of place where the head guard would sit. Despite the exclamation marks, Sam noticed that cameras were everywhere, even in this room, where seven figures were visible, each doing something.
The other slaves were also rummaging through the boxes, but the green giant and the red amphibian sat quietly on the floor together. They had been silent the whole time, like the fifth slave, but while the fifth had shown some emotional signs, these two were completely unreadable to Sam.
The octopus slave, meanwhile, was clearly scared and ashen-faced. He repeatedly asked the monkey for water, which was firmly denied, despite the fact that they had previously found a buffet with refrigerators half-filled with ration packs. Although they were likely expired, it was still better than nothing.
While digging through the junk, Sam finally noticed something unique. Next to his nearest box was another one with a completely different color compared to the others. While all the boxes were white, this one was entirely black and looked untarnished. On its top left corner was a strange indentation that looked like a place to put a hand. Above the panel was a small, turned-off monitor.
The rest of the box resembled a mini safe. But what caught Sam's attention, apart from the strange black color, was the yellow skull symbol on it, contrasting sharply with the weapon images on the others.
Suddenly, Sam saw a shadow overhead and flinched. Turning, he found himself facing the green brute, slave number 34. The brute first stared at Sam with his long eyes and then glanced at the black box Sam had been trying to lift.
A grin spread across the green creature's face, revealing shark-like teeth. Sam felt uneasy, but then something happened that he hadn't expected.
"Hey, dear overseer. This human child has found a strange box."
Sam's eyes widened in surprise and then filled with murderous rage.
'What the hell is this creep doing?!'
At the sight of Sam's glare, the green humanoid's smile widened even more before he stepped back slightly. Sam heard the monkey's hurried shuffling towards him. When the monkey arrived, it shoved the rifle butt into the green giant and aimed its barrel at Sam, making him flinch slightly.
"Alright, kid, let's see what you've found!" – The monkey spoke loudly. All the slaves immediately focused their attention on Sam. Even the octopus approached, raising his weapon onto his shoulder.
A cold sweat ran down Sam's forehead. Gritting his teeth, he lifted the surprisingly heavy box and placed it in front of the monkey. The monkey lowered its weapon and began examining it. Noticing the indentation for a hand, it attempted to touch it. Then something strange happened – as soon as the monkey touched the indentation, it was as if scalded by boiling water, and it quickly pulled back its hand.
"What the hell is this?! It's electric!" – The monkey yelled, shaking its hand and rhythmically clenching and unclenching its fist.
The octopus looked at his partner and then spoke.
"72, place your hand instead of my partner."
Sam was greatly surprised by this order, then furrowed his brow and decided to speak up for the first time in a long while.
"Why? Didn't you see what happened…"
Before he could finish, Sam saw the rifle butt flying towards his face. He felt a sharp pain and fell to the ground, hitting his back against the empty, metal boxes. Grabbing his nose, Sam felt something warm flowing from it. Meanwhile, the octopus started yelling.
"Worthless slave, you dare disobey orders?!"
With pain in his nose and back, Sam got to his feet. Tears welled up in his eyes, but it was just a natural reaction to the sharp pain. He was burning with fury and hatred towards the octopus, cursing it in his mind. He approached the box and, with anger, placed his right hand in the indentation.
"I said! It will be… The same… For me?"
Sam was taken aback when he didn't receive an electric shock. Instead, he felt only a light, pleasant tingling in his hand, as if someone was gently tickling his palm. But things changed abruptly. Two rectangular grooves emerged from the box, wrapping around Sam's wrist, close to the shackles.
"What... What's happening?" – Sam involuntarily muttered, trying to pull his hand from the grooves.
However, his attempts were in vain. He couldn't even move his hand a millimeter, his fingers moving in panic.
The box seemed to tire of his struggling, and after a few seconds, five smaller grooves appeared, gripping his fingers.
"Hey, what the hell is going on?!" – The monkey exclaimed, now recovered from the electric shock, staring at Sam's hand, as did everyone else in the room, or almost everyone?
"I... I don't know... Help me!" – Sam cried out, seeing something like a glass sphere emerging from the box. The glass completely covered his hand, but what was most terrifying was its distorted appearance, making it hard to see what was happening to his hand.
Sam was in a panic, unable to understand what was happening and feeling his fingers being twisted slowly.
But what happened next intensified Sam's panic severalfold. A small slot opened in the right corner of the box, and a robotic arm appeared with a syringe. With a precise movement, the syringe pierced the glass cover and entered Sam's palm. At first, Sam thought he felt a mild sting, but then an incredibly sharp pain took over.
Sam screamed loudly, his fear increasing tenfold. He had never experienced anything like this, and the growing pain overwhelmed him. He struggled, screaming for help, but the feeling of sharp, prickling needles continued to torment him.