Starr nodded, her eyes locking onto the door at the far end of the lab. It was their only chance. The creatures, once human, were now mindless drones, driven by the very neural tech they had come to steal. Their movements were jerky, but their strength was undeniable, and their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
"Zeke! Reaver! Move!" Starr shouted, backing toward the exit while continuing to fire at the advancing horde. Every shot landed, but it barely slowed them down. Their bodies, augmented beyond recognition, absorbed the impacts like walking tanks.
Zeke grunted in response, his heavy rifle spitting rounds that tore through the nearest creature. But even as one fell, two more took its place. He pushed forward, his hulking frame smashing through one of the creatures, sending it crashing into a shattered tank with a metallic screech.
Reaver was back on his feet, his mono-blade gleaming under the flickering lights as he sliced through the oncoming mass of bodies. His movements were fluid and precise, cutting through limbs and exposed wiring with deadly accuracy. Yet, even as he fought, Starr could see the strain in his posture. He wasn't used to fighting things that didn't stop.
"Go!" Reaver shouted, glancing back at Starr, his eyes dark with urgency. "Get to the door!"
Starr hesitated for only a second before making a break for the exit, her boots skidding on the slick floor as she ran toward the door at the far end of the lab. The sounds of combat—the clatter of bullets, the sharp hiss of Reaver's blade—rang in her ears, but she couldn't afford to look back.
"Byte, get that door open!" Starr growled into the comms, her heart racing.
"I'm on it!" Byte's voice was tense, the sound of her frantic typing echoing in Starr's ear. "Just give me a second… okay, door's unlocked! Go!"
The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a narrow hallway beyond. Starr didn't wait. She sprinted through the doorway, her eyes scanning the corridor for any signs of more threats. Zeke followed closely behind, still firing as he backed through the door, covering Reaver as the last of the creatures swarmed the lab.
"Reaver!" Starr shouted, turning back just in time to see him dispatch another drone with a swift slice of his blade. But there were too many. They were coming faster now, their movements more coordinated, like they were learning from the attack.
Reaver pushed through the doorway just as the first wave of drones reached the threshold. Starr slammed her hand against the control panel, and the door slid shut, the soft click of the lock sealing them inside the corridor.
The pounding on the door started immediately, the sound of metal fists slamming against reinforced steel echoing through the narrow hallway. The creatures wouldn't stop. Not until they tore them apart.
Starr's breath came in ragged gasps as she backed away from the door, her gun still raised, her mind racing. That had been too close. Way too close.
"We need to keep moving," Reaver said, his voice low but firm as he wiped the blood from his lip. His dark eyes met hers for a brief second before he turned his focus to the hallway ahead. "Those things won't stay down for long."
Zeke grunted, leaning against the wall as he reloaded his rifle. "What the hell are those things? Arasaka tech?"
"More than that," Starr said, her voice tight with barely contained anger. "They're using the neural tech we came here for. They're controlling those bodies—what's left of them, anyway."
"Great," Zeke muttered. "So now we've got zombies with cyberware. Just what I needed."
Byte's voice crackled through the comms, her tone more urgent now. "Guys, I'm seeing movement in the lower levels of the facility. More drones, more security. You've got maybe ten minutes before they lock the place down entirely."
"We'll be out before then," Starr said, forcing the fear out of her voice. She couldn't afford to lose focus now. Not when they were so close.
The corridor stretched out before them, narrow and dark, with the faint hum of machinery vibrating through the walls. This place was designed like a fortress, and Arasaka wouldn't make escaping easy.
"We're heading for the service elevators," Byte said. "There's a maintenance shaft near the end of this hall. It'll take you down to the sublevels where they keep the power generators. You can use that to short out the building's grid—give you enough time to slip out."
"And what about those things?" Zeke asked, his grip tightening on his weapon. "They gonna follow us down there?"
Byte was silent for a moment, the sound of her rapid typing filling the comms. "I… don't know. But we don't have much of a choice. You need to move before the entire facility goes on lockdown."
Starr nodded, her mind working through the possibilities. They had come this far, and the thought of turning back now wasn't even an option. They had the data, but escaping The Mind Maze was another battle altogether.
"Let's go," she said, her voice hardening. "We stick together, we get out of here, and we get back to Byte. No one gets left behind."
Zeke nodded, moving to take point, his massive form filling the narrow corridor as he led them forward. Starr and Reaver followed closely behind, their weapons drawn and ready. The pounding on the door behind them was growing louder, more frantic, and Starr knew it was only a matter of time before those things broke through.
The service elevator was little more than a narrow platform surrounded by rusted steel walls, its rickety structure groaning as it descended deeper into the sublevels of the facility. The air grew colder the further down they went, the lights flickering ominously as they passed through the layers of Arasaka's underground maze.
Starr's grip on her gun tightened as the elevator rattled to a stop, the gates sliding open to reveal a dimly lit corridor lined with exposed pipes and electrical wiring. The hum of the facility's power grid was louder here, the vibrations running through the walls like a living pulse.
"Byte, we're at the sublevels," Starr said, her voice low as she stepped out of the elevator, her eyes scanning the hallway ahead.
"Good," Byte replied. "The power generators are down the hall, behind a security door. I've already hacked it, so you should be able to access the control panel. Once you're in, overload the grid. That should short-circuit the whole facility and give you enough time to get out."
"Got it," Starr said, motioning for Zeke and Reaver to follow her.
They moved down the corridor in silence, the air thick with tension. The pounding in Starr's chest grew louder with every step, her instincts screaming that something was wrong. She glanced at Reaver, who was walking beside her, his expression unreadable but his movements tense.
"You feel that?" Starr asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Yeah," Reaver replied, his eyes narrowing as he glanced down the corridor. "It's too quiet."
Zeke grunted in agreement, his massive frame looming behind them. "Feels like a trap."
They reached the security door at the end of the corridor, its surface marked with faded Arasaka logos and warning signs. The control panel blinked, awaiting input.
"Byte," Starr called out, her voice tight with tension. "Get the door open."
"Already done," Byte replied, her voice steady. "Just be careful. The system's been glitching ever since I hacked in. You might run into resistance down there."
The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing the room beyond. The power generators filled the space, massive structures of steel and circuitry that hummed with barely contained energy. Cables snaked across the floor, their ends connected to glowing terminals that blinked with data.
Starr approached the nearest terminal, her eyes scanning the control panel. "This is it," she muttered, her fingers flying across the interface as she began the process of overloading the grid.
The lights flickered, and the hum of the generators grew louder. Warning symbols flashed across the terminal, but Starr ignored them, her focus locked on the task at hand. She could feel the pressure building in the room, the air growing thick with electricity.
"Starr," Byte's voice came through the comms, her tone urgent. "You need to move fast. The facility's responding to the overload. You've got maybe five minutes before everything goes dark."
"Understood," Starr replied, her heart racing as she continued to work.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor behind them—heavy, metallic footsteps that sent a chill down Starr's spine.
"They're coming," Zeke growled, his grip tightening on his rifle. "Those things aren't gonna let us leave."
Reaver stepped forward, his mono-blade gleaming in the dim light as he took position near the entrance. "You finish the job," he said to Starr, his voice calm but tense. "We'll handle the rest."
Starr's pulse quickened as she worked faster, her fingers moving with desperate speed across the terminal. The generators roared, their energy levels spiking as the system overloaded.
"Almost… there…" she muttered, her eyes locked on the blinking screen in front of her.